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English: BRETAGNE - Morlaix

This city was born from a geography conducive to the development of human activities. Three hills, three valleys, and the sea which comes into the "ria" mingling its waters with those of the river (the "ria" is an expanse of sea, relatively long and narrow, penetrating inland, resulting from the sea invasion of the downstream part of a river valley). The commercial city develops around the port. Then Morlaix, cramped, will go up by narrow alleys and stairs to assault the hills. A prosperous city from the 13th to the 16th century, the city is embellished with beautiful residences and ramparts. But regularly the victim of enemy incursions, in 1542 it acquired a defensive tool at the entrance to the bay: the Château du Taureau.

The “houses à Pondalez”

The flax trade made Morlaix prosperous and encouraged trade. Under these influences, the architecture here took on an original aspect: the “lantern” houses. These half-timbered houses, with corbelled facades and richly sculpted interiors, became the dominant type of bourgeois architecture in the city from the 15th to the 18th century, such as the house of the Duchess Anne.