Who knows the castle of Tréfaven? The site, located on the banks of the Scorff, in Lorient, is better known as the “powder magazine”, used for the storage of ammunition from the 18th century until October 2001, when it was abandoned by the Navy. Today, the military land still belongs to the state and is inaccessible to the public. Abandoned, the vegetation has regained its rights there and the tagged buildings have deteriorated over the years. However, it is one of the most emblematic places steeped in history in the city of six ports. The castle, remodeled and rebuilt several times, is the oldest building in Lorient. “Of the two towers, only one remains,” explains René Estienne, former curator at the Service Historique de la Défense, who is currently working on the history of the creation of the City.
One of the largest mansions in Brittany
“To understand the interest of this site, you have to look at the scale of the country of Lorient, from Quimperlé with the Laïta to Auray and the ria d’Étel, continues the historian, member of a working group piloted by the municipality to imagine the future of this site. In the Middle Ages, this area was on the border between the County of Cornouaille and the area of influence of the Counts of Rennes, fighting for the Duchy of Brittany. This zone of clashes has shifted in each of the two camps, ”he explains. Then, in 1264, an armistice was signed. “Tréfaven Castle will serve the Léons as a control point for the seigneurial production of the western part of this area. In the 14th century, the castle will be entrusted to the lords of Rohan-Guéméné and rebuilt in 1482, in a very beautiful manor. It was one of the largest fortified mansions in Brittany, with a residential part along the Scorff and a wing to the south for the exploitation of the estate, the storage and export of grain”.
A powder keg from the 18th century
The Royal Navy used the castle from 1690. In 1720, the Compagnie des Indes took over and used the site to transform it into a powder magazine until the Revolution. On July 17, 1789, the people of Lorient went to Tréfaven to recover the powder, for fear that the stock would fall into the hands of the enemies of the Revolution. In 1795, the castle failed to house the penal colony. And in 1805, the whole was bought by Napoleon who assigned it to the Navy. The building becomes a powder keg again and is largely rebuilt.
Around the castle, there are a few blockhouses and multiple hangars, where the Direction des constructions navales (DCN) assembled and maintained ammunition. In 1973, pyrotechnic safety standards having become stricter, the most dangerous materials were transferred to the powder magazines of Le Mentec and Sac’h-Quéven, after Kerdual, along the Scorff. After its closure in 2001, the site served for a time as a training ground for firefighters and the armed forces.
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