Médard bridge

The Médard bridge

The Quimper audio-guided tour has you cross the Médard bridge, which spans the Steïr, where one of the fortified gates of the city once stood.

One of the former gates of the city

In the Middle Ages, the Steïr marked the border between the suburb of the Terre-au-Duc, belonging to the duke, and the episcopal city of the bishop, enclosed by some one thousand five hundred metres of walls. Staggered along the line of the ramparts, there were defence towers and six fortified gates giving access to the centre. The Médard gate was one of them, defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises. Stripped of its defensive use and hindering free circulation, it was destroyed during the eighteenth century, like its sisters. There remains today only a watchturret, a witness of this vanished enclosure.

What there is to see

The Médard bridge, which crosses the Steïr, recalls the time when a fortified gate guarded the entrance of the episcopal city. The watchturret that remains testifies to the former enclosure of Quimper. It is a stage laden with history, which connects the Terre-au-Duc to the heart of the city, along the Steïr.

Practical information

The Médard bridge spans the Steïr, in the centre of Quimper. It can be crossed freely on foot at all hours and on the level; the neighbouring watchturret can be contemplated along the walk.

What was at the site of the Médard bridge?

The Médard gate, one of the six fortified gates of Quimper, defended by a drawbridge and two portcullises, destroyed in the eighteenth century.

What remains of the Médard gate?

A watchturret, the only vestige of this former gate of the fortified enclosure.