The Broërec’h Towers

Rising in front of you is one of Hennebont’s most imposing landmarks: a monumental gateway framed by the two massive Broërec’h Towers. Built in the 15th century as part of the fortified old town, this was once the city’s eastern entrance—and anyone traveling the road to Vannes had to pass right through it. Needless to say, security was serious business.

Two powerful towers guarded a drawbridge, while defenders patrolled the wall walk above, using openings in the fortifications to attack anyone who managed to reach the base of the walls. In its day, this was a formidable obstacle for anyone hoping to force their way into Hennebont. But by the end of Louis XIII’s reign, the wars had moved elsewhere and the gateway found itself out of a job.

So it took on a very different one: it became a prison. In fact, it was officially known as the “Prison Gate,” a name that still survives today in Rue de la Prison, which you can walk along nearby. The cells held all kinds of prisoners, including deserters who refused to work on the canalization of the Blavet.

But one inmate became far more famous than the rest: Marion du Faouët, one of Brittany’s most notorious 18th-century outlaws. Arrested in 1746, this feared gang leader was locked up here after being publicly whipped and branded with the letter V—the mark of a thief. Over time, Marion’s story has sometimes been softened into that of a kind of Breton Robin Hood.

The reality was far less romantic. She and her gang didn’t only target the powerful; they also struck very real fear into local farmers. There’s a certain irony in what happened to this old gateway.

A place designed to slam the door on unwanted visitors now invites them straight inside. Today, the towers house the Broërec’h Towers Museum, where 10 historic rooms explore local history, traditional Breton clothing, faience ceramics, and scale models—all inside a monument that has been a fortress, a prison, and now a museum.