Centuries-Old Thatched Cottages of Kerascoët in France

Kerascoët, one of the oldest villages in Brittany, France, is well-known for its unique thatched cottage architecture. The houses there are stone-walled with thatched roofs typical of 15th-century Breton villages—classic and beautiful. This village, which contains picturesque houses, has become a tourist destination.

A unique thatched cottage architecture (cr: Kévin, @mskevin on Instagram)

The use of granite as the main structure of a house can be traced back to the village conditions in the 18th century. At that time, the Névez region experienced an unprecedented demographic explosion. The need for food is increasing, but farmers are hampered by large granite blocks in the middle of their fields. It cost a lot of money to get stonecutters to remove it, so the granite was eventually taken as wages by sailors who provided assistance.

The row of thatched houses in Kerascoët (cr: deconcarneauapontaven.com)

Granite as the main structure (cr: deconcarneauapontaven.com)

They used these granite pieces as construction materials, becoming vertical elements of walls that extend from floor to ceiling. These houses often have small openings—doors and windows—with red or blue shutters. In addition, the rough-cut granite also stood as a load-bearing wall in the lean-to buildings with a height of almost 2.5 m and a width of 40 to 50 cm. Meanwhile, smaller stones are used as fences.

The small openings with blue shutters (cr: deconcarneauapontaven.com)

Ancient village (cr: deconcarneauapontaven.com)

These granite structures were covered with thatched roofs, which were commonly used until the 19th century because they provided good insulation in all seasons. One of the backdraws of thatched roofs is that they have a limited lifespan so they must be replaced every twenty or thirty years. In addition, this type of roof is also prone to fires, so over time, it started to be left.

Kerascoët as a historical tourism spot (cr: i.pinimg.com)

The row of well-preserved old houses takes visitors back in time by walking through the centuries-old architecture of French villages.