ÃŽle-Grande (''Enez-Veur'' in
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
) is an island on the north coast of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
(France), linked to the mainland by a road. Its size is about 2 km by 1 km, and there is a village on the island. It is in the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of
Pleumeur-Bodou
Pleumeur-Bodou (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Pleumeur-Bodou are called ''pleumeurois'' in French.
Sister town
Pleuveur-Bodoù is twinned with Crosshaven, a vil ...
(department of
Côtes-d'Armor
The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582. ).
A smaller island,
ÃŽle Aganton
Île Aganton is an island on the north coast of Brittany (France), adjacent to Île-Grande which is to the east. Its size is about 1 km west to east, and it has a maximum width of about 500 m.[Trébeurden
Trébeurden (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Trébeurden are called ''trébeurdinais'' in French.
International relations
Trébeurden is twinned with:
* Vâlcelele ...]
lies to the south-west, and
Trégastel
Trégastel (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of the region of Brittany in northwestern France.
Trégastel is situated between Perros-Guirec and Pleumeur-Bodou. Lannion is 10 kilometres away.
Population
Inhabitants of Trégas ...
to the east.
Prehistory
In the centre of the island is a prehistoric site, an ''allée couverte'' (
gallery grave
A gallery grave is a form of megalithic tomb built primarily during the Neolithic Age in Europe in which the main gallery of the tomb is entered without first passing through an antechamber or hallway. There are at least four major types of galler ...
). The site is known as ''Ty-Lia'' or ''Ty-ar-C'horrandoned''. Constructed in
neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
times, its size is about 9 metres by 1.5 metres; several upright stones support two large stone slabs.
Literary associations
The writer
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
stayed at a house in ÃŽle-Grande from 7 April to 14 August 1896, during his honeymoon. He worked there on his novel ''
The Rescue''. His short story "
The Idiots
''The Idiots'' ( da, Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Tr ...
" was set in the area, and includes many details observed during his stay there; granite-quarrying is mentioned, which was important for the island at that time.
Joseph Conrad à Lannion et l’Ile grande
''Terres d'écrivains'', accessed 14 August 2015.
Gallery
File:Ile Grande.- Porz Gelen 2.jpg, Porz Gelen, on the north-east of the island
File:L' Ile grande, l'Allée couverte de Tylia..jpg, The gallery grave
File:L' Ile grande, les anciennes carrières.jpg, An old quarry
File:L' Ile grande, l'Eglise.jpg, St Mark's Church
File:Le Corbeau, Ile Grande, Pleumeur Bodou (3).JPG, ''Le Corbeau'', seen from the north of the island
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ile-Grande
Islands of Brittany
Landforms of Côtes-d'Armor