Brest (; ) is a
port city in the
Finistère department,
Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after
Toulon. The city is located on the western edge of continental France. With 142,722 inhabitants in a 2007 census, Brest forms
Western Brittany's largest metropolitan area (with a population of 300,300 in total), ranking third behind only
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
and
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
in the whole of historic Brittany, and the
19th most populous city in France; moreover, Brest provides services to the one million inhabitants of Western Brittany. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the ''préfecture'' (regional capital) of the department is the much smaller
Quimper.
During the
Middle Ages, the history of Brest was the history of its
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
. Then
Richelieu
Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to:
People
* Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister
* Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal
* Louis François Armand ...
made it a
military harbour in 1631.
Brest grew around its
arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
until the second part of the 20th century. Heavily damaged by the Allies' bombing raids during World War II, the city centre was completely rebuilt after the war.
At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the deindustrialization of the city was followed by the development of the
service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
. Nowadays, Brest is an important
university town with 23,000 students. Besides a multidisciplinary university, the
University of Western Brittany, Brest and its surrounding area possess several prestigious French elite schools such as ''
École Navale'' (the French Naval Academy), ''
Télécom Bretagne'' and the
Superior National School of Advanced Techniques of Brittany (ENSTA Bretagne, formerly ENSIETA). Brest is also an important research centre, mainly focused on the sea, with among others the largest
Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) centre, ''le Cedre'' (Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution) and the French Polar Institute.
Brest's history has since the 17th century been linked to the sea: the ''
Académie de Marine
The Royal Naval Academy of France (french: Académie royale de marine) was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy. This institutionalised an earlier initiative ...
'' (Naval Academy) was founded in 1752 in this city. The aircraft carrier was built there. Every four years, Brest hosts the international festival of the sea, boats and sailors: it is a meeting of old
rigging
Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...
s from around the world (''
Les Tonnerres de Brest'').
History
The name of the town is first recorded as ''Bresta''; it may derive from *''brigs'', a
Celtic word for "hill."
Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240, when
Harvey V, Lord of Léon
Herve V of Léon was the eldest son of Herve IV of Léon and his wife Maud of Poissy.
Life
After his father's death in c. 1290, Herve became Lord of Léon. His fief was the castle of La Roche-Maurice
La Roche-Maurice (; ) is a commune in ...
ceded it to
John I, Duke of Brittany
John I ( br, Yann, french: Jean; c. 1217/12188 October 1286), known as John the Red due to the colour of his beard, was Duke of Brittany from 1221 to his death and 2nd Earl of Richmond in 1268.
John was the eldest of three children born to Duche ...
. In 1342
John IV, Duke of Brittany surrendered Brest to the English, in whose possession it was to remain until 1397.
This was strategically important to the English as it helped protect their communication with
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
.
The importance of Brest in
medieval times was great enough to give rise to the saying, "He is not the Duke of Brittany who is not the Lord of Brest." With the marriage of
Francis I of France to
Claude Claude may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Claude (surname), a list of people
* Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...
, the daughter of
Anne of Brittany
Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...
, the definitive overlordship of Brest – together with the rest of the duchy – passed to the
French crown in 1491.
The advantages of Brest's situation as a seaport town were first recognized by
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
, who in 1631 constructed a harbour with wooden
wharves. This soon became a base for the
French Navy.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
, finance minister under
Louis XIV, rebuilt the wharves in masonry and otherwise improved the harbour. Fortifications by
Vauban (1633–1707) followed in 1680–1688. These fortifications, and with them the naval importance of the town, were to continue to develop throughout the 18th century.
In 1694, an English squadron under
Lord Berkeley was soundly defeated in its
attack on Brest.
In 1917, during the
First World War, Brest was used as the disembarking port for many of the troops coming from the United States. Thousands of such men came through the port on their way to the front lines. The
United States Navy established a
naval air station on 13 February 1918 to operate
seaplanes. The base closed shortly after the
Armistice of 11 November 1918.
In the
Second World War, the
Germans maintained a large
U-boat submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
base at Brest. Despite being within range of RAF bombers, it was also a base for some of the German surface fleet, giving repair facilities and direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. For much of 1941, , and were under repair in the dockyards. The repair yard facilities for both submarines and surface vessels were staffed by both German and French workers, with the latter forming the major part of the workforce; huge reliance was made on this French component.
In 1944, after the Allied
invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
, the city was almost totally destroyed during the
Battle for Brest, with only a tiny number of buildings left standing. After the war, the
West German government paid several billion
Deutschmarks in
reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
* War reparations
** World War I reparations, made from ...
to the homeless and destitute civilians of Brest in compensation for the destruction of their city. Large parts of today's rebuilt city consist of utilitarian
granite and concrete buildings. The French naval base now houses the
Brest Naval Training Centre.
During the postwar
Nuremberg Trials, a memorandum of German admiral and chief of staff
Kurt Fricke from 1940 was given in evidence which suggested that the town should perhaps serve as a German enclave after the war.
In 1972, the French Navy opened its
nuclear weapon-submarine (deterrence) base at
Île Longue in the ''Rade de Brest'' (Brest
roadstead
A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...
). This continues to be an important base for the French nuclear-armed
ballistic missile submarines.
Coat of arms
The meaning of the
coat of arms of Brest is half France (
the three fleurs-de-lis of the former kingdom of France), half Brittany (
''semé d'hermine'' of Brittany). These arms were used for the first time in a register of deliberations of the city council dated the 15 July 1683.
[Les Armoiries de Brest](_blank)
Sights
''
Pont de Recouvrance'' (Recouvrance Bridge, is a massive drawbridge 64 m/210 ft high), the
military arsenal and the
''rue de Siam'' (Siam Street) are other sights. The
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
and the
Tanguy tower are the oldest monuments of Brest.
The ''Musée de la Tour Tanguy'', in the Tanguy tower, houses a collection of
diorama
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...
s that depict the city of Brest on the eve of World War II. The ''
Musée national de la Marine de Brest'', housed in the ancient castle, contains exhibits which outline Brest's maritime tradition, as well as an aquarium, the Océanopolis marine centre. The city also has a notable
botanical garden specializing in
endangered species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
, the ''
Conservatoire botanique national de Brest'', as well as the ''
''.
The city of Brest does not have much remaining historical architecture, apart from a few select monuments such as the castle and the Tanguy tower. This is due to heavy bombing by the Allies during World War II, in an attempt to destroy the
submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.
Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...
the Germans had built in the harbour. In the 1950s, the town was hastily rebuilt using a large amount of concrete. In
Recouvrance, the west bank of the town, there remains an authentic street of the 17th century, Saint-Malo Street.
A few kilometres out of town, there are landscapes, from sandy beaches to
grotto
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
s to tall
granite cliffs.
Sunbathing,
windsurfing,
yachting and fishing are enjoyed in the area. Brest was an important warship-producing port during the
Napoleonic wars. The naval port, which is in great part excavated in the rock, extends along both banks of the
Penfeld river.
File:Brest.jpg, The Tanguy tower hosts a museum of the history of Brest; in the background, the '' Pont de Recouvrance'' (Recouvrance Bridge).
File:Brest chateau.jpg, The castle hosts the '' Musée national de la Marine'' (National Navy Museum).
File:Stangalar2.JPG, the '' conservatoire botanique national'' in autumn
File:Saint-Sauveur-clocher.jpg, Saint-Sauveur church in Recouvrance, designed by Amédée-François Frézier, the oldest church of Brest, built in 1750
File:Place liberté2 800x600.JPG, Monumental perspective from the ''Place de la Liberté'' opening to the '' rue de Siam'' (Siam Street), with the '' rade de Brest'' (Brest roadstead
A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...
) in the background, and on the right, the steeple of Saint-Louis church dominating the rebuilt centre of Brest
Geography
Brest is located amidst a dramatic landscape near the entrance of the natural ''
rade de Brest'' (Brest roadstead), at the west end of Brittany.
It is situated to the north of a magnificent landlocked bay, and occupies the slopes of two hills divided by the river Penfeld. The part of the town on the left bank is regarded as Brest proper, while the part on the right is known as
Recouvrance. There are also extensive suburbs to the east of the town. The hillsides are in some places so steep that the ascent from the lower to the upper town has to be effected by flights of steps and the second or third storey of one house is often on a level with the ground storey of the next.
Climate
Brest experiences an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Köppen: ''Cfb'') in its classic version (due to its location in the Atlantic Ocean and the sea intrusion) where it shares a considerable moderation shared with other places of the
Finistère and islands of Great Britain. As a result of the maritime moderation, Brest has very chilly summers by French standards and in spite of the low latitude, July afternoons are cooler than the norm in far northern Europe. Rainfall is common year-round, but snowfall is a rarer occurrence since temperatures usually remain several degrees above freezing during winter nights.
An extreme temperature of was recorded on
18 July 2022.
Population
In 1945 Brest absorbed three neighbouring communes.
[ The population data for 1936 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1945 borders.
]
Transport
The railway station of Brest, Gare de Brest
Brest station (French: ''Gare de Brest'') is the railway station serving Brest, France. It is the western terminus of the Paris–Brest railway. The new station, built above the town's harbour in 1932 on the site of its 1865 predecessor, includes ...
, is linked to Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
and Paris and provides services to other stations in Brittany as well. TGV trains to Paris take approximately three hours and forty minutes to reach the capital.
A new 28 stop, tram line connecting Porte de Plouzané in the west with Porte de Gouesnou and Porte de Guipavas northeast of the city centre opened in June 2012.
Brest international airport, Brest Bretagne Airport, is mainly linked to Paris, London, Nice, Lyon, Dublin. The primary operator is Air France (via its subsidiary HOP!). Brest international airport is the main airport of the region of Brittany
Brittany (french: Bretagne ; br, Breizh ); Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is the westernmost regions of France, region of Metropolitan France. It covers about four fifths of the territory of the historic province of Brittany. Its capit ...
in terms passager traffic with 45% of this traffic of the region, representing 919,404 passengers in 2010. A new terminal has been in service since 12 December 2007 and can accommodate up to 1.8 million passengers annually.
The harbour of Brest is mainly dedicated to bulk, hydrocarbon and freight container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...
s. The harbour's facilities can accommodate the largest modern ships. A cruise ship port is also located in Brest, near the city centre.
Economy
Due to its location, Brest is regarded as the first French port that can be accessed from the Americas. Shipping is big business, although Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
and Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.
The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...
offer much larger docks and attract more of the larger vessels. Brest has the ninth French commercial harbour including ship repairs and maintenance. The protected location of Brest means that its harbour is ideal to receive any type of ship, from the smallest dinghy to the biggest aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
( has visited a few times). Naval construction is also an important activity: for example, the was built by Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) in Brest.
Despite its image of an industrialised city whose activity depends mainly on military order, the service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
represents 75% of the economic activity. The importance of the service sector is still increasing while industrialised activity is decaying, explaining the unchanged rate of working-class in Brest. Brest also hosts headquarters for many subsidiaries like the banking group Arkéa. Research and conception is taking an increasing importance. Brest claims to be the largest European centre for sciences and techniques linked to the sea: 60% of the French research in the maritime field is based in Brest.
Administration
Mayors
*since 2001: François Cuillandre
*1989–2001: Pierre Maille
Pierre Maille (born 14 June 1947) is a French politician.
Maille was Mayor of Brest from 1982 to 1983, succeeding Francis Le Blé, who died in office in 1982,(27 April 2010)D'Alex à Zorro, tout sur le Stade brestois 2009-2010 ''maville.com'' ...
(2nd and 3rd terms)
*1985–1989: Georges Kerbrat
*1983–1985: Jacques Berthelot
*1982–1983: Pierre Maille
Pierre Maille (born 14 June 1947) is a French politician.
Maille was Mayor of Brest from 1982 to 1983, succeeding Francis Le Blé, who died in office in 1982,(27 April 2010)D'Alex à Zorro, tout sur le Stade brestois 2009-2010 ''maville.com'' ...
*1977–1982: Francis Le Blé
*1973–1977: Eugène Berest
*1959–1973: Georges Lombard
*1958–1959: Auguste Kervern
*1954–1958: Yves Jaouen
*1954–1954: Lucien Chaix
*1953–1954: Yves Jaouen
*1947–1953: Alfred Pierre Marie Chupin
Alfred Pierre Marie Chupin (13 August 1916 – 26 July 2021) was a French politician.
Biography
The son of a trader in Brest, Chupin trained as an engineer and became a pilot in the French Air Force. He owned a plumbing and heating business prio ...
*1945–1947: Jules Lullien
*1944–1945: Jules Lullien
*1942–1944: Victor Eusen
*1929–1941: Victor Le Gorgeu
*1921–1929: Léon Nardon
*1920–1921: Hippolyte Masson
*1919–1920: Louis Léon Nardon
*1912–1919: Hippolyte Masson
*1908–1912: Louis Arthur Delobeau
*1904–1908: Victor Marie Aubert
*1900–1904: Charles Berger
Breton language
Breton is not commonly spoken in the city of Brest, which was the only French-speaking city in western Brittany before the 1789 French Revolution, despite the surrounding countryside being fully Breton-speaking at that time. Like other French minority languages, Breton does not have any official language status in France.
The municipality launched a linguistic plan to revive Breton as a language through '' Ya d'ar brezhoneg'' on 16 June 2006. In 2008, 1.94% of primary-school children attended French-Breton bilingual Diwan schools. Besides bilingual schools, the Breton language is also taught in some schools and universities.
The association ''Sked'' federates all Breton cultural activities.
Culture
The city is host to several events to celebrate its long maritime history. The largest of these is held every four years, when the town organises a tall ship
A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...
meeting. The last such tall ship event was "Les Tonnerres de Brest 2016". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the next event is planned for 2022.
Brest also hosts an annual short film festival called " Brest European Short Film Festival". The city was the setting for the 1982 art film '' Querelle'', directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, itself based on the 1947 novel ''Querelle de Brest
''Querelle of Brest'' (french: Querelle de Brest) is a novel by the French writer Jean Genet. It was written mostly in 1945 and first published anonymously in 1947, limited to 460 numbered copies, with illustrations by Jean Cocteau.White, Edmund. ...
'' by Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
.
Cuisine
Brittany's most famous local delicacy, the Breton crêpe, is the main culinary feature apart from seafood. There are many crêpe restaurants (called ''crêperies''). Breton apple cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
is often featured.
Traditional biscuits include ''Traou Mad
Traou Mad is a French delicacy produced in Pont-Aven, Brittany. It is a full fat butter cookie served at any time. ''Traoù Mat'' (in peurunvan orthography) stands for ''Good Things'' in Breton language, Breton.
Traou Mad is a registered trademark ...
'', which is a full-fat butter biscuit similar to Scottish shortbread.
Sport
Brest has held the Grands Départs of the Tour de France on three occasions, in 1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
, 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
and 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. The 2021 Tour de France
The 2021 Tour de France was the 108th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three grand tours. Originally planned for the Danish capital of Copenhagen, the start of the 2021 Tour (known as the ) was transferred to Brest because of the ...
is due to start from Brest on 26 June 2021. Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de France
The 2018 Tour de France was the 105th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 7 July in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, in western France, and concluding on 29 July with the ...
departed from Brest. Since 1901 Brest has served as the midpoint for the bicycle endurance event, Paris–Brest–Paris
Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP) is a long-distance cycling event. It was originally a 1,200 km () bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back to Paris in 1891. The last time it was run as a race was 1951. The most recent edition of PBP was held on 18 ...
.
Brest is home to Stade Brestois 29
Stade Brestois 29 or simply Brest, is a French football club based in Brest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903.
In its early years, the club made a rapid rise ...
, a football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team in Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
. the top tier of the French football league system,
Brest is also home to Brest Albatros Hockey, an ice hockey team in Ligue Magnus, and won the league title in the 1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
and 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
.
In 2002 the Brest throwball team Brest LC reached the 1st division of French throwball but were subsequently relegated due to financial difficulty. The club has recently adopted an Irish influenced infrastructure.
Research and education
Primarily the research centre of western Brittany, Brest and its surrounding area is the home of several research and elite educational establishments:
* a multidisciplinary university, '' Université de Bretagne Occidentale'' (UBO
* Brest has also several ''grandes écoles Grandes may refer to:
* Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician
*Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia
* Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...
'' and other undergraduate or graduate schools:
** '' École nationale d'ingénieurs de Brest'' (ENIB) (in Plouzané
Plouzané () is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
History
The shores south of Plouzané are in a strategic location for the defense of the Goulet de Brest strait and were fortified by Sébastien Le Pr ...
next to Brest
** '' Télécom Bretagne'' (ENST Bretagne) (in Plouzané
Plouzané () is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
History
The shores south of Plouzané are in a strategic location for the defense of the Goulet de Brest strait and were fortified by Sébastien Le Pr ...
next to Brest
** '' École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées de Bretagne'' (ENSTA Bretagne, formerly ENSIETA
** '' ISEN, Institut supérieur de l'électronique et du numérique de Brest'' (ISEN Brest
** ESC Bretagne Brest, Brest Business School (ESC Bretagne Brest
** '' École Navale'' (French Naval Academy) (in Lanvéoc
Lanvéoc (; br, Lañveog) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. The École Navale, the French naval academy, is located here.
Climate
Lanvéoc has a oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification ...
next to Brest
** To be noted that Brest is one of the hosts for the Indiana University Honors Foreign Language Program
* Brest has several research organisations:
** the largest Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) centre (in Plouzané next to Brest); about 1000 people work there.
** ''Le Cedre'' (Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution)
** the French Polar Institute (in Plouzané next to Brest)
** The Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM)
Notable people
Brest was the birthplace of:
* Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec (1748–1792), navigator
* Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois (1761–1848), admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
* Antoinette Lemonnier (1787–1866), operatic soprano
* Prosper Garnot
Prosper Garnot (13 January 1794 – 8 October 1838) was a French surgeon and naturalist.
Garnot was born at Brest. He was an assistant surgeon under Louis Isidore Duperrey on ''La Coquille'' during its circumnavigation of the globe (1822–1825). ...
(1794–1838), surgeon and naturalist
* Léon Moreau
Léon Moreau (13 July 1870 – 11 April 1946) was a French/Breton composer, winner of the second prize for composition in the Prix de Rome of 1899.
Born in Brest, he was active as a piano teacher and composer in Brest and Paris. A member of the ...
(1870–1946), composer
* Victor Segalen (1878–1919), naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer and poet
* Jean Cras
Jean Émile Paul Cras (; 22 May 1879 – 14 September 1932) was a 20th-century French composer and career naval officer. His musical compositions were inspired by his native Brittany, his travels to Africa, and most of all, by his sea ...
(1879–1932), French composer and career naval officer
* Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu (1889–1964), priest, diplomat and French Navy officer and admiral
* (1889–1962), composer and lyricist
* Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008), writer and filmmaker
* Pierre Brice
Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels.
Life and films
Brice was born in Brest, Brit ...
(1929–2015), actor
* Béatrice Dalle
Béatrice Dalle (née Cabarrou; December 19, 1964) is a French actress.
Biography
Dalle was born in Brest, Finistère, France, as Béatrice Cabarrou. In 1985, she married the painter Jean-François Dalle, whom she divorced in 1988.
Working as ...
(born 1964), actress
* Christophe Miossec (born 1964), singer
* Benoît Hamon (born 1967), MEP and French presidential candidate, Parti Socialiste, 2017
* Yann Tiersen (born 1970), minimalist multi instrumentalist/musician
* Sébastien Flute (born 1972), Olympic gold medalist
* Benoît Menut
Benoît Menut born in Brest (1977) is a French composer of contemporary music.
Publications
* Joseph-Guy Ropartz, with Mathieu Ferey, 2005, Éditions Papillon
Discography
* ''Monologue(s)'': ''Trio In memoriam Olivier Greif; Le baiser de ma ...
(born 1977), composer
* Yohann Boulic
Yohann Boulic (born May 5, 1978 in Brest) is a French professional footballer. He currently plays in the Championnat de France amateur 2 for Quimper Cornouaille FC.
He played on the professional level in Ligue 2 for Stade Brestois 29.
Club
Bo ...
(born 1978), footballer
* Larsen Touré
Larsen Touré (born 20 July 1984) is a French-born Guinean professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for SC Schiltigheim. He has represented the Guinea national team at international level.
Club career
Touré was born in Brest, ...
(born 1984), footballer (naturalized Guinean)
* Gonzalo Higuaín (born 1987), footballer (naturalized Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
)
* Laury Thilleman (born 1991), Miss France 2011
Miss France 2011, the 64th Miss France pageant was held on 4 December 2010 at Zénith de Caen in Caen. Laury Thilleman of Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, histo ...
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Brest is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:[Les jumelages de Brest](_blank)
* Denver, Colorado, United States (1948)
* Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
, Devon, England (1963)
* Kiel, Germany (1964)
* Taranto, Italy (1964)
* Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Kantō, Japan (1970)
* Dún Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland (1984)
* Cádiz, Spain (1986)
* Saponé, Burkina Faso (1989)
* Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
, Romania (1993)
* Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, China (2006)
* Brest, Belarus (2012)
Friendly relationship
Brest has an official friendly relationship (''protocole d'amitié'') with:
* Bejaïa, Algeria (1995)
See also
* Battle for Brest
* Calvary at Plougastel-Daoulas
* Communes of the Finistère department
*Questel Fort
Questel Fort () is a redoubt in Brest, France, Brest. It is a fortified structure of the Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Vauban type. It forms a closed square, with the main entry point placed on the least exposed side. This large quadrangle, 10 ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
Aerial photos of the whole city and urban community
Brest Airport Travel Guide
Interactive City Map of Brest
Official website of Brest town hall (with webcam)
Satellite picture by Google Maps
Brest Cultural Heritage
Brest improvisation theatre
Wiki-Brest
a community wiki containing articles about the city (in French).
{{Authority control
Cities in France
Communes of Finistère
Populated coastal places in France
Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast
Subprefectures in France
Osismii
Brest