Gallo
Gallo may refer to:
*Related to Gaul:
** Gallo-Roman culture
**Gallo language, a regional language of France
**Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages
**Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...
sub-prefecture
A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province.
Albania
There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...
of the
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the region 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 ...
in northwestern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
As of 2017, Fougères had 20,418 inhabitants. The Fougères area comprises approximately 88,000 inhabitants and is currently growing, unlike the town centre.
History
Toponymy
Fougères is a town on the edge of Brittany,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
and
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and is named after a
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
(see also '' fougère''), or from ''fous'' which means ''fossé'' ("gap").
The town of Fougères is mentioned in the chorus of the song
La Blanche Hermine
''La Blanche Hermine'' ( French for "The White Ermine") is a 1970 song by French singer Gilles Servat with lyrics affirming the Breton identity. It was first published on the eponymous album from 1971, which was certified gold. Calling for an arm ...
by Gilles Servat. The author uses it as a symbol of the Breton resistance where it is adjacent to the town of Clisson in the
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...
.
Fougères is historically, since the arrival of Latin in Armorica, a region where
Gallo
Gallo may refer to:
*Related to Gaul:
** Gallo-Roman culture
**Gallo language, a regional language of France
**Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages
**Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...
is spoken. In Gallo, Fougères translates to ''Foujerr'' while its
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 ...
name is ''Felger''. Entry signs to the agglomeration have carried the Breton name for several years. One of the two bagad of the city takes this name: and the Diwan school, opened in 2013, is also called ''Skol Diwan bro Felger''.
Prehistory
The presence of many
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
ic monuments, particularly in the , suggests that the area was already inhabited in the
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 ...
era (5000 to 2000 years BC).
Middle Ages
The creation of Fougères dates back to the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. The
Château de Fougères
The Château de Fougères is a castle in the ''commune'' of Fougères in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''département'' of France. The castle was built on a naturally protected site, a rock emerging from a swamp surrounded by a loop of the Nançon river act ...
was first mentioned around the end of the 10th century. At the time, it was a simple wooden fortification located on a rocky ridge, whose position favourably dominated the Valley and the surrounding marshes. Fougères was at the crossing of two Roman roads, one from
Chartres
Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...
Avranches
Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''.
History
By the end of the Roman period, t ...
to
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 ...
. From the 12th century, the population moved away from the shore of the Nançon and the city grew in size, divided into two parishes: Saint-Sulpice for the lower town and Saint-Léonard for the upper town. Since the Middle Ages, crafts developed around
tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
,
weavers
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainment
...
and drapers in the lower town.
Built in the 11th century by the lords of Fougères, the first fortification, defended by Raoul II (1130–1194), was taken by
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
in 1166 and destroyed. Raoul II stubbornly rebuilt a more imposing structure and it became a stronghold defending the borders of Brittany from
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
to Nantes. However, the geographical position and the interests of the lords of Fougères often tipped in favour of the Kingdom of France. When Raoul III offered its possession to
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
, the Breton prince Pierre Mauclerc captured the city in 1231, which was re-captured by the king. The daughter of Raoul III, Jeanne de Fougères, who married
Hugh XII of Lusignan Hugh XII de Lusignan, Hugh VII of La Marche or Hugh III of Angoulême (c. 1235/1240 – after 25 August 1270). He was the son of Hugh XI of Lusignan and Yolande of Brittany. He succeeded his father as seigneur of Lusignan, Couhé, and Peyrat, Count ...
, undertook new fortification work and beautified the city. The end of the 13th century was a period of peace and prosperity for Fougères.
In 1307,
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
bought the domain but the Kingdom of France was not interested and did not maintain it. After various fights and reversals of alliances, Bertrand du Guesclin entered in 1373, but the situation did not improve. Abandoned and ravaged by pillaging, the population of Fougères requested assistance from the
Duchy of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and the town joined the duchy in 1428, sold by
John II of Alençon
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
. However, in 1449, a man named
François de Surienne
François de Surienne ( – 8 April 1462) was a Spanish mercenary and engineer, a specialist in fortification and artillery, who was active in Normandy and Burgundy in the 15th century. He was lord of Pisy and of Châtel-Gérard as well as ''bai ...
mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
at the service of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, captured and sacked the town in an attempt to force
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 ...
to ally with
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. There were many massacres, which caused a reaction from
Francis I, Duke of Brittany
Francis I (in Breton Fransez I, in French François I) (11 May 1414 – 17 July 1450), was Duke of Brittany, Count of Montfort and titular Earl of Richmond, from 29 August 1442 to his death. He was born in Vannes, the son of John V, Duke of Bri ...
, determined to get rid of the English. The Duke of Brittany allied with
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...
and attacked the south of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, laying siege to Fougères. Surienne and his men were, however, able to resist and surrendered on the condition of being able to walk free. This episode announced the Battle of Formigny. Finally, the French general
La Trémoille
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
In the 16th century, the town lost its defensive role. Crafts continued to develop, including the craft of tin (''in Rue de la Pinterie''). During the
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
, the town remained Catholic while Vitré was affected by clashes with the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s.
Until 1775, Fougères was barely mentioned. The Marquis de La Rouërie, a young man of high standing, then moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to fight with American insurgents. Back in France, after having been imprisoned for a month for leading the , he was greeted as a hero in his homeland.
French Revolution
During the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the province of Brittany disappeared along with its privileges. The first changes were originally welcomed by the population. However, over time the Civil Constitution of the Clergy of the priests and the
Levée en masse
''Levée en masse'' ( or, in English, "mass levy") is a French term used for a policy of mass national conscription, often in the face of invasion.
The concept originated during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the period followi ...
triggered a rebellion, the Chouannerie. In 1793, during the
Virée de Galerne
The Virée de Galerne was a military operation of the War in the Vendée during the French Revolutionary Wars across Brittany and Normandy. It takes its name from French ''virée'' (turn) and Breton ''gwalarn'' (northwest wind).
It concerns th ...
Chouan
Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...
s seized the town which was taken a few weeks later by the Republicans. For eight years, the town and its region passed from hand to hand, with many massacres and looting occurring. The leader of the Chouans of the Fougères area was the young general Aimé du Boisguy.
The Organization of the reflected a favourable feeling from the population to the new regime:
* The victories of the Republican armies were celebrated, including the Siege of Toulon against the Anglo-royalists
* The feast of 26 messidor (14 July), established in 1794, was celebrated in Fougères
* The anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI, accompanied by an and anarchy, was celebrated (from 1795)
*Other Republican festivals followed, such as the anniversary of the Republic up to the year VIII (22 September, 1
Vendémiaire
Vendémiaire () was the first month in the French Republican calendar. The month was named after the Occitan word ''vendemiaire'' (grape harvester).
Vendémiaire was the first month of the autumn quarter (''mois d'automne''). It started on the ...
), the celebration of youth (10 Germinal, on 30 March), and the Festival of Recognition (the 10 prairial)Dubreuil, Fêtes…, p. 406 or the Festival of Agriculture (the 10 messidor).
20th century
Early 20th century industry
Little by little, industry replaced crafts and Fougères saw the establishment of shoe manufacturers. In the winter of 1906–07, workers went on strike in the shoe factories and in response, managers organised a
lockout
Lockout may refer to:
* Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage
**Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914
* Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues
**MLB lockout, lock ...
. Solidarity was very strong in the city ("Communist" soups to feed the strikers without family income) but also beyond: Children were welcomed by Rennes and Parisian families during conflicts. Jean Jaurès came to Fougères to support the movement.
Glassware production had also existed in the Fougères area since the arrival of Italian glass masters in the 16th and 17th centuries. The installation of this industry is explained by the presence of a sandy soil (since sand is the main component of glass), a forest (since sand needs to be melted) and
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s (soda-rich plants). A glass factory existed on the outskirts of the town (Laignelet), which flourished in the 19th century. However, following social demands in 1921, religious unionism was mobilised and a new Fougères glass factory: ''La Cristallerie Fougeraise'', was founded by , as well as a working town later in 1922, designed by the architect , to accommodate staff.
The 20th century was marked by the terrible British and American bombing on 8 June 1944, during
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, which killed 300 people, injured twice as many, and destroyed most of the public and industrial facilities. Since then, the town has largely been open to tourism, thanks to its medieval castle and its historic districts. From the 1970s, industry has been diverse: food processing, furniture, mechanical, glass, electronics, computing, and robotics.
Fougères also organises an important cattle market.
World War I
640 names are engraved in a monument to commemorate the death of soldiers from Fougères that fought for France during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Fougères also welcomed many war wounded soldiers in its hospital and the monument mention 148 additional names of soldiers that died in Fougères but were not originating from the city.
Recent sports events
On 11 July 2013, Fougères hosted the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
as a departure town. When the Tour de France returned on 10 July 2015, Fougères was the finish town for stage 7 (Livarot-Fougères). It was a stage victory for the British cyclist Mark Cavendish. Cyclism came back to the town on 4 July 2016, where Fougères was a race-through town in the stage Granville-Angers.
Fougères is also one of the control points for the
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 ...
(PBP) bicycle event. PBP is an ultra-marathon event where cyclists are expected to complete the course in under 90 hours, and occurs the year before a Summer Olympic year. Fougères is a control point both out bound to Brest as well as back to Paris.
Now,
Joueur du grenier
Le Joueur du Grenier (literally "The Attic Gamer") is the main character and title of a web television series of farcical retrogaming video reviews created by French filmmakers Frédéric Molas and Sébastien Rassiat in 2009, starring Frédéric M ...
is living here.
Emblems
Heraldry
Visual identity (logo)
Pays de Fougères
Located northeast of
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.
, the has 83,000 inhabitants. This population continues to grow and represents 11.77% of the population of the Department covering 977,449 inhabitants and seven Pays. The Pays is composed of 58 communes, divided into five communities:
*
*
*
*
*
Château de Fougères
The Château de Fougères is a castle in the ''commune'' of Fougères in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''département'' of France. The castle was built on a naturally protected site, a rock emerging from a swamp surrounded by a loop of the Nançon river act ...
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
ledge, which was part of the
Duchy of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
's ultimately unsuccessful defence against French aggression, and part of a tripartite with Vitré.
The castle is one of the most impressive French castles, occupying an area of , or even for some "the largest medieval fortress of Europe." It consists of three enclosures whose walls have been preserved. Although the seigniorial is ruined, the thirteen towers still rise with majesty. Some of these towers can be visited (the Hallay Tower and Tower of the Hague (12th century), Raoul Tower (15th century) and the
Mélusine
Mélusine () or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (much like a lamia or a mermaid). She is als ...
Tower, erected in 1242 by Hugues of Lusignan). At the entrance, is a triple
watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
. Access to the west curtain wall allows observation of the upper town ().
The castle and its surroundings has been classified as a historic monument by list of 1862, by order of 4 July 1928 and by order of 26 February 1953.
A representing the castle was issued on 18 January 1960.
The belfry
This was the first to be built in
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 ...
, in 1397, and also one of only three belfries in Brittany. The location serves as the centre of the weekend market. It symbolised the dynamism of a small-scale civil society seeking independence. Funded by local merchants, it allowed ordinary people access to timekeeping, previously the preserve of the church and nobility. Its architecture was inspired by the Flemish models which the drapers of Fougères discovered during their travels in Flanders. Engraved on the Bell is the inscription: ''In 1397 the market town of Fougères made me and my name is Roland Chapelle''.
The belfry was classified as a historical monument by Decree of 1 September 1922.
The Notre-Dame Gate
A sizable section of the town wall survives, stretching from the château in the lower town, up the hill to surround the upper town. Medieval citizens in the lower town were outside the fortifications and had to retreat into the fortress in times of trouble. The gate of the 15th century with a double drawbridge presents many defenses including moats, embrasures,
machicolation
A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...
s, etc., and a protective Virgin turned outwards. It is the only fortified town gate which is left.
The was listed a historical monument by Decree of 9 December 1946, with the south and west of the city walls.
The Saint-Sulpice Church
The dates in part from the 15th century. It was classified as a historical monument by Decree of 26 September 1910. There are two remarkable medieval altarpieces of monumental granite with carved decoration: The altarpiece of the Tanners and the altarpiece of Notre-Dame-des-Marais.
The Church of Saint-Léonard
The Church of Saint-Léonard also dates from the 15th century. It was listed a historical monument by Decree of 15 March 1949. Located at the top of the upper town, it offers a panoramic view of the city.
File:Eglise Saint Léonard à Fougères (35).jpg, The Church of Saint-Léonard at Fougères
File:Fougères (35) Église Saint-Léonard Flanc nord.jpg, The Church of Saint-Léonard, north side
File:Bretagne Ille Fougeres10 tango7174.jpg, Stained-glass windows of the Church of Saint-Léonard
Religious and civil heritage
File:Fougères - Hôtel de ville façade.jpg, Façade of the town hall
File:Fougères - Musée de la Villéon02.jpg, The museum of Emmanuel-de-la-Villéon
File:Couvent des Clarisses Urbanistes de Fougères 07.jpg, The convent of the Clarisses Urbanists
File:Hôtel La Belinaye.jpg, Belinaye Hotel
File:Fougères_-_théâtre_façade.jpg, Façade of the municipal theatre
* One part of the medieval fortifications, when the town was one of the strongest places on the Normandy frontier, is a 15th century gateway known as the Porte St Sulpice.
* The town hall was built in the 15th century. It was listed by order of 14 October 1926.
* The ; house porch built in the 16th century near the Saint-Léonard Church. It has been listed by order of 13 May 1929.
* The former , built in 1680 and partly destroyed by fire in 1794, now houses a cultural centre after being used as a prison and then as barracks. Scored by order of 15 July 1965.
* The , built in 1740, is the birthplace of the marquis Armand Tuffin de La Rouërie. It now houses the city court. Its front garden was listed by order of 3 February 1928.
* The , one of the last Italian theatres, built in 1888 by , listed by order of 1 June 1988; its façade was ranked by order of 1 March 1990.
The , place where the plot of the novel ''
Les Chouans
''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...
'' by de Balzac unravels.
* Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Rillé. Originally a collegiate church of Augustinian regular canons. It was founded in 1143 and in the seventeenth century became the Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève. It was rebuilt once between 1724 and 1750, and again in the 19th century. Of the former building, visible in its entirety on the 1756 plan, it remains the only stair tower topped by an imperial roof.
* Crystal glass factory built in 1922 by architect , restored, now houses administrative buildings.
*
*
* Hotel Marigny
Geography
Geology
Fougères is situated in the Cadomian chain. The oldest buildings use readily available stone: ''la cornéenne''. A
metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
, difficult to cut and of very different appearance, it is very solid. Later came the use of Louvigné
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
, which is more homogeneous. Most of the buildings of the town are built with these local materials. It took the arrival of the railway to import other stones (late 19th century). In military strategy, note that the castle is not on high, but on a deposit of ''la cornéenne'', which prevents the risk of attacks by mining and from underground.
Neighbouring communes
Location
Fougères is situated:
* from
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
* from
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 ...
* from
Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
* from
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast.
The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...
* from
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
*Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
*Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
**Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Brest, ...
* from
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 ...
* from
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Angers
* from
Laval
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
* from
Avranches
Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''.
History
By the end of the Roman period, t ...
* from
Alençon
Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people).
History
The name of Alençon is firs ...
Ashford Ashford may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Ashford, New South Wales
*Ashford, South Australia
*Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia
Ireland
*Ashford, County Wicklow
*Ashford Castle, County Galway
United Kingdom
* Ashford, Kent, a town
** ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, since 1967
These two towns have also been paired together since 1964.
*
Ouargaye
Ouargaye is a town located in the province of Koulpélogo in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Koulpélogo Province. Ouargaye is twinned with Fougères in Brittany, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country p ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
*
Śrem
Śrem (german: Schrimm) is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It has been in the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Poznań Voivodeship. As of 1995, the population of Śrem was 29,800.
Śrem i ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
Map of twin towns
Demography
Fougères is an industrial town and its typical demographic trends show very well. In the 1850s, the Brittany town was "moving in the manufacture of leather shoes to solve a crisis in the shoe industry." Success followed (the Cordier factory, for example) and Fougères saw its population increase by 124% from 9,344 inhabitants in 1856 to 20,952 in 1901, an increase of 11,608 people in less than 50 years (or more than the population of Vitré). At the beginning of the 20th century, Fougères became the capital of female footwear: ''"...more than 12,000 workers are distributed in 40 factories. In 1946, they manufacture 10.7% of French production for town and fancy use and 7% of work shoes"'' (Jérôme Cucarull). The crisis of the 1930s put what must be called an industrial district into difficulty, (Florent Le Bot). The mass-closure of SMEs and the concentration of employment into fewer companies (mainly Réhault, JB Martin and Morel et Gâté) provided a second wind to the Fougères industry (4,500 employees in 1966). The slowdown in growth during the second half of the 1960s, then the oil shock in 1973, caused a massacre in the footwear sector, particularly in February–March 1976, with the closure of three companies (Réhault, Morel et Gâté and Maunoir) and the dismissal of 1,140 employees. Since 2008 and the closure of Hasley, only the JB Martin company maintains the tradition of footwear production in Fougères (F. Le Bot, Laurence Héry).
In 2017, the commune had 20,418 inhabitants.
Since the end of World War II, the Trente Glorieuses boosted Fougères and the town increased its population until the 1975 census, arriving at almost 27,000 inhabitants.
By 1975, the town had suffered deeply from the oil crisis of 1973 and had been hit. The town was devastated by successive closures of factories from a crisis in the shoe sector, and refused the implantation of the Citroën company on its territory. The city struggled to recover and saw its population fall. The town went from a population of 26,610 in 1975 to 19,820 in 2008, a 26% decline in population in 34 years, although
suburbanisation
Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urb ...
offset this decline. Today the shoe sector has a few hundred jobs in the town: For example, the JB Martin company remains in Fougères, even though it has completely relocated its production to Asia. The town is growing in relation to Rennes since the inauguration of the ''Autoroute des Estuaires'' in 2000, which provides access to Rennes in 30 minutes, and has achieved a satisfactory development based on the growth of more diversified economic activities. More than of business parks, between the motorway and the city centre, give an economic attractiveness to the area.
The has 20 communes gathering 42,818 inhabitants (2009) including 46% of this population which is in the town centre. This makes the Fougères
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
the 164th of 241 large urban areas of France.
Inhabitants of Fougères are called ''Fougerais'' (male) and ''Fougeraise'' (female) in French.
Economy
There used to be an important shoemaking industry which is now almost extinct. There was also an important glass making industry.
During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, salt was heavily taxed and was imported from the Breton regions to the rest of France. Fougères was made a stronghold for "salt smugglers", who would creep along the wall of the city with confiscated salt, to sell in other regions. There is a communal garden in modern Fougères that commemorates this interesting and little-known fact.
Fougères was the seat of the until 2011, replaced since by a delegation from the after the merger of these.
In 2008, the major employers in Fougères were the Centre hospitalier de Fougères, -
Safran
Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA and ...
Group, , the town of Fougères, the Transports Gélin, Carrefour (Sofodis), the Association Jean-Baptiste Le Taillandier (AREP and the Notre-Dame-des-Marais, Edmond Michelet, Saint-Joseph, and Beau-site schools), the Jean Guéhenno city school, the , and Groom, as well as Otima.
Health
The central hospital of Pays de Fougères has just completed its renovation in 2013: It offers access to 13 care services, emergency, maternity, 16 specialties and 440 beds.
The elderly have two suitable facilities: The Henri Rebuffé sheltered housing, opened in 1987 in the former premises of the ''Morel et Gaté'' firm in the Bonabry quarter, and the Cotterêts sheltered housing.
Teaching
Higher education is present at Fougères, notably in the field of health:
* Institute of nursing training (hospital)
* Bertin school of hearing aids (CCI Fougères training hub)
* Fizeau graduate school of Optics (CCI Fougères training hub)
* Charles-Edouard-Guillaume School of Fine Watchmaking (CCI Fougères training hub)
* The Fougères CCI Training Institute
Planning and living environment
The town has 38 . Several of them (chestnut, tulip trees, sequoia, araucaria) are visible in a private park on boulevard Saint-Germain.
Quarters
In Fougères, five councils of quarters have been implemented:
* Centre-ville - Urbanistes
* Forairie - Cotterêts
* Paron-Orieres - Écartelée - Bonabry
* Montaubert - Rillé - Saint-Sulpice
* Madeleine - Sermandiere - Chattiere
Parks and green spaces
* The : Located in the upper town, it offers a remarkable panoramic view of the town, overlooking the castle and the medieval quarter around Saint-Sulpice church.
* The Val Nançon: A landscaped garden which offers many ambiances to be discovered and measured. An exhibition of contemporary works including of has been present since 2000.
* The Orières Park: Extended more than , the stream of Groslay joins a small pond and a playground. There is also a sporting course.
* René-Gallais Park: In front of the Juliette Drouet cultural centre.
* ''La carrière du Rocher Coupé'' he quarry of cut rock nicknamed the ''Carrière de Californie'' alifornia Quarry is an exceptional place to walk near the castle. A lake now replaces the former corneal shale operation which ran until 1999 and was acquired from the town. At depth, the lake is more a place of underwater diving training.
* Pedestrian paths marked out on the ground, allow for the discovery of the upper and the lower town, as well as its many monuments. The walk along the old railway, from the bridge of the slaughterhouse, leads to the forest of Fougères.
Flowers
Fougères participates in the contest of flowery cities and villages and has the label of four flowers (220 cities rewarded in France) and five in Ille-et-Vilaine for the quality of its planning and management of the landscaped areas. The signs are located at all entrances of the city.
Transport
Public transport
Fougères is also served by the Illenoo interurban network.
* Route 9a
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 ...
<>
Liffré
Liffré (, Gallo: ''Lifrei'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is in the center of the region.
Politics and administration
Population
Inhabitants of Liffré are called ''Liffréens'' in ...
Louvigné-du-Désert
Louvigné-du-Désert (; br, Louvigneg-an-Dezerzh) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Louvigné-du-Désert are called ''Louvignéens'' in French.
See also
*Communes of ...
<>
Saint-Georges-de-Reintembault
Saint-Georges-de-Reintembault (; br, Sant-Jord-Restembaod) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in northwestern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western E ...
Road
Fougères is served by the
A84 autoroute
The A84 autoroute is a major motorway in western France completed on 27 January 2003 to connect the cities of Rennes in Brittany with Caen in Lower Normandy. It is part of the ''Autoroute des Estuaires'' from Belgium to Spain, avoiding Paris.
Char ...
linking
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,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 ...
.
Railway
Since the cessation of regular passenger traffic between Fougères and Vitré in 1972, only freight and some special trains continued to circulate until 1991, when Fougères station closed. Subsequently, the building served as an
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
point of sale, until its demolition in 2001 to make way for a shopping complex in the town centre.
For some time, the idea of the return of trains to Fougères has risen in some minds, but eluded most of the local elected representatives.
Sports and recreation
In the former Réhault factory, renovated and renamed ''Les Ateliers'', near the glassworks factory, houses many associations as well as the Maison des associations. More than 100 associations are listed in the field of sport and recreation in particular.
The town will host the start of stage 7 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 ...
.
Sports facilities
The town has numerous municipal sports facilities to allow the people to practice their sport in the best possible conditions:
* Paron Sports Complex: Football fields and gymnasium
* Jean-Manfredi Sports Complex (Paron South): Football pitches, rugby, athletics track, velodrome, golf driving range, skating rings, tennis courts
* Berthelot Municipal Stadium: Football field
* Justy-Speker Gymnasium
* Madeleine Stadium: football pitch and athletics track
* The Cotterêts multi-sport gymnasium
* The Chattière Sports Centre gymnasium
Other complementing facilities:
* Aquatis aquatic centre, , inaugurated in May 2010: sports pool and ditch diving (Interior) and fun (Interior and exterior), aquaboggan, jacuzzi, Turkish bath, sauna, water games.
* Chênedet outdoor base (Fougères community) on the edge of the forest of Fougères, on the road to Louvigné-du-désert
* CRAPA (Rustic Circuit of physical activity) in Chenedet, near the pond
Private sports centres also exist:
* Montaubert equestrian centre
* Dojo of the Pays de Fougères
* Fougerais Tennis Club
* ''Salle de l'Espérance''
* Shooting range
Sports clubs
* AGL-Drapeau Football (since September 2011) is a new club born from the fusion of two historic associations of the town.
** ''AGL Football'' (until May 2011) which has been organising the Mondialito (mini World Cup bringing together 32 clubs from Brittany and neighbouring departments). These 32 clubs accounted for a weekend the 32 nations qualified for the world in Germany. They have also, for the occasion, worn the complete outfit of the country, offered by the AGL Football.
** ''Le Drapeau Football'' (until May 2011)
* ''AGL Handball''
* ''Pays de Fougères Basket'' basketball club
* ''Espérance Fougères Tennis & Tennis Club fougerais (TCF)''
* ''Fougères Volley Ball''
* ''Fougerais swimming club'' and water polo since the 1970s
* ''Fougères Rugby-Club-AGL''
* ''BCPF Badminton Club'' of the Pays de Fougères
* ''Vigilant Fougères athletics''
* ''ASPTT Fougères athletics''
International women's basketball tournament
Each year the town of Fougères invites four nations to participate in a basketball tournament. This tournament concerns U17 (under 17 years old) or U16 (under 16) female competitors. For three nights (Thursday, Friday and Saturday), each nation competes. In addition to the matches, a 3-point contest is held where the basketball players from each nation must score as many 3-point baskets as possible.
After three matches, the player who has scored the most points is titled "best scorer of the tournament".
The first tournament was in 1993, won by Russia. France has had the most wins (7) ahead of Russia (6) and Australia (3).
Culture
Fougères is a town of Art and History (''Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire''), a designation assigned to historic areas by the
French Ministry of Culture and Communication
The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...
. The town was involved in the rebellion against the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
in 1793. A skirmish near Fougères was the subject of the French painter
Julien Le Blant
Julien Le Blant (March 30, 1851 - February 28, 1936) was a French painter of military subjects who specialized in the scenes of the Vendée Wars of 1793–1799 that occurred during the French Revolution. Because he came from a family from the Bas ...
's (1851–1933) most famous work ''Le Bataillon Carré, Affaire de Fougères 1793'', which won a Gold Medal in the Exposition Universelle in 1889. This large work is now located in the United States, at the Lee Library on the campus of
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
.
L'association de formation et d'animation populaire
''L'association de formation et d'animation populaire'' he association of training and popular animation- or AFAP - is an association created in 1976 whose objective is "to bring together persons wishing to experience and develop traditional cultures in the pays de Fougères (music, dance and singing)." With nearly 200 members, it annually organises the Froger-Ferron prize, whose 25th anniversary in 2011 was marked by the presence of
Graeme Allwright
Graeme Allwright (7 November 1926 – 16 February 2020) was a New Zealand-born French singer and songwriter. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a French language interpreter of the songs of American and Canadian songwriters such as Leona ...
.
Bagad Bro Felger
The is an ensemble of traditional Breton music from the lands of Fougères, created in the autumn of 2002 at Fougères. A member of the federation, it currently competes in 2nd category of the and is present at many festivals in France.
Bagad Raoul II
Still active to date, it is the first bagad of the town and one of the first of Brittany, created in 1954, it quickly took the name of Raoul II in honour of the founder of the town of Fougeres.
Breton language
A Diwan school was opened in September 2013, where 14 children are enrolled, or 0.7% of the commune's primary schoolchildren.
Festival Voix de Pays
Every year in July, the Festival des Voix de Pays estival of the Country Voicesis held within the walls of the castle, organized by the Juliette-Drouet de Fougères Community cultural centre. This event has taken place for more than twenty years,
Media
The newspapers and journals of Fougères are:
* The daily edition of ''
Ouest-France
''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départments within the régio ...
'' of Fougères.
* The weekly (most 77,000 readers) appears every Thursday and speaks mainly of Fougères news but also of all of the Pays (
Antrain
Antrain (; br, Entraven; Gallo: ''Antrein'') is a former commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in the Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Val-Couesnon. Château de Bonnefontaine dates to the ...
,
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès (, pronounced as ''Saint-Brice-en-Cogles''; ) is a former commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Maen Roch.Louvigné-du-Désert
Louvigné-du-Désert (; br, Louvigneg-an-Dezerzh) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Louvigné-du-Désert are called ''Louvignéens'' in French.
See also
*Communes of ...
,
Liffré
Liffré (, Gallo: ''Lifrei'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is in the center of the region.
Politics and administration
Population
Inhabitants of Liffré are called ''Liffréens'' in ...
, etc.) and also of the Pays de Vitré, northern
Mayenne
Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...
, and the south of Manche. Founded in 1837, it has changed title several times to become ''La Chronique Républicaine'' in 1944.
* , a quarterly journal created in 1975, describes the history, economy, traditions, arts and literature of the . Published for thirty-two years, it disappeared in 2007.
There are local information magazines published on the metropolitan area, such as ''La Lettre'' of the .
Several free radio stations have existed in Fougères, namely:
* ''Radio des Marches de Bretagne'' (RMB): 20 December 1983 – 1986. Its premises were located at 41 Rue Nationale. Its slogan was ''la radio fruitée'' ruity radio At the end of the 1980s, the RMB team ended up split into two. One group decided to merge with RCV (Radio Cité Vitré) to give birth to FPB (Fréquence des Portes de Bretagne). The other team, meanwhile, created Galaxie.
* ''Fréquence des Portes de Bretagne'' (BPF): 1986–97
* ''Radio Mélusine'': 1984-1992: Its premises were located at 1 Rue Nationale, on the floor of the current Victor-Hugo theatre, abandoned at the time.
* ''Radio Galaxie'': 1986-1992: Its slogan was ''l'onde magique''
he magic wave
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
sung by the Costa brothers who made the broadcast design of the station.
* ''Radio Mélusine Galaxie'': 1992–97
* ''Radio des Trois Provinces'' - Crystal FM - Sensation
Aimé Picquet du Boisguy
Aimé Casimir Marie Picquet, chevalier du Boisguy, sometimes spelt Bois-Guy, (15 March 1776 – 25 October 1839), was a Breton chouan general during the French Revolution. He was nicknamed "the little general" by his men due to his youth. Still a ...
File:Jean-Ambroise Baston de La Riboisière.jpg,
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière, also Count de Lariboisière, was a general of artillery of the First French Empire. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and died of fatigue at Königsberg in East Prussia on 21 ...
Thérèse Pierre
Thérèse Madeleine Pierre (; 5 November 1908 – 26 October 1943) was a French Resistance fighter. She died after she was tortured by the German Gestapo.
Early life
Thérèse Pierre was born on 5 November 1908 in Épernay, Marne (departme ...
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 ...
professor, conducted a school in the 11th century.
* (1700–1779), religious.
*
Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen
Luc or LUC may refer to:
Places
* Luc, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, a commune
* Luc, Lozère, France, a commune
* Le Luc, France, a commune
* Luč, Baranja, Croatia, a settlement
People and fictional characters
* Luc (given name)
* Luc (surn ...
(1712–1790),
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
of the naval armies under
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
and
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
.
*
Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie
Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie (13 April 1751 – 30 January 1793), also known in the United States as "Colonel Armand," was a French cavalry officer who served under the American flag in the American War of Independence. He was pro ...
, known as "Colonel Armand" (1751–1793), general of the army during the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, head of the under the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
* (born 1751), magistrate and politician.
* Thérèse de Moëlien Trojolif (1759–1793), cousin of La Rouërie, Member of the Breton Association.
*
Aimé Picquet du Boisguy
Aimé Casimir Marie Picquet, chevalier du Boisguy, sometimes spelt Bois-Guy, (15 March 1776 – 25 October 1839), was a Breton chouan general during the French Revolution. He was nicknamed "the little general" by his men due to his youth. Still a ...
(1776–1839), general of the
Chouan
Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...
s of Fougères and Vitré,
Maréchal de camp
''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848.
The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...
under the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
.
* (1774–1804), Chouan officer, brother of the former.
* (1772–1795), Chouan officer, brother of previous.
*
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière, also Count de Lariboisière, was a general of artillery of the First French Empire. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and died of fatigue at Königsberg in East Prussia on 21 ...
(1759–1812):
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
and
baron of the Empire
As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution.
Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...
, inspector-general of
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
under the
First Empire First Empire may refer to:
*First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783
*First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018)
*First French Empire (1804–1814/1815)
* First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes use ...
.
* (1745–1823): general and baron of the Empire, , then under the First Empire.
* (1774–1860), general of the Empire, son of the former.
* Jean-Marie Bachelot La Pylaie (1786–1856), botanist and explorer.
* Juliette Drouet (1806–1883), actress, mistress of Victor Hugo. She gave her name to the Juliette-Drouet cultural centre.
* (1814–1876), poet.
* Pierre Heude (1836–1902), zoologist.
* (1851–1927), architect.
* (1852–1927), magistrate, vice-président of the Mixed Courts of Alexandria, Egypt 1884-1902.
* (1858–1944), painter.
*
Lucien Haudebert
Lucien Haudebert (10 April 1877 – 24 February 1963) was a French composer who strongly identified with his Breton heritage.
Life
Haudebert was born in Fougères, Département Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. He received his first music lessons at age ...
(1877–1963), composer
* The Abbé (1880–1933).
* (1882–1941), nationalist Breton and Breton language poet.
* (1885–1962), first French military parachutist.
*
Jean Guéhenno
Jean Guéhenno born Marcel-Jules-Marie Guéhenno (25 March 1890 – 22 September 1978) was a French essayist, writer and literary critic.
Life and career
Jean Guéhenno, writer and educator, was a prominent contributor to the NRF. He was edito ...
(1890–1978), writer, journalist and academic. He has given his name to two public schools.
* (1891–1956), poet.
* (1901–1940), professional football player.
*
Thérèse Pierre
Thérèse Madeleine Pierre (; 5 November 1908 – 26 October 1943) was a French Resistance fighter. She died after she was tortured by the German Gestapo.
Early life
Thérèse Pierre was born on 5 November 1908 in Épernay, Marne (departme ...
(1908–1943), resistant, responsible for the Arrondissement of Fougères where it participated actively in the Organization of the , she was captured by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
and killed at the in Rennes. A public college bears her name in Fougères.
* Georges Franju (1912–1987), filmmaker and
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
.
* (born 1939), author of children's literature.
* (born 1942), politician.
* (born 1955), Breton independence of Emgann.
* (born in 1963), comic writer and artist.
*
Pascale Fonteneau Pascale Fonteneau (born April 29, 1963) is a France, French-born journalist and novelist in Belgium.
The daughter of a French father and a Germany, German mother, she was born in Fougères in Brittany, was educated at the Université Libre de Bruxe ...
(born 1963), journalist and novelist.
* (born in 1965),
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach.
*
Laurent Huard
Laurent Huard (born 26 August 1973 in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille ...
(born 1973), former professional football player for
Stade Rennais
Stade Rennais Football Club (), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais FC, Stade Rennais, Rennes, or simply SRFC, is a French professional football club based in Rennes, Brittany. They compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and pl ...
,
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...
and CS Sedan Ardennes. He is now a coach at Stade Rennais training centre.
* (born 1976), illustrator.
* (born 1977), journalist, founder of the Pan-African media .
* Frédéric Molas (born 1982) and Sébastien Rassiat (born 1982), creators of the
Joueur du Grenier
Le Joueur du Grenier (literally "The Attic Gamer") is the main character and title of a web television series of farcical retrogaming video reviews created by French filmmakers Frédéric Molas and Sébastien Rassiat in 2009, starring Frédéric M ...
YouTube web series
*
Fabien Lemoine
Fabien Lemoine (born 16 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Versailles.
Club career
Lemoine made his professional league debut for Rennes on 13 January 2008, he made a total of 18 league appearanc ...
(born 1987), professional football player trained at Stade Rennais, evolving from 2011 at AS Saint-Étienne.
People who have stayed in Fougères
* François-René de Chateaubriand: he often came to Fougères where one of his sisters lived. He did not keep a very good memory of the place:
* Balzac: After having discovered Fougères in 1828, he wrote the novel ''
Les Chouans
''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
stayed in Fougères with his mistress Juliette Drouet in June 1836.
*
Joueur du grenier
Le Joueur du Grenier (literally "The Attic Gamer") is the main character and title of a web television series of farcical retrogaming video reviews created by French filmmakers Frédéric Molas and Sébastien Rassiat in 2009, starring Frédéric M ...
is living in Fougères with his staff.
Gallery
File:Bretagne Fougeres 04024.jpg, A view of the château
File:Fougeres Schloss.jpg, The château
File:Château de Fougères.jpg, Tour Nichot and the ramparts of the upper town
File:Fougères - Bretagne, France 02.jpg, Upper town: Public garden and Church of Saint-Léonard
File:Bretagne Fougeres 2005 099a.jpg, The Church of Saint-Léonard
File:Bretagne Fougeres 04021.jpg, A view from the Church of Saint-Léonard
See also
*
Communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine department
The following is a list of the 333 Communes of France, communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2020):