Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' ,

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 ...

: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

department in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in northwestern France.

History

Saint-Brieuc is named after a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

monk

Brioc Saint Brioc ( Breton: ''Brieg''; cy, Briog; kw, Breock; french: Brieuc; died c. 502) was a 5th-century Welsh holy man who became the first abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. He is one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. Life Very lit ...

, who Christianised the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there. Bro Sant-Brieg/Pays de Saint-Brieuc, one of the nine traditional bishoprics of Brittany which were used as administrative areas before 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 conside ...

, was named after Saint-Brieuc. It also dates from the Middle Ages when the "pays de Saint Brieuc," or Penteur, was established by Duke Arthur II of Brittany as one of his eight "battles" or administrative regions.

Geography

Overview

The town is located by the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Two rivers flow through Saint-Brieuc: the Goued/

Gouët The Gouët ( br, Goued) is a French river, located in the department of Côtes-d'Armor, in the region of Brittany, which drains into the English Channel. Geography The river's source is found at the top of Kerchouan, a shale geological featu ...

and the Gouedig/ Gouédic. Other towns of notable size in the ''département'' of Côtes d'Armor are Gwengamp/ Guingamp,

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead o ...

, and Lannuon/

Lannion Lannion ( ; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants. Climate Lannion ha ...

all ''sous-préfectures''. In 2009, large amounts of

sea lettuce The sea lettuces comprise the genus ''Ulva'', a group of edible green algae that is widely distributed along the coasts of the world's oceans. The type species within the genus ''Ulva'' is ''Ulva lactuca'', wikt:lactuca, ''lactuca'' being Latin ...

, a type of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

, washed up on many beaches of Brittany, and when it rotted it emitted dangerous levels of

hydrogen sulphide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...

. A horse and some dogs died and a council worker driving a truckload of it fell unconscious at the wheel and died.

Neighboring communes

Langueux Langueux (; br, Langaeg) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Langueux are called ''langueusiens'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department The ...

La Méaugon La Méaugon (; ; Gallo: ''Laméaugon'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of La Méaugon are called ''méaugonnais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor ...

Plérin Plérin (; ; Gallo: ''Plérein'') is a coastal commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. The Marché du Porc Breton, located in Plérin, is where the price of pork is set for retailers across France.

Ploufragan Ploufragan (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Ploufragan lies adjacent to the southwest of Saint-Brieuc, the prefecture and largest city of Côtes-d'Armor. Population Inhabitants of Ploufraga ...

Trégueux Trégueux (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Trégueux are called ''trégueusiens'' in French. Breton language In 2008, 2.7% of primary school children attended bil ...

and

Trémuson Trémuson (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Trémuson are called ''trémusonnais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department The following ...

Climate

Saint-Brieuc experiences a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

Culture

Saint-Brieuc is one of the towns in Europe that host the IU Honors Program. The ''Cemetery of Saint Michel'' contains graves of several notable Bretons, and sculptures by Paul le Goff and Jean Boucher. Outside the wall is Armel Beaufils's statue of

Anatole Le Braz Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (2 April 1859 – 20 March 1926), was a Breton poet, folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm. Biography Le B ...

. Le Goff, who was killed with his two brothers in World War I, is also commemorated in a street and with his major sculptural work ''La forme se dégageant de la matière'' in the central gardens, which also includes a memorial to him by Jules-Charles Le Bozec and work by Francis Renaud. The town of St. Brieux in Saskatchewan, Canada is named after Saint-Brieuc of Brittany. It was founded by immigrants from this region in Brittany. It was settled in the early 1900s.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Saint-Brieuc are called ''Briochins'' in French.

Breton language

In 2008, 3.98% of primary school children attended bilingual schools. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>

Transport

The Saint-Brieuc railway station, situated on the Paris–Brest railway, is connected by

TGV Atlantique The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est. 105 bi-current sets, numbered 3 ...

to Paris Montparnasse station, journey time is about 3 hours. There are no scheduled air services from Saint-Brieuc – Armor Airport.

Personalities

Saint-Brieuc is hometown of many personalities: *

Octave-Louis Aubert Octave-Louis Aubert, (8 January 1870 Paris – 14 January 1950 Saint-Brieuc) was a French editor and writer associated with Breton nationalism. Born in Paris, Aubert came to Brittany in 1893 when he got a job as assistant editor of the journal '' ...

(1870–1950), editor *

Maryvonne Dupureur Maryvonne Samson Dupureur (24 May 1937 – 7 January 2008) was a French middle-distance runner. Competing in the 800 m event she won silver medals at the 1964 Olympics and 1967 European Indoor Games; she also took part in the 1960 and 1968 Olym ...

(1937–2008), athlete, Olympic 800m silver medallist * Émile Durand (1830–1903), music theorist and teacher *

Léonard Charner Léonard Victor Joseph Charner (13 February 1797 – 7 February 1869) was an Admiral of the French Navy. Early career (1797–1837) Léonard Victor Joseph Charner was born on 13 February 1797 in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany. He became a cadet at the ...

(1797–1869), senator and Admiral of France *

Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (7 November 1838 – 19 August 1889) was a French symbolist writer. His family called him Mathias while his friends called him Villiers; he would also use the name Auguste wh ...

(1838–1889), symbolist writer * Louis Auguste Harel de La Noë (1852–1931), engineer *

Célestin Bouglé Célestin Charles Alfred Bouglé (1 June 1870 – 25 January 1940) was a French philosopher known for his role as one of Émile Durkheim's collaborators and a member of the '' L'Année Sociologique''. Life Bouglé was born in Saint-Brieuc, Cô ...

(1870–1940),

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Louis Guilloux Louis Guilloux (15 January 1899 – 14 October 1980) was a French writer born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, where he lived throughout his life. He is known for his Social Realist novels describing working class life and political struggles in the mi ...

(1899–1980), writer * Henri Nomy (1899–1971),

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 ...

* Patrick Dewaere (1947–1982), actor *

Kévin Théophile-Catherine Kévin Théophile-Catherine (born 28 October 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for SuperSport HNL club Dinamo Zagreb. Career Stade Rennais Théophile-Catherine was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany to a Martiniqua ...

(born 1989), footballer *

Louis Rossel Louis-Nathaniel Rossel (9 September 1844 28 November 1871) was a French army officer and a politician. On 19 March 1871, he became the only senior French officer to join up with the Paris Commune, playing an important role as Minister of Wa ...

(1844–1871) - Army officer and Communard * Florent Du Bois de Villerabel (1877-1951), archbishop forced to resign after France's liberation in World War II * Mamadou Wagué (born 1990), footballer * Raymond Hains (1926–2005), artist * Anaclet Wamba (1960–), boxer *

Yelle Yelle is a French band founded by lead singer and namesake Yelle (Julie Budet) and GrandMarnier (Jean-François Perrier). A third member, Tepr (Tanguy Destable), joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Yelle and GrandMarnier b ...

(Julie Budet) (1983–present), musician * Roland Fichet (1950–present), Author, Philosopher *

Nathan Saliou Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) * Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David a ...

, Gardener

International relations

Saint-Brieuc ''préfecture'' of the

is twinned with : *

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...

, Wales *

Agia Paraskevi Agia Paraskevi ( el, Αγία Παρασκευή, ''Agía Paraskeví'') is a suburb and a municipality in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is part of the North Athens regional unit. Agia Paraskevi was named after the ...

, Greece * Alsdorf, Germany *

Goražde Goražde ( cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Drina river. As of 2 ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

References

External links

City council website

saint-brieuc.maville

Saint-Brieuc Tourism
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintbrieuc Communes of Côtes-d'Armor Prefectures in France