Brains (; Gallo: ''Brâin'' or ''Brein'', ) is a commune in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

department in the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in western France.Commune de Brains (44024)
INSEE The commune is a part of historical

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, in the traditional region of Retz, and in the historical region of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

Geography

Brains is located between the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

and Lac de Grand-Lieu, 18 km southwest of Nantes and 4 km northwest of Bouaye. The commune is bordered on the southwest by the river Acheneau. Neighbouring communes are Le Pellerin,

Cheix-en-Retz Cheix-en-Retz (, literally ''Cheix in Retz''; Gallo: ''Chaèz'' or ''Chi'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of ...

, Port-Saint-Père, Saint-Léger-des-Vignes, Bouaye, Bouguenais, La Montagne and Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau. According to the classification established by INSEE in 2020, Brains is a rural commune which is a part of the functional urban area of Nantes.

Etymology

The Gaulish root ''Nemus Brenno'' (forest of Brenno) is mentioned in a document of the cartulary of Buzay around 1179.

History

Most of the territory of the commune, covered by a vast forest, belonged during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

to the Dukes of Brittany. Settlements in the area gave birth to a number of lordships with some measure of authority: Jasson, Le Plessis, Le Pesle, Lorière, La Sauvagerie, La Pilaudière and La Guerche. The lordship of Le Pesle, the most important, was originally an appanage of Briord. Today a private residence, it overlooks the Acheneau on the Cour du Pesle. The château of Le Plessis was the property of Pierre-Suzanne Lucas de La Championnière, lieutenant of

François de Charette François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie (; 2 May 1763 – 29 March 1796) was a French military officer and politician. He served in the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the leaders of the War in the Vendée a ...

during the

War in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

from 1793-1796. The château of La Guerche was dependent on Le Pesle until the 17th century.

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

was welcomed there by his uncle Prudent Allotte de la Fuye, owner from 1828 to 1837, during his summer vacations. He wrote some impromptu poetry there. The church was constructed in 1875 on the site of an older church dating from 1676. The clock tower, with a height of 50 metres, dates from 1901. The rectory was sold as national property during the Revolution, and is now "l'espace des Clos Mâts", a cultural site with a library and music. At the end of the 19th century, there were six windmills, of which only those of Charbonnières, Le Breuil, La Fouelle, and La Roche du Gré now survive. The Napoleonic

cadastre A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in ...

denoted a rural territory dotted by villages which are still visible today. Port Hamoneau, witness to the economic importance of the Acheneau until 1914 for the export of wine and red sand to Nantes, now welcomes hikers and anglers who come to enjoy the peace and quiet of the surrounding marshes, in the shade of the poplar trees.

List of mayors

Transport

Brains is serviced by the number 88 Semitan bus, linking the town to the terminus (Neustrie) of Line 3 of the Nantes Tramway.

Population

The population of the commune is relatively young. As of 2017, the percentage of people older than 60 is 18.5%, and the percentage younger than 30 is 37.3%.

Personalities

visited Brains many times, at La Guerche, the house of his uncle, and at Le Plessis.