Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

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 ...

. The walled city on the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Allies heavily bombed Saint-Malo. The city changed into a popular tourist centre, with a ferry terminal serving the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, as well as the Southern English settlements of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. The transatlantic single-handed yacht race

Route du Rhum The Route du Rhum is a wikt:transatlantic, transatlantic Single-handed sailing, single-handed yacht racing, yacht race, which takes place every four years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, Metropolitan France and Pointe-à- ...

, which takes place every four years in November, is between Saint Malo and

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

Population

The population in 2017 was 46,097 – though this can increase to up to 300,000 in the summer tourist season. With the suburbs included, the metropolitan area's population is approximately 133,000 (2017). The population of the commune more than doubled in 1967 with the merging of three communes: Saint-Malo,

Saint-Servan Saint-Servan (; often abbreviated as St. Servan; ) is a town of western France, in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants. History In June 1758, ...

(population 14,963 in 1962) and Paramé (population 8,811 in 1962). Inhabitants of Saint-Malo are called ''Malouins'' in French. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Saint-Malo proper in its geography for the given years.

History

Founded by

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

s in the 1st century BC, the ancient town on the site of Saint-Malo was known as the Roman Reginca or Aletum. By the late 4th century AD, the

district was the site of a major Saxon Shore

promontory fort A promontory fort is a fortification, defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the Rampart (fortification), ramparts needed. The oldest kno ...

that protected the Rance

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

from seaborne raiders from beyond the frontiers. According to the ''

Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...

'', the fort was garrisoned by the ''militum Martensium'' under a ''dux'' (commander) of the ''Tractus Armoricanus et Nervicanus'' section of the ''litus Saxonicum''. During the decline of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

(modern-day Brittany) rebelled from Roman rule under the

Bagaudae Bagaudae (also spelled bacaudae) were groups of peasant insurgents in the western parts of the late antiquity, later Roman Empire, who arose during the Crisis of the Third Century and persisted until the very Decline of the Roman Empire, end of th ...

and in the 5th and 6th centuries received many

Celtic Britons The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', , ), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, ...

fleeing instability across the Channel. The modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the sixth century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of

Brendan the Navigator Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Celtic Christianity, Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, ...

, Saint Malo or Maclou, an immigrant from what is now

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Saint-Malo is the setting of Marie de France's poem " Laüstic," a 12th-century love story. The city had a tradition of asserting its autonomy in dealings with the French authorities and even with the local Breton authorities. From 1590 to 1594, Saint-Malo declared itself to be an independent republic, when 'la république de Saint-Malo' (Saint Malo Republic) functioned as a de facto

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

, and from whence the town takes its defiant motto "not French, not Breton, but Malouin" (‘''Ni Français, ni Breton, Malouin suis''’). Map Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of the corsairs, French privateers and sometimes

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s. In the 19th century, this "piratical" notoriety was portrayed in Jean Richepin's play ''Le flibustier'' and in César Cui's eponymous opera. The corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute but also brought wealth from further afield.

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

lived in, and sailed from, Saint-Malo to the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

, visiting the villages of Stadacona and Hochelaga that would later become the sites of present-day

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

respectively. As the first European to encounter these sites and learning the local word "Kanata" (meaning a group of houses), Cartier is credited as the discoverer of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Inhabitants of Saint-Malo are called ''Malouins'' in French. From this came the Spanish name '' Islas Malvinas'' for the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

known in English as the Falkland Islands. Islas Malvinas derives from the 1764 name ''Îles Malouines'', given to the islands by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. Bougainville, who founded the archipelago's first settlement, named the islands after the inhabitants of Saint-Malo, the point of departure for his ships and colonists. In 1758, the Raid on Saint-Malo saw a British expedition land, intending to capture the town. However, the British made no attempt on Saint-Malo and instead occupied the nearby town of Saint-Servan, where they destroyed 30 privateers before departing.

World War II

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during fighting in late August and early September 1944, the historic walled city of Saint-Malo was almost totally destroyed by American shelling and bombing. The beaches of nearby Dinard had been heavily fortified against possible Allied commando raids. Artillery at the two locations provided mutual support. The fortification complex was garrisoned by more than twelve thousand German troops from different services and units as well as stragglers from other battles in the Cotentin. About eight thousand Germans were in Saint-Malo itself when the battle began. Colonel Andreas von Aulock, the German commander, refused to surrender when asked to do so by the town's authorities. He said he "would defend St. Malo to the last man even if the last man had to be himself". The first American attack was launched by the 83rd Infantry Division on 5 August 1944. German positions at Châteauneuf quickly fell. Cancale was abandoned and occupied by the Americans on the 6th. In the same way and on the same day,

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

fell to

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

forces. The Germans shortened their lines and drew closer to the ancient citadel at St. Servan-sur-Mer, now reinforced with concrete. Effective German artillery emplacements on the island of Cezembre were out of reach of American ground forces. German garrisons on the Channel Islands of

, and

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

were able to use small craft to bring in water and remove the wounded from the battle. On 13 August, the walled city was on fire and a short truce was declared to allow French civilians to flee the city. Outlying German positions at St. Ideuc and La Varde fell to infantry attacks. This fighting ended resistance on the north shore of the peninsula. Only the citadel remained. Surrounded by American artillery and under frequent air attack, this last holdout surrendered on the afternoon of 17 August. Cezembre surrendered on 2 September when the three-hundred-man garrison ran out of drinking water. The Americans had taken more than ten thousand prisoners during the two-week fight, von Aulock among them.

Post-war

Saint-Malo was rebuilt over a 12-year period from 1948 to 1960. It is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of the

. The commune of Saint-Servan was merged with Paramé, and became the commune of Saint-Malo in 1967. Saint-Malo was the site of an Anglo-French summit in 1998 that led to a significant agreement regarding European defence policy.

Climate

The Gulf of Saint-Malo has an oceanic temperate climate. Temperatures are softened by the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...

and the range of average temperatures between winter and summer is very low (from 6.1°C in January to 17.8°C in August) with an average temperature of 11.6°C.

Politics

Saint-Malo is part of Ille-et-Vilaine's 7th constituency, and is currently represented in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

by Republicans Member of Parliament, Jean-Luc Bourgeaux.

Education

Schools

Schools include: * 13 public preschools (''écoles maternelles'')Écoles maternelles publiques
." Saint-Malo. Retrieved on 6 September 2016. * 11 public elementary schools * 8 private preschools and elementary schools * 3 public collèges: Chateaubriand, Duguay-Trouin, and Charcot * 3 private junior high schools: Choisy Jeanne d'Arc, Moka, and Sacré-Cœur * 3 public senior high schools: Lycée Maupertuis, Lycée Jacques Cartier, Professional Maritime Lycée Les Rimains * 2 private senior high schools: Lycée Institution Saint Malo-La Providence and Les Rimains

Higher education

* Institute of Technology of Saint-Malo * A nurse school * A maritime school

Transport

Saint-Malo has a terminal for ferry services with daily departures to

and on most days, departures to

via

, all operated by Brittany Ferries. DFDS Seaways operates a service most days to

. It also has a railway station, Gare de Saint-Malo, offering direct TGV service to Rennes, Paris and several regional destinations. There is a bus service provided by Keolis. The town is served by the Dinard–Pleurtuit–Saint-Malo Airport around to the south.

Sites of interest

Now inseparably attached to the mainland, Saint-Malo is the most visited place in Brittany. Sites of interest include: * The walled city (''La Ville Intra-Muros'') * The Château de Saint-Malo, part of which accommodates the town museum and the Hôtel de Ville (town hall) * The

Solidor Tower Solidor Tower (in French ''tour Solidor'') is a strengthened keep with three linked towers, located in the estuary of the river Rance in Brittany. It was built between 1369 and 1382 by John IV, Duke of Brittany (i.e. Jean V in English) to con ...

in Saint-Servan is a 14th-century building that holds a collection tracing the history of voyages around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

. Many scale models, nautical instruments and objects made by the sailors during their crossing or brought back from foreign ports invoke thoughts of travel aboard extraordinary

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, 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 r ...

s at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. * The tomb of the writer Chateaubriand on the Ile du Grand Bé * The Petit Bé * The

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of St. Vincent ( Saint-Malo Cathedral) * The Privateer's House ("La Demeure de Corsaire"), a ship-owner's town house built in 1725, shows objects from the history of privateering, weaponry and ship models. * The Great Aquarium Saint-Malo, one of the major aquaria in France. * The labyrinthe du Corsaire (an attraction park in Saint Malo) * The Pointe de la Varde, Natural Park * The City of Alet, in front of Saint Malo Intra Muros * Fort National * Fort de la Conchée

Panoramic photographs

Notable people

Saint-Malo was the birthplace of: *

(1491–1557),

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

* Jacques Gouin de Beauchene (1652–1730),

of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

René Duguay-Trouin René Trouin, Sieur du Gué, also known as René Duguay-Trouin (; 10 June 1673 – 27 September 1736), was a French Navy officer and privateer best known for his service in the War of the Spanish Succession. Successful in his military care ...

(1673–1736), French corsair and Admiral who captured the city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in 1711 * Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698–1759),

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

* Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1699–1753), sailor and administrator * Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709–1751), physician and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

* Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne (1724–1772),

* Joseph Quesnel (1746–1809), Canadian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

* Louis de Grandpré (1761–1846), French Navy officer and slave trader *

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...

(1768–1848), writer and diplomat * Robert Surcouf (1773–1827), sailor, trader,

ship-owner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the sea transport, shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and expl ...

and corsair * Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais (1782–1854), priest, philosophical and political writer * Jean-Marie Duhamel (1797–1872), mathematician and physicist *

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philology, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Bri ...

(1843–1922), historian, French academician * Louis Bachelier (1870–1946), mathematician *

Alfred Blunt Alfred Walter Frank Blunt (24 September 1879 – 12 June 1957) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican bishop. He was the second Bishop of Bradford (diocese), Bishop of Bradford from 1931 to 1955 and is best known for a speech that exacerbated the ...

(1879–1957),

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Bishop of Bradford, England, was born at St Malo of British expatriate parents and brought up there until the family returned to England in 1887. * Pierre Allory - Rev Brother Maurice (1884–1988) of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, teacher and highly decorated during WWI in Medical Corp * Philippe Cattiau (1892–1962), Olympic medalist in

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

* Colin Clive (1900–1937), actor * Jean Lebrun (born 1950), journalist and radio producer * Agnès Martin-Lugand (born 1979), best-seller novelist * Franck Mailleux (born 1985), racing driver

Twin towns – sister cities

Saint-Malo is twinned with: * Port-Louis, Mauritius (1999) * Gaspé, Quebec (2009) * Saint-Malo, Quebec * St. Malo, Manitoba * Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom *

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

, Poland

In popular culture

Saint-Malo is one of the main settings in the 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel '' All the Light We Cannot See'' by Anthony Doerr, and was a filming location for the Netflix miniseries of the same name.

Gallery

File:Street in St Malo.jpg, Rue Saint-Vincent File:Saint-Malo Novembre 2011 (10).jpg, From the fort of Saint-Malo File:Saint-Malo Novembre 2011 (17).jpg, The "Fort National" visible from Saint-Malo File:St Malo - view up street from on the ramparts, to the cathedral.jpg, View up a typical city street towards the cathedral File:Saint-Malo cathedral window.jpg, Cathedral window File:Saint-Malo remparts 001.JPG, The city wall of St Malo. File:Cartier Plaque.JPG, Commemoration of the Cartier expedition in the floor of the cathedral File:Large house in Saint-Malo.jpg , Houses in Saint-Malo

References

External links

Town hall's website
*
Public transport of Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo France
Independent travel guide to the historic city of Saint-Malo.
Mayors of Ille-et-Vilaine Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintmalo Communes of Ille-et-Vilaine Subprefectures in France Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Seaside resorts in France