Tréguier (; ) is a port town in the

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.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 ...

, northwestern France. It is the capital town of the province of

Trégor Trégor (; , ), officially the Land of Trégor (; , ) is one of the nine traditional provinces of Brittany, in its northwestern area. It comprises the western part of the Côtes-d'Armor and a small part of the northeast of Finistère, as far ...

Geography

Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

by road. The port is situated about 5½ m. from 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 ...

at the confluence of two streams that form the Tréguier River.

History

Tréguier (''Trecorum''), which dates from the sixth century, grew up round a monastery founded by

Saint Tudwal Saint Tudwal (died c. 564), also known as Tual, Tudgual, Tugdual, Tugual, Pabu, Papu, or Tugdualus (Latin), was a Breton monk, considered to be one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. Life Tudwal was said to be the son of Hoel Mawr (H ...

(died c. 564). In the 9th century it became the seat of a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, suppressed on July 12, 1790 (decree of November 14, 1789). Pop. (1906), 2605.

Population

Inhabitants of Tréguier are called ''trécorrois'' in French.

Breton language

In 2008, 11.78% of primary school children attended bilingual schools. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>

History

Count Stephen of Tréguier was the second

Earl of Richmond The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. The earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond was initially held by various Breton people, Breton nobles; sometimes the holde ...

, inheriting the British peerage created by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

for his second cousin

Alan Rufus Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...

. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

established a

naval air station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

on 1 November 1918 to operate

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The base closed shortly after the

First Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

Sights

The cathedral, remarkable in having three towers over the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

, one of which is surmounted by a fine spire, dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. It contains the sumptuous modern mausoleum of

Ivo of Kermartin Ivo of Kermartin, TOSF (17 October 1253 – 19 May 1303), also known as ''Yvo'', ''Yves'', or ''Ives'' (and in Breton as ''Erwan'', ''Iwan'', ''Youenn'' or ''Eozenn'', depending on the region, and known as ''Yves Hélory'' (also ''Helori'' or ...

(St Yves; died 1303), a canon of the cathedral and patron saint of lawyers. The building of the cathedral was largely due to him. The

Pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

of Saint Ivo, a religious festival, attracts an international audience drawn from the legal profession. To the south of the church there is a

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

(1468) with graceful arcades. Near the cathedral there is a statue of

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...

, a native of the town. As he was a prominent skeptic, author of the "pagan" ''Prayer on the Acropolis'', the 1903 unveiling of Renan's statue, which also included a depiction of the goddess

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

, led to widespread protests from the Catholic Church. The town also houses the Renan birthplace museum. A notable war memorial, the ''Pleureuse de Tréguier'', was designed by Francis Renaud. A commemorative memorial to

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 was known for his warmth and charm. Biograph ...

Armel Beaufils Émile Jean Armel-Beaufils was a French sculptor born in Rennes in 1882 and who died in Saint-Briac in 1952. Biography Émile Jean Armel-Beaufils started his schooling in Fougères then at a lycée in Rennes. He studied law and then literature ...

is in the ''jardin du poète''. The port and harbour are picturesque, containing many pretty waterfront restaurants and crêperies. There are dramatic views of the quayside.

Economy

In the past, saw-milling, boat-building and flaxstripping were carried on, together with trade in cereals, cloth, potatoes, etc. The port carried on fishing and a coasting and small foreign trade.

Religious festivals

Tro Breizh Tro Breizh ( Breton for "Tour of Brittany") is a Catholic pilgrimage that links the towns of the seven founding saints of Brittany. These seven saints were Celtic monks from Britain from around the 5th or 6th century who brought Christianity to ...

(

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 **Gale ...

for "Tour of Brittany") is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

that links the towns of the seven founding saints of

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 ...

, including Tréguier,

's town. The

of Saint Yves is a major event. As Yves is patron saint of the legal profession, it attracts Catholic lawyers and judges from all over the world.

Personalities

Tréguier was the birthplace of: *

(1823–1892),

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 ...

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

, and

historian of religion The history of religion is the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). The prehistory of religion involves the stu ...

. *

Ernest Hello Ernest Hello (4 November 182814 July 1885) was a French Roman Catholic writer, who produced books and articles on philosophy, theology, and literature. Life Born at Lorient, in Brittany, he was the son of a lawyer who held posts of great impor ...

(1828–1885),

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

. *

Hervaeus Natalis Hervaeus Natalis (, Nédellec, diocese of Tréguier, Brittany1323), also known as de Nédellec, was a Dominican theologian, the 14th Master of the Dominicans, and the author of a number of works on philosophy and theology. His many writings inc ...

(c. 1260–1323), 14th Master General of the Dominicans. * Joseph Savina (1901–1983),

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, lived and worked here.

References

* Eric Keraudren & Luc Corlouër, ''Northern Tregor in the past'', 2022, Éditions le Cormoran, book 140 pages, 120 pictures. Image:Maison Musée Ernest Renan Tréguier.jpg, Renan birthplace museum Image:EGL001.jpg, Cloister of St Tugdual's cathedral File:Hernot.JPG, The Calvary of Protest by

Yves Hernot Yves Hernot is the name of two sculptors, father and son, who ran the ''Ateliers Yves Hernot'' sculpture workshop in Lannion, Brittany, which specialised in creating Calvaries and tombs. Hernot senior Yves Hernot senior (1829 - 1890) establishe ...

, created to protest the statue of Renan.

External links

Tourism office website

Town council website
*Pictures of Tréguier Cathedral

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Treguier Communes of Côtes-d'Armor Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Counts of Tréguier

Geography

History

Population

Breton language

History

Sights

Economy

Religious festivals

Personalities

See also

References

External links