Saint-Brieuc is a
communeThe commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the
Côtes-d'ArmorCôtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
department in Brittany in northwestern France.
History
Saint-Brieuc is named after a
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
monk
BriocSaint Brioc was an early 6th century Welshman who became the first Abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. He is one of the seven founder saints of Brittany.Very little is known about his early life, as his 9th century 'life' is not altogether reliable...
, who evangelized 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 RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, was named after Saint-Brieuc.
Culture
Saint-Brieuc is one of the towns in Europe that hosts the IU Honors Program..
The
Cemetery of Saint Michel contains graves of several notable Bretons, and sculptures by Paul le Goff and
Jean BoucherJean Boucher was a French sculptor based in Brittany. He is best known for his public memorial sculptures which communicated his liberal politics and patriotic dedication to France and Brittany.-Early years:Boucher was born in Cesson-Sévigné near Rennes, Brittany...
. Outside the wall is
Armel BeaufilsÉmile Jean Armel Beaufils was a French sculptor who created numerous commemorative works in his native Brittany. Beaufils was born in Rennes and died in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer. He always signed his work "Armel Beaufils". He also collaborated with his partner Suzanne Duvivier, who used the name Zannic...
's statue of
Anatole Le BrazAnatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" was a Breton folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm....
. 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 BozecJules-Charles Le Bozec was a French sculptor, whose work reflects a commitment to the local design traditions of his native province of Brittany.-Biography:...
and work by
Francis RenaudFrancis Renaud , was a French sculptor mainly noted for his monumental granite public memorials in Brittany.Born in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes d'Armor, Brittany, Renaud was associated with the revival of Breton nationalist ideals in art in the early 20th century. His earlier works are in a style close to...
.
The town of
St. Brieux-External links:-References:...
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.
Geography
The town is located by the
English ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Two rivers flow through Saint-Brieuc: the Goued/
GouëtThe Gouët is a French river, located in the department of Côtes-d'Armor, in the region of Brittany, which drains into the English Channel.- Geography :...
and the Gouedig/Gouëdic.
Other towns of notable size in the
département of Côtes d'Armor are Gwengamp/
GuingampGuingamp is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Guingamp are called guingampais.-Breton language:...
,
DinanDinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France.-Geography:Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most urban development has been on the hillside, overlooking the river Rance...
, and Lannuon/
LannionLannion is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subpréfecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants.-Population:...
all
sous-préfectures.
In 2009, large amounts of
sea lettuceThe 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 Linnaeus, "lactuca" meaning lettuce...
, a type of
algaeAlgae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
, washed up on many beaches of Brittany, and when it rotted it emitted dangerous levels of hydrogen sulphide. A horse and some dogs died and a council worker driving a truckload of it fell unconscious at the wheel and died. The beach at Saint-Brieuc suffered bad damage and had to be shut.
Neighboring communes
LangueuxLangueux is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Langueux are called langueusiens.-External links:* *...
,
La MéaugonLa Méaugon is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of La Méaugon are called méaugonnais.-External links:*...
,
PlérinPlérin is a coastal commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plérin are called plérinais.-External links:* *...
,
PloufraganPloufragan is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.Ploufragan is a neighboring commune of Saint-Brieuc.-Population:Inhabitants of Ploufragan are called ploufraganais.-External links:*...
,
TrégueuxTrégueux is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Trégueux are called trégueusiens.-External links:* *...
and
TrémusonTrémuson is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Trémuson are called trémusonnais.-External links:*...
.
Population
Inhabitants of Saint-Brieuc are called
briochins or
briochains.
Transport
The
Gare de Saint-BrieucGare de Saint-Brieuc is a railway station serving the town Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Brest railway and the branch line to Pontivy and Le Légué .-Services:...
railway station, situated on the
Paris–Brest railwayThe railway from Paris to Brest is an important French 622-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the western port city Brest via Le Mans and Rennes. It is used for passenger and freight traffic...
, is connected by
TGV AtlantiqueThe TGV Atlantique 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....
to
Paris Montparnasse stationParis Montparnasse is one of the six large terminus railway stations of Paris, located in the Montparnasse area in the XIVe arrondissement. The station was opened in 1840, and rebuilt completely in 1969...
in about 3 hours.
An air service from Saint-Brieuc – Armor Airport to Newquay in Cornwall is operated by
Isles of Scilly SkybusIsles of Scilly Skybus is a British airline which operates seasonal and year round domestic scheduled services to the Isles of Scilly from Land's End Airport and Newquay Airport in Cornwall, and from Exeter, Bristol and Southampton...
four days per week.
Personalities
Saint-Brieuc was the birthplace of:
- Octave-Louis Aubert
Octave-Louis Aubert, 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 Réveil Breton in Saint-Brieuc. He soon became devoted to Breton culture. He founded Le Démocrate in 1898, and...
(1870–1950), editor
- Émile Durand
Émile Durand was a French musical theorist, teacher and composer. He was better known for his theoretical writings than for his compositions.-Biography:...
(1830–1903), music theorist and teacher
- Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was a French symbolist writer.-Life:Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to a distinguished aristocratic family...
(1838–1889), symbolist writer
- Louis Auguste Harel de La Noë (1852-1931), engineer
- Célestin Bouglé
Célestin Bouglé was a French philosopher known for his role as one of Émile Durkheim's collaborators and a member of the Annee Sociologique.-Life:...
(1870–1940), philosopher
- Louis Guilloux
Louis Guilloux 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 mid-twentieth century...
(1899–1980), writer
- Henri Nomy (1899–1971), admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
- Patrick Dewaere
Patrick Dewaere was a French film actor. He was born in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, son of French actress Mado Maurin. His five siblings, Jean-Pierre Maurin , Yves-Marie Maurin , Dominique Maurin , Jean-Francois Maurin and Marie-Veronique Maurin Patrick Dewaere (26 January 1947 – 16 July 1982)...
(1947–1982), actor
- Kévin Théophile-Catherine
Kévin Théophile-Catherine is a French footballer who plays as a defender for Rennes in French Ligue 1.-External links:**...
,footballer
- Mamadou Wague
Mamadou Wagué is a French footballer who currently plays for Ligue 1 side Le Mans.-Football career:Mamadou can play as either a defender or a holding midfielder and joined Le Mans's CFA squad in 2007 after arriving from Paris FC. His performances in the CFA earned him a call up to the senior squad...
, footballer
- Anaclet Wamba
Anaclet Wamba , was a professional boxer in the Cruiserweight division.- Amateur career :Wamba had a notable amateur career. He represented Zaire in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, as a Light Heavyweight...
(1960–), boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
- Yelle
Yelle is a French band founded by lead singer and namesake, Yelle and GrandMarnier . A third member, Tepr , joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Budet and GrandMarnier began working on music together in 2000...
(Julie Budet) 1983 – present, musician
- Maryvonne Dupureur
Maryvonne Samson Dupureur was a French middle distance who specialized in the 800 metres.Born in Saint-Brieuc, she won the silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan...
(1937–2008), athlete, Olympic 800m silver medallist
International relations
Saint-Brieuc
préfecture of the
Côtes-d'ArmorCôtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
is twinned with :
AberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, Wales
Agia ParaskeviAgia Paraskevi , is a suburb of Athens, Greece, in the northeast of Athens, about nine kilometers away from the city centre. It is linked to Athens by Mesogeion Avenue, a major road in the greater Athens area. It is a municipality within Attica region....
, Greece
AlsdorfThis article is about the town Alsdorf in NRW Germany, for other meanings of Alsdorf you can have a look at Alsdorf .Alsdorf is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Until the 21st century Alsdorf was a mining area, but by now many service companies have...
, Germany
GoraždeGoražde , is a city and municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Drina river. It is located between Foča, Sokolac and Višegrad, and is administratively part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the center of the Bosnian Podrinje Canton.-Location:Goražde is situated on the...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
External links