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Brittany's wildlife is typical of France with several distinctions. On one hand, the region, due to its long coastline, has a rich oceanic fauna, and some birds cannot be seen in other French regions. On the other hand, the species found in the inland are usually common for France, and because Brittany is a peninsula, the number of species is lower in its western extremity than in the eastern part. Bretons take pride in celebrating the ancient custom of "pardons," a special type of pilgrimage when townspeople attend Mass to ask forgiveness for their sins. The pardons also include religious festivals with participants wearing historical costumes.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, many Cornish Britons settled in western Armorica to escape the Saxons and the region started to be called Britannia, although this name only replaced Armorica in the sixth century or perhaps by the end of the fifth. [16] The old capital of Brittany, Rennes is still the region's economic and cultural center, as well as a university town. After a fire in 1720, much of the town had to be rebuilt, and more reconstruction was necessary after WWII. Rennes is now a modern city with streets laid out at right angles. Brittany has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Palaeolithic. This population was scarce and very similar to the other Neanderthals found in the whole of Western Europe. Their only original feature was a distinct culture, called "Colombanian". [18] One of the oldest hearths in the world has been found in Plouhinec, Finistère.One of the highlights of this coastal area is Perros-Guirec, a popular seaside resort in Brittany and favorite destination among Breton families. Perros-Guirec has three sandy beaches with kids' clubs, as well as opportunities for water sports during summer. View over Trébeurden The Romans also built three major roads through the region. However, most of the population remained rural. The free peasants lived in small huts, whereas the landowners and their employees lived in proper villae rusticae. The Gallic deities continued to be worshiped, and were often assimilated to the Roman gods. Only a small number of statues depicting Roman gods were found in Brittany, and most of the time they combine Celtic elements. [24] Until the 19th century, Catholicism had been the main inspiration for Breton artists. The region has a great number of baroque retables, made between the 17th and the 19th century. Breton sculptors were also famous for their ship models that served as ex-votos and for their richly decorated furniture, which features naïve Breton characters and traditional patterns. The box-bed is the most famous Breton piece of furniture. The Breton style had a strong revival between 1900 and the Second World War and it was used by the Seiz Breur movement. The Seiz Breur artists also tried to invent a modern Breton art by rejecting French standards and mixing traditional techniques with new materials. The leading artists of that period were the designer René-Yves Creston, the illustrators Jeanne Malivel and Xavier Haas, and the sculptors Raffig Tullou, Francis Renaud, Georges Robin, Joseph Savina, Jules-Charles Le Bozec and Jean Fréour.
A formal French garden surrounds the château. Visitors will delight in wandering the perfectly manicured tree-lined lawns and rose garden with 40 different heirloom varieties. The grounds also include a romantic English garden full of lush flowering vegetation, with a picnic area and benches for relaxation. The Breton coast is very indented, with many cliffs, rias and capes. The Gulf of Morbihan is a vast natural harbour with some forty islands that is almost a closed sea. In total, around 800 islands lie off the mainland; the largest being Belle Île, in the south. Brittany has over 2,860km (1,780mi) of coastline; it represents a third of the total French coastline. Jules Ferry also promoted education policies establishing French language as the language of the Republic, and mandatory education was a mean to eradicate regional languages and dialects. In Brittany, it was forbidden for the pupils to speak Breton or Gallo, and the two were strongly depreciated. Humiliating practices aimed at stamping out the Breton language and culture prevailed in state schools until the late 1960s. [51] A bilingual approach has also been implemented in some state schools after 1979, and some Catholic schools have done the same after 1990. Besides, Brittany, with the neighbouring Pays de la Loire region, remains a stronghold for Catholic private education with around 1,400 schools. [53] Other Institutes of Learning [ edit ]
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As official religious statistics are forbidden in France, there are no official figures about religious practices in Brittany. However, successive polls show that the region has grown more nonreligious over time. Catholicism started to decline after the Second World War, during the urbanisation of Brittany. A poll conducted in 2006 showed that Morbihan was the only département to have a strong Catholic population, around 70% of its inhabitants belonging to that religion. Loire-Atlantique and Côtes-d'Armor were among the least Catholic French départements, with only 50% of the population practicing Catholics, while Ille-et-Vilaine and Finistère were at around 65%. Other religions are almost non-existent, apart from Islam which is practiced by between 1 and 3% of the inhabitants in Ille-et-Vilaine and Loire-Atlantique. [77] Culture [ edit ] Architecture [ edit ] Josselin Castle This quintessential Breton port is a former island near the mainland. Designed as a citadel, Saint-Malo boasts well-preserved medieval fortifications that lend a distinctive character to the city. Until the end of the 20th century, Brittany had been characterised by a strong Catholic and conservative influence. However, some areas such as the industrial region around Saint-Nazaire and Lorient and the surroundings of Tréguier are traditional Socialist and Communist strongholds. Left-wing parties, mainly the Socialist party and the Greens, have become more powerful after the 1970s and they have formed a majority in the Regional Council of Brittany since 2004. The Loire-Atlantique and Ille-et-Vilaine councils have also been held by the left since 2004. Main article: Gallo language Signs in Gallo are very rare and the writing systems they use are unknown by most of the speakers. During the 20th century, tertiary education was developed with the creation of the École centrale de Nantes in 1919, the University of Nantes in 1961, the ESC Bretagne Brest in 1962, the University of Western Brittany in 1971, the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne in 1977 and the University of Southern Brittany in 1995. The Catholic University of the West, based in Angers, also opened classes in several Breton towns. In 1969, the University of Rennes was divided between the University of Rennes 1 and the University of Rennes 2 – Upper Brittany. After the Second World War, the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the foremost French military academy, settled in Coëtquidan.
Just north of the old town is the Plage de l'Ecluse, also called the Grande Plage ("Large Beach"), an expansive beach with a fine sand shoreline, and the Plage de Saint-Enogat in the Quarter Saint-Enogat, a good place for water sports; both of these beaches have lounge chairs and cabanas for rent. Plage de l'Ecluse, Dinard, Brittany Many distinctive traditions and customs have also been preserved in Brittany. Among them, the " Pardons" are one of the most traditional demonstrations of popular Catholicism. These penitential ceremonies occur in some villages in Lower Brittany on the feast day of the parish's saint. The penitents form a procession and they walk together to a shrine, a church or any sacred place. Some Pardons are reputed for their length, and they all finish by large meals and popular feasts. A mayor eventually asked the university to be relocated to Rennes, more devoted to culture and science, and the faculties progressively moved there after 1735. [50] The transfer was interrupted by the French Revolution, and all the French universities were dissolved in 1793. About seven kilometers southeast of Vitré is the Château des Rochers Sévigné, an elegant 15th-century Breton manor house. The château stands in an expansive parkland that includes woods with walking paths.
Bounded by the sea and defined by its traditional character, Brittany is a beautiful region in northeastern France with welcoming and interesting places to visit. In a characteristic half-timbered house next to the Town Hall is the Musée Emmanuel de la Villéon, which displays the work of the Impressionist painter who was born in Fougères. In Brittany you can really find all types of wave to surf. From nice, friendly beach breaks to highly engaging and barrelling reef breaks. When the conditions line up, you can have a magic session in a stunning setting. The Osismii, who lived in the western part of Brittany. Their territory comprised the Finistère département and the western extremity of Côtes-d'Armor and Morbihan. Dinard enjoys a splendid natural setting (across from Saint-Malo) along the Rance estuary. Mimosas and camellias flourish here under the influence of the Gulf Stream.
Gallo is also threatened by the Breton language revival, because Breton is gaining ground in territories that were not previously part of the main Breton-speaking area, and most of all because Breton appears as the national language of Brittany, thus leaving no place for Gallo. [73]
Brittany Satellite Map
Perched on a hill above the Rance River's left bank (between Dinard and Saint-Malo), Dinan is one of the prettiest towns in Brittany. Still surrounded by its old walls, Dinan's old town boasts handsome late-medieval to Early Renaissance houses (particularly on the Rue du Jerzual) and the monumental 14th-century Château de Dinan (Palais des Ducs de Bretagne). Brittany ( / ˈ b r ɪ t ən i/; French: Bretagne [bʁətaɲ] ⓘ; Breton: Breizh, pronounced [bʁɛjs] or [bʁɛx]; [1] Gallo: Bertaèyn or Bertègn [bəʁtaɛɲ]) 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 during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Visitors may begin a sightseeing tour of Nantes' top attractions in the historic center at the Château des Ducs de Bretagne (Castle of the Dukes of Brittany), founded in the 15th century by Francois II, one of the last Breton rulers. Surrounded by parkland, this enormous fortress has all the essentials of a medieval castle: a moat, imposing towers, and sturdy defensive walls. Château des Ducs de Bretagne
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