Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

department in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east-southeast of Saint-Brieuc by rail. Lamballe station is served by high speed trains to Brest, Rennes and Paris, and regional trains to Brest, Saint-Brieuc, Dol-de-Bretagne and Rennes.

History

Lamballe was the capital of the territory of the

Counts of Penthièvre Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, who in 1569 were made dukes. La Noue, the famous

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

leader, was mortally wounded in 1591 in the siege of the castle, which was dismantled in 1626 by Richelieu. The last Duke of Penthièvre granted his son Louis the title Prince of Lamballe. The Prince de Lamballe married Marie Therese de Savoie-Carignan and she took the title Princesse de Lamballe. The Princesse lived with her father-in-law after the early death of her husband. She was a close friend of Queen Marie Antoinette and one of the most famous victims of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie, hero of the American war of independence, died near Lamballe in 1793. Chilean dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

's ascendant, Guillame Pinochet, was a Lamballe native of Breton descent. He migrated to then-Spanish Chile in the 18th century. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Meslin was merged into Lamballe.Arrêté préfectoral
9 December 2015

Population

Inhabitants of Lamballe are called ''lamballais'' in French.

Sights

Crowning the eminence on which the town is built is a beautiful Gothic church (13th and 14th centuries), once the chapel of the castle of the

counts of Penthièvre Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Of the other buildings, the church of St Martin (11th, 16th and 16th centuries) is the chief.

Economy

Lamballe has an important haras (depôt for stallions) and carries on trade in grain, tanning and leather-dressing; earthenware is manufactured in the environs. The town of Lamballe is noted for its exceptional weekly market. Although held on Thursday mornings only, this market is known as one of France's finest, with people travelling from far and wide to visit it and to enjoy its gastronomic delights. According to locals, something that must be tried here is a local speciality of gallettes with sausages, apparently irresistibly delicious, and also the Breton buckwheat pancakes (Gallettes, the sweet ones are the crepes that we are all familiar with), cider and seafood for which the area is famed.

International relations

Lamballe is twinned with Oliveira do Bairro, Portugal

References

External links

Official website
* * http://www.cm-olb.pt/PageGen.aspx?WMCM_PaginaId=29015 {{Authority control Former communes of Côtes-d'Armor