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

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.department in

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 ...

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

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

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 Princess lived with her father-in-law after the early death of her husband. She was a close friend of Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

and one of the most famous victims of the French Revolution.

Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie (13 April 1751 – 30 January 1793) was a French army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He was promoted to brigadier general after the siege of Yorktown and led Chouan rebels durin ...

, 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 military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

's ancestor, Guillame Pinochet, was a Lamballe native of Breton descent. He migrated to then-Spanish Chile in the 18th century. In 1973 Lamballe absorbed four former communes: Maroué, La Poterie, Saint-Aaron and Trégomar. 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. Of the other buildings, the church of St Martin (11th, 16th and 16th centuries) is the chief.

Economy

Lamballe has an important

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

, called Haras National de Lamballe, and in the past carried on trade in grain, tanning and leather-dressing; earthenware was 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 enjoy its gastronomic delights. According to locals, something that must be tried here is a local speciality of galettes with sausages, apparently irresistibly delicious, and also the Breton buckwheat pancakes (Galettes, 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