Sarzeau (; br, Sarzhav) is a commune in the

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coast ...

department of

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 o ...

in north-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. It is located on the

Rhuys The Rhuys Peninsula ( br, Gourenez Rewiz, french: Presqu'île de Rhuys) is located in the ''département'' of Morbihan in the region of Brittany in northwestern France. Three communes are located on the peninsula: * Sarzeau, the largest, coverin ...

peninsula between the Gulf of Morbihan and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

History

The area around the

has been occupied since

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

times. Prehistoric monuments remaining include the

menhirs A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be fou ...

of Kermaillard and Largueven, as well as the

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were so ...

s of Kergillet and Brillac. The town itself was first mentioned in the 11th century in reference to an abbey at the sit

The nearby

Château de Suscinio The Château de Suscinio or de Susinio is a Breton castle, built in the late Middle Ages, to be the residence of the Dukes of Brittany. It is located in the commune of Sarzeau in the département of Morbihan, near the coast of the Atlantic ocean ...

was built in the 13th century and fortified in the 15th century. The castle was a favorite spot of the Dukes of Brittany who often came for the hunting in the surrounding regio

During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, because of its size the town was divided into seven local divisions, a situation that still exists to some extent. The town officially became a commune during 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. Sarzeau was the birthplace of

Alain-René Lesage Alain-René Lesage (; 6 May 166817 November 1747; older spelling Le Sage) was a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel '' The Devil upon Two Sticks'' (1707, ''Le Diable boiteux''), his comedy ''Turcaret'' (1709 ...

(1668–1747), the author of novel ''

The Devil upon Two Sticks ''Le Diable boiteux'' ( English: ''The Devil upon Two Sticks''; ) is a novel by the French writer Alain-René Lesage. It is set in Madrid, and tells the story of demon king Asmodeus, Don Cleophas Leandro Perez Zambullo and his beloved, Donna Th ...

'' (1707), his comedy ''

Turcaret ''Turcaret'' (or ''Le Financier'') is a comedy by Alain-René Lesage, first produced on 14 February 1709 at the Comédie-Française in Paris. It is considered one of Lesage's most important works. The play shows clear signs of having been writte ...

'' (1709) and his

picaresque novel The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

Gil Blas ''Gil Blas'' (french: L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane ) is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735. It was highly popular, and was translated several times into English, most notably as The Adventures of G ...

'', (1715–1735).

Population

Inhabitants of Sarzeau are called in French ''Sarzeautins''.

Sights

* The

is a 13th-century castle that has recently been restored. Inside there is also a museum on the history of the area. * The Château de Kerlevenan is an 18th-century castle with large gardens. * Museum of Arts et Métiers and Cider Museum. *

Menhirs A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be fou ...

of Kermaillard and Largueven, and the

s of Kergillet and Brillac. * Beaches, especially along the Atlantic side.

Sport

Stage four of the

2018 Tour de France The 2018 Tour de France was the 105th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 7 July in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, in western France, and concluding on 29 July with the ...

finished in the town.

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through

Ya d'ar brezhoneg (french: Oui au breton, en, Yes to Breton) is a campaign started in the 21st century by the ( en, Office of the Breton language) to promote and stimulate the use of the Breton language in daily life in Brittany, northwestern France. Breton is a ...

on December the 20th of 2006. In 2008, there was 4,59% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>

References

External links

*
Château de SuscinioMuseums around Sarzeau

Mayors of Morbihan Association
Communes of Morbihan Seaside resorts in France {{Morbihan-geo-stub