Saint-Brieuc (,

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the

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.

History

Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk,

Brioc Brioc ( Breton: ''Brieg''; ; ; ; died c. 502) was a 5th-century Welsh holy man who became the first abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. He is one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. Life Very little is known about Brioc's early life, as ...

, who Christianised the region in the 5th 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 Revolution, was named after Saint-Brieuc. It also dates from the Middle Ages when the ‘pays de Saint Brieuc’, or Penteur, was established by Duke Arthur II of Brittany as one of his eight ‘battles’ or administrative regions.

Geography

The town is located by the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Two rivers flow through Saint-Brieuc: the Goued/

Gouët The Gouët () is a river in the department of Côtes-d'Armor, in Brittany, France. It drains into the English Channel. Geography The river's source is found at the top of Kerchouan, a shale geological feature located in the commune of La Ha ...

and the Gouedig/ Gouédic. Other towns of notable size in the ''département'' of Côtes d'Armor are Gwengamp/

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

, and Lannuon/

Lannion Lannion ( ; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants. Climate Lannion h ...

all ''sous-préfectures''. In 2009, large amounts of

sea lettuce The 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'', wikt:lactuca, ''lactuca'' being Latin ...

, a type of

alga Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, suc ...

, washed up on many beaches of Brittany, and when it rotted it emitted dangerous levels of

hydrogen sulphide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist Ca ...

. A horse and some dogs died and a council worker driving a truckload of it fell unconscious at the wheel and died.

Neighbouring communes

Langueux Langueux (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Langueux are called ''langueusiens'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department The following ...

La Méaugon La Méaugon (; ; Gallo: ''Laméaugon'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of La Méaugon are called ''méaugonnais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Arm ...

Plérin Plérin (; ; Gallo: ''Plérein'') is a coastal commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. The Marché du Porc Breton, located in Plérin, is where the price of pork is set for retailers across France. ...

Ploufragan Ploufragan (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Ploufragan lies adjacent to the southwest of Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ' ...

Trégueux Trégueux (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Trégueux are called ''trégueusiens'' in French. Breton language In 2008, 2.7% of primary school children attended b ...

and

Trémuson Trémuson (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Trémuson are called ''trémusonnais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department The follow ...

Climate

Saint-Brieuc experiences an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

Culture

Saint-Brieuc is one of the towns in Europe that host the IU Honors Program. The ''Cemetery of Saint Michel'' contains graves of several notable Bretons, and sculptures by Paul le Goff and Jean Boucher. Outside the wall is

Armel Beaufils Émile Jean Armel-Beaufils was a French sculptor born in Rennes in 1882 and who died in Saint-Briac in 1952. Biography Émile Jean Armel-Beaufils started his schooling in Fougères then at a lycée in Rennes. He studied law and then literature ...

's statue of

Anatole Le Braz Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (2 April 1859 – 20 March 1926), was a Breton poet, folklore collector, and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and was known for his warmth and charm. Biograph ...

. 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 Bozec and work by Francis Renaud. The town of St. Brieux 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.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Saint-Brieuc are called ''Briochins'' in French.

Breton language

In 2008, 3.98% of primary school children attended bilingual schools. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>

Transport

The Saint-Brieuc railway station, situated on the

Paris–Brest railway The railway from Paris to Brest is a 622-kilometre long railway line in France that connects Paris and the western port city Brest, via Le Mans and Rennes. It is used for passenger (express, regional and suburban) and freight traffic. The railway ...

, is connected by

TGV Atlantique The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) 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 trainsets. The trains were named ...

to Paris Montparnasse station, with a journey time of about 3 hours. There are no scheduled air services from Saint-Brieuc – Armor Airport.

Notable people

Saint-Brieuc has been the place of residence for many notable people. * Yann Fouéré (1910–2011), Breton nationalist, journalist and author *

Patrice Carteron Patrice Carteron (born 30 July 1970) is a French football manager and former player who is the head coach of Persian Gulf Pro League club Sepahan. Some of his previous managerial posts include the Mali national team, Al-Nassr and Al-Ettifa ...

(born 1970), footballer * Octave-Louis Aubert (1870–1950), editor *

Maryvonne Dupureur Maryvonne Samson Dupureur (24 May 1937 – 7 January 2008) was a French middle-distance runner. Competing in the 800 m event she won silver medals at the 1964 Olympics and 1967 European Indoor Games; she also took part in the 1960 and 1968 Olym ...

(1937–2008), athlete, Olympic 800m silver medallist *

Émile Durand Émile Durand (; 16 February 18307 May 1903) was a French musical theorist, teacher and composer. He was better known for his theoretical writings than for his compositions. Biography Émile Durand was born in 1830, at Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'A ...

(1830–1903), music theorist and teacher *

Léonard Charner Léonard Victor Joseph Charner (13 February 1797 – 7 February 1869) was an Admiral of the French Navy. As a commander of French naval forces in Asia from May 1860 to September 1861, including the Second Opium War and the Cochinchina campaign, h ...

(1797–1869), senator and

Admiral of France Admiral of France () is a French title of honour. It is the naval equivalent of Marshal of France and was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France. History The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, during the Eighth Crusad ...

Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (7 November 1838 – 19 August 1889) was a French symbolist writer. His family called him Mathias while his friends called him Villiers; he would also use the name Auguste w ...

(1838–1889), symbolist writer *

Célestin Bouglé Célestin Charles Alfred Bouglé (1 June 1870 – 25 January 1940) was a French philosopher and sociologist known for his role as one of Émile Durkheim's collaborators and a member of the '' L'Année Sociologique''. Life Bouglé was born in S ...

(1870–1940),

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Louis Guilloux Louis Guilloux (15 January 1899 – 14 October 1980) was a Breton 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 mi ...

(1899–1980), writer *

Patrick Dewaere Patrick Dewaere (26 January 1947 – 16 July 1982) was a French film actor. Born in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, he was the son of French actress Mado Maurin. An actor from a young age, his career lasted more than 21 years until his suicide in ...

(1947–1982), actor *

Kévin Théophile-Catherine Kévin Théophile-Catherine (born 28 October 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for SuperSport HNL club Dinamo Zagreb. Career Stade Rennais Théophile-Catherine was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany to a Martini ...

(born 1989), footballer *

Louis Rossel Louis-Nathaniel Rossel (9 September 1844 28 November 1871) was a French army officer and a politician. On 19 March 1871, he became the only senior French officer to join up with the Paris Commune, playing an important role as Minister of War ...

(1844–1871), Army officer and Communard * Florent Du Bois de Villerabel (1877–1951), archbishop forced to resign after the Liberation of France in World War II * Mamadou Wagué (born 1990), footballer *

Raymond Hains Raymond Hains (9 November 1926 – 28 October 2005) was a French visual artist and a founder of the Nouveau réalisme movement. In 1960, he signed, along with Arman, François Dufrêne, Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, Jacques Villeglé and P ...

(1926–2005), artist * Anaclet Wamba (born 1960),

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Yelle Yelle is a French electronic band founded by lead singer and namesake Yelle (Julie Budet) and GrandMarnier (Jean-François Perrier). A third member, Tepr (Tanguy Destable), joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Yelle and G ...

(Julie Budet) (born 1983), musician * Roland Fichet (born 1950), author, philosopher *

Jean-Christophe Boullion Jean-Christophe Joël Louis "Jules" Boullion (born 27 December 1969) is a French former racing driver. He won the 1994 International Formula 3000 Championship with DAMS, took two Le Mans Series titles with the Pescarolo Sport outfit in 2005 and ...

(born 1969), racing driver * Alexandre Marsoin (born 1989), racing driver

Twin towns

Saint-Brieuc ''préfecture'' of 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.Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

, Wales *

Agia Paraskevi Agia Paraskevi (, ''Agía Paraskeví'') is a suburb and a municipality in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is part of the North Athens regional unit. Agia Paraskevi was named after the main church of the town, which ...

, Greece *

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 now many service companies have established themselves in Alsdorf. Alsdorf has an indoor arena, a ...

, Germany *

Goražde Goražde ( sr-cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Drina rive ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

References

External links

City council website

saint-brieuc.maville

Saint-Brieuc Tourism
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintbrieuc Communes of Côtes-d'Armor Prefectures in France