Bretagne
For the town in the Territoire-de-Belfort, see Bretagne (Territoire-de-Belfort), for the one in Indre, see Bretagne (Indre). French Région |native_name = Région Bretagne |common_name = Brittany |image_flag = Brittany flag.png |image_flag_size = 115px |image_logo = Logotype région Bretagne fr.jpg|image_logo_size = 100px |flag = (Région flag)|capital =
Rennes |area = 27,209 | area_scale = 10 |Regional president =
Jean-Yves Le Drian(
PS) (since
2004)|population_rank = 7th|population_census = 2,906,197 |population_census_year = 1999 |population_estimate = 3,044,000 |population_estimate_year = 2005 |population_density = 112 |population_density_year = 2005 |arrondissements = 15 |cantons = 201 |communes = 1,268 |départements =
Côtes-d'ArmorIlle-et-VilaineMorbihanFinistère |image_map = Bretagne map.png |footnotes=|}}
Bretagne (;
English:
Brittany;
Breton:
Breizh;
Gallo:
Bertaèyn) is one of the 26
régions of
France. It occupies a large
peninsula in the northwest of the country, lying between the
English Channel to the north and the
Bay of Biscay to the south. Its capital city is
Rennes.
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Le Diben harbor - Plougasnou (Bretagne) |
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House in Brittany at the Atlantic Coast (north of Morlaix) |
The
région of Bretagne is made up of 80% of the former duchy and
province of
Brittany. The remaining 20% of Brittany is the
Loire-Atlantique département which lies inside the
Pays-de-la-Loire région, with its capital
Nantes, which was the historical capital of the
duchy of Brittany.
Part of the reason why Brittany was split between two modern day
régions was to avoid the rivalry between Rennes and Nantes. Although Nantes had been the main capital of the duchy of Brittany until the 16th century, Rennes had been the seat of the
parlement (supreme court of justice) of Brittany between
1560 and
1789. Rennes had also been the administrative capital of the
intendance of Brittany between
1689 and
1789.
Intendances were the most important administrative units of the kingdom of France in the 17th and 18th centuries. As for the provincial states of Brittany, which originally met every two years in a different city of Brittany, they had only met in Rennes from
1728 to
1789 (with only the exceptions of
1730,
1758, and
1760). Despite that, the "Chambre des comptes" stayed in Nantes until 1789. Note that
Vannes (Gwened in breton) used to be the first administrative capital of the duchy from 1381 till the end of the 15th century, keeping the seat of the "Chambre des comptes" till 1491/99, and the one of the "Parlement" till 1553, and between 1675 and 1689.
Thus, when French
régions were created, it was decided in
1941 (when the majority of France was under
Nazi German occupation, and the remainder under the puppet
Vichy regime) to create a
région of Bretagne with Rennes as its capital, and another
région created specifically for Nantes, which was called Pays-de-la-Loire (i.e. "lands of the
Loire"). Pays-de-la-Loire is made up of a part of Brittany, but also several other historical provinces (
Anjou,
Maine, and so on).
Some people in Brittany complain about the current division of Brittany and would like to see
Loire-Atlantique joining the
région of Bretagne in order to reunify Brittany. However, reunification raises a couple of questions: first, what to do with the rump Pays-de-la-Loire
région, and second, which city should be chosen as the capital of this reunified Bretagne
région.
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Bilingual road signs in Quimper (French on top) |
Two
regional languages are recognised by the region.
Breton, a
Celtic language (akin to
Welsh), is spoken in the western part of Brittany (roughly, west of a boundary from St Brieuc to Vannes ).
In the part of Brittany which never spoke Breton,
Gallo, an
Oïl language, is also in the process of being revived, as a cultural trait of that part of Brittany.
Modern French administration now allows for some Breton or Gallo to be used by the region and its communes, in road signs and names of towns and cities, along with the French version. They are also taught at school, and many folklore associations and clubs try to re-invigorate them.
There are several airports in Brittany serving destinations in
France and
England.
TGV train services link the
région with cities such as
Paris,
Lyon,
Marseille, and
Lille in other
régions of France. In addition there are ferry services that take passengers, vehicles and freight to
Ireland, England and the
Channel Islands.
*
List of postal codes in Brittany*
Regional Council of Bretagne*
FrenchEntree-Brittany - Brittany life and culture in English
*
AngloINFO Bretagne - information in English
*
Photographic library Ille-et-Vilaine *
Blog of information about Brittany 
