NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Bretagne

Bretagne (French pronunciation (help· info); English: Brittany; Breton: Breizh; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is one of the 26 regions 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. Image File history File links Flag_of_Brittany. ... Image File history File links Logotype_rÃ©gion_Bretagne_fr. ... Image File history File links Map of Bretagne, by Rinaldum. ... Some medieval houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the center of Rennes. ... In France, the president of the regional council (French: PrÃ©sident du conseil rÃ©gional) is the elected official who heads the conseil rÃ©gional of a rÃ©gion, a state-level territory. ... The Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste or PS) is one of the largest political parties in France. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Departments (French: dÃ©partements) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... CÃ´tes-dArmor (French) / AodoÃ¹-an-Arvor (Breton) is a dÃ©partement in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. ... Ille-et-Vilaine is a dÃ©partement of France, located in Brittany (Bretagne in French) in the northwest corner of France. ... Morbihan is a dÃ©partement in the northwest of France named after the Morbihan (small sea in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline. ... Flinstones (Penn-ar-Bed in Breton) is a dÃ©partement of France, located in Brittany (Bretagne in French). ... The 100 French dÃ©partements are divided into 342 arrondissements. ... The cantons of France are administrative divisions subdividing arrondissements and dÃ©partements. ... Map of the 36,568 communes of metropolitan France. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 10,000 kmÂ² and 100,000 kmÂ². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... // The following are ranked lists of French rÃ©gions. ... Rio de la Plata estuary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Estuaries An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea[1]. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 540 KB) Hafen von Le Diben - Plougasnou - Bretagne (Frankreich) / Le Diben harbor - Plougasnou - Brittany (France); Privataufnahme Georg Mittenecker File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bretagne Metadata... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 540 KB) Hafen von Le Diben - Plougasnou - Bretagne (Frankreich) / Le Diben harbor - Plougasnou - Brittany (France); Privataufnahme Georg Mittenecker File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bretagne Metadata... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1066 KB) Bretonisches Haus an der Atlantik-KÃ¼ste (Le Diben / Plougasnou) / House at the Coast of Brittany (Le Diben / Plougasnou); Georg Mittenecker (Privataufnahme) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1066 KB) Bretonisches Haus an der Atlantik-KÃ¼ste (Le Diben / Plougasnou) / House at the Coast of Brittany (Le Diben / Plougasnou); Georg Mittenecker (Privataufnahme) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1037x1120, 741 KB) Directional road signs, bilingual in French and Breton, in the city of Kemper (Quimper) in Brittany Photo taken by Man vyi with Canon PowerShot A40 on 14/10/2003 File links The following pages link to this file... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1037x1120, 741 KB) Directional road signs, bilingual in French and Breton, in the city of Kemper (Quimper) in Brittany Photo taken by Man vyi with Canon PowerShot A40 on 14/10/2003 File links The following pages link to this file... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... A number of ships of the French Navy have been named in honour of the region of Brittany. ... Image File history File links Fr-Bretagne. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Breton (Breton: Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany (Breizh) in France. ... Gallo is a regional language of France, traditionally spoken in Eastern Brittany. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A peninsula in Croatia A peninsula (from the latin words paene insula, almost island) is a geographical landform consisting of an extension of a body of land from a larger body of land, surrounded by water on three sides. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... Map of the Bay of Biscay. ... Some medieval houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the center of Rennes. ...

Territory

The region of Bretagne is made up of 80% of the former duchy and province of Brittany. The remaining 20% of Brittany is the Loire-Atlantique department which lies inside the Pays-de-la-Loire region, with its capital Nantes, which was the historical capital of the duchy of Brittany. The Kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the dÃ©partement system superseded provinces. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-InfÃ©rieure) is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean. ... Departments (French: dÃ©partements) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Nantes Regional President Jacques Auxiette (PS) (since 2004) Departments Loire-Atlantique Mayenne Maine-et-Loire Sarthe VendÃ©e Arrondissements 17 Cantons 192 Communes 1,503 Statistics Land area1 32,082 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 5th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... Traditional city flag City coat of arms Motto: (Latin: Shall Neptune favour the traveller) Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration DÃ©partement Loire-Atlantique (44) RÃ©gion Pays-de-la-Loire Mayor Jean-Marc Ayrault (PS) (since 1989) Intercommunality Urban Community of Nantes City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 65. ... The Duchy of Brittany was an independent state from 841 to 1532. ...

Part of the reason why Brittany was split between two modern day regions 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 supreme court of justice of Brittany between 1560 and 1789. Rennes had also been the administrative capital of the Intendant 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. New France was governed by three rulers: the governor, the bishop and the intendant, all appointed by the King, and sent from France. ... In the old city centre Harbour to cathedral Vannes (Breton: Gwened) is a town and commune located in the Morbihan dÃ©partement, in Brittany, in the west of France. ...

Thus, when French regions 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 region of Bretagne with Rennes as its capital, and another region 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). National Socialism redirects here. ... Motto Travail, famille, patrie French: Work, family, fatherland Unoccupied zone of Vichy France (until November 1942) Capital Vichy Language(s) French Religion Roman Catholic Government Dictatorship Head of state - 1940 â€” 1944 Philippe PÃ©tain President of the Council - 1940 â€” 1942 Philippe PÃ©tain - 1942 - 1944 Pierre Laval Legislature National Assembly... The Loire River (pronounced in French), the longest river in France with a length of just over 1000 km, drains an area of 117,000 kmÂ², more than a fifth of France. ... Anjou is a former county (c. ... Flag of Maine Location of Maine in France Maine is one of the traditional provinces of France. ...

Some people in Brittany complain about the current division of Brittany and would like to see Loire-Atlantique joining the region 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 region, and second, which city should be chosen as the capital of this reunified Bretagne region. Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-InfÃ©rieure) is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Language

Two regional languages are recognized by the region. A regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country - it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. ...

Breton, a Celtic language (akin to Cornish and Welsh), is spoken in the western part of Brittany (roughly, west of a boundary from St Brieuc to Vannes). Breton (Breton: Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany (Breizh) in France. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Celtic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ...

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. Gallo is a regional language of France, traditionally spoken in Eastern Brittany. ... The geographical spread of the OÃ¯l languages (except French) can be seen in shades of green in this map The OÃ¯l language family in linguistics comprises Romance languages originating in territories now occupied by northern France, part of Belgium and the Channel Islands. ...

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.

Transportation

There are several airports in Brittany serving destinations in France and England. TGV train services link the region with cities such as Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille in other regions of France. In addition there are ferry services that take passengers, vehicles and freight to Ireland, England and the Channel Islands. Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() â€“ on the European continent() â€“ in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification - by Athelstan 967 Area... For the group of heart conditions referred to as TGV, see transposition of the great vessels. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du TrocadÃ©ro. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: (Franco-ProvenÃ§al: Forward, forward, Lyon the best) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region RhÃ´ne-Alpes Department RhÃ´ne (69) Subdivisions 9 arrondissements Intercommunality Urban Community of Lyon Mayor GÃ©rard Collomb (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics... http://www. ... New city flag Traditional coat of arms Motto: â€“ Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Nord-Pas de Calais Department Nord (59) Intercommunality Urban Community of Lille MÃ©tropole Mayor Martine Aubry (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land areaÂ¹ 39. ... This article is about the British dependencies. ...

Major communities

Brest (lol) is a city in Brittany, or the Bretagne rÃ©gion, north-west France, sous-prÃ©fecture of the FinistÃ¨re dÃ©partement. ... Concarneau is a commune of the FinistÃ¨re dÃ©partement, in France. ... The ChÃ¢teau in FougÃ¨res A view of the old town in FougÃ¨res from the castle FougÃ¨res (Felger in Breton, Foujerr in Gallo)is a town, a commune and a sous-prÃ©fecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine dÃ©partement in France. ... Lanester is a commune in the dÃ©partement of Morbihan and the Bretagne region of France. ... Lannion (Breton: Lannuon) is a commune of the CÃ´tes-dArmor dÃ©partement, in Brittany, France. ... This article is about The place Lorient in France. ... Ploemeur (PlaÃ±vour in Breton) is a commune of the French dÃ©partement of Morbihan in the French rÃ©gion of Bretagne (approximately 80% of Brittany). ... Quimper (Kemper in Breton, Corspotium in Latin) is a commune of Brittany in northwestern France. ... Some medieval houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the center of Rennes. ... Saint-Brieuc (Breton: Sant-Brieg) is a commune France, situated in CÃ´tes-dArmor and in the Brittany rÃ©gion. ... Categories: France geography stubs | Communes of Ille-et-Vilaine ... In the old city centre Harbour to cathedral Vannes (Breton: Gwened) is a town and commune located in the Morbihan dÃ©partement, in Brittany, in the west of France. ...

External links

Regions of France

onmouseover="pv(event, 109)" onmouseout="unpv(109)" style="">Alsace • Aquitaine • Auvergne • Bourgogne • Bretagne • Centre • Champagne-Ardenne • Corsica • Franche-Comté • Île-de-France • Languedoc-Roussillon • Limousin • Lorraine • Midi-Pyrénées • Nord-Pas de Calais • Basse-Normandie • Haute-Normandie • Pays de la Loire • Picardie • Poitou-Charentes • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur • Rhône-Alpes Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... (New rÃ©gion flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Strasbourg Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Departments Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 14th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... Location Administration Capital Bordeaux Regional President Alain Rousset (PS) (since 1998) DÃ©partements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne PyrÃ©nÃ©es-Atlantiques Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Statistics Land area1 41,309 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 6th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Clermont-Ferrand Regional President RenÃ© Souchon (PS) (since 2006) Departments Allier Cantal Haute-Loire Puy-de-DÃ´me Arrondissements 14 Cantons 158 Communes 1,310 Statistics Land area1 26,013 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 19th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... Location Administration Capital Dijon Regional President FranÃ§ois Patriat (PS) (since 2004) DÃ©partements Yonne CÃ´te-dOr NiÃ¨vre SaÃ´ne-et-Loire Arrondissements 15 Cantons 174 Communes 2,045 Statistics Land area1 31,582 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 16th) - January 1, 2005 est. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital OrlÃ©ans Regional President Michel Sapin (PS) (1998 to 2000, and since 2004) Departments Cher Eure-et-Loir Indre Indre-et-Loire Loir-et-Cher Loiret Arrondissements 20 Cantons 198 Communes 1,842 Statistics Land area1 39,151 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 9th) - January... Capital ChÃ¢lons-en-Champagne Land areaÂ¹ 25,606 kmÂ² Regional President Jean-Paul Bachy (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... (Territorial collectivity flag) (Territorial collectivity logo) Location Administration Capital Ajaccio President of the Executive Council Ange Santini (UMP) (since 2004) Departments Corse-du-Sud Haute-Corse Arrondissements 5 Cantons 52 Communes 360 Statistics Land area1 8,680 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 25th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... Capital BesanÃ§on Land areaÂ¹ 16,202 kmÂ² Regional President Raymond Forni (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (RÃ©gion logo) Location Administration Capital Paris Regional President Jean-Paul Huchon (PS) (since 1998) Departments Essonne Hauts-de-Seine Paris Seine-Saint-Denis Seine-et-Marne Val-de-Marne Val-dOise Yvelines Arrondissements 25 Cantons 317 Communes 1,281 Statistics Land area1 12,011 km... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Montpellier Regional President Georges FrÃªche (PS) (since 2004) Departments Aude Gard HÃ©rault LozÃ¨re PyrÃ©nÃ©es-Orientales Arrondissements 14 Cantons 186 Communes 1,545 Statistics Land area1 27,376 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 10th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Limoges Regional President Jean-Paul Denanot (PS) (since 2004) Departments CorrÃ¨ze Creuse Haute-Vienne Arrondissements 8 Cantons 106 Communes 747 Statistics Land area1 16,942 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 22nd) - January 1, 2006 est. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Metz Regional President Jean-Pierre Masseret (PS) (since 2004) Departments Meurthe-et-Moselle Meuse Moselle Vosges Arrondissements 19 Cantons 157 Communes 2,337 Statistics Land area1 23,547 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 11th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... Capital Toulouse Land areaÂ¹ 45,348 kmÂ² Regional President Martin Malvy (PS) (since 1998) Population - Jan. ... Capital Lille Area 12,414 km² Regional President Daniel Percheron (PS) (since 2001) Population - 2004 estimate - 1999 census - Density (Ranked 4th) 4,026,000 3,996,588 324/km² (2004) Arrondissements 13 Cantons 156 Communes 1,546 Départements Nord Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas de Calais is one of... Capital Caen Land areaÂ¹ 17,589 kmÂ² Regional President Philippe Duron (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... Capital Rouen Land areaÂ¹ 12,318 kmÂ² Regional President Alain Le Vern (PS) (since 1998) Population - Jan. ... Capital Nantes Land areaÂ¹ 32,082 kmÂ² Regional President Jacques Auxiette (PS) (since 2004) Population - Jan. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Amiens Regional President Claude Gewerc (PS) (since 2004) Departments Aisne Oise Somme Arrondissements 13 Cantons 129 Communes 2,292 Statistics Land area1 19,399 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 12th) - January 1, 2006 est. ... Categories: Stub | Regions of France ... Location Administration Capital Marseille Regional President Michel Vauzelle (PS) (since 1998) DÃ©partements Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-Maritimes Bouches-du-RhÃ´ne Hautes-Alpes Var Vaucluse Arrondissements 18 Cantons 237 Communes 963 Statistics Land area1 31,400 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 3rd) - January 1, 2005 est. ... (RÃ©gion flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Lyon Regional President Jean-Jack Queyranne (PS) (since 2004) Departments Ain ArdÃ¨che DrÃ´me IsÃ¨re Loire RhÃ´ne Savoie Haute-Savoie Arrondissements 25 Cantons 335 Communes 2,879 Statistics Land area1 43,698 kmÂ² Population (Ranked 2nd) - January 1, 2006...

Overseas regions: French Guiana • Guadeloupe • Martinique • Réunion Overseas region (French: RÃ©gion doutre-mer), is a recent designation given to the overseas departments which have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. ...

Coordinates: 48°00′N, 3°00′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Contents

Territory GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Language

Transportation

Major communities

External links

Territory