Saint-Malo
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Saint-Malo |
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| View of the walled city | |
  Saint-Malo
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Location within Brittany region
 Saint-Malo
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Brittany |
| Department | Ille-et-Vilaine |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Malo |
| Canton | Saint-Malo-Nord and Saint-Malo-Sud |
| Intercommunality | Saint-Malo |
| Mayor | René Couanau (UMP) (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 0–51 m (0–167 ft) (avg. 8 m/26 ft) |
| Land area1 | 36.58 km2 (14.12 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 52,737 (2007) |
| - Density | 1,442 /km2 (3,730 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 35288/ 35400 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Saint-Malo (Breton: Sant-Maloù; Gallo: Saent-Malô) is a walled port city in Brittany in north-western France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department.
Contents |
Demographics
The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season. With the suburbs included, the population is about 135,000.
The population of the commune more than doubled in 1968 with the merging of three communes: Saint-Malo, Saint-Servan (population 14,963 in 1962), and Paramé (population 8811 in 1962).
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | %± |
| 1793 | 10,730 | — |
| 1800 | 9,147 | −14.8% |
| 1806 | 9,934 | 8.6% |
| 1821 | 9,949 | 0.2% |
| 1831 | 9,981 | 0.3% |
| 1836 | 9,744 | −2.4% |
| 1841 | 10,053 | 3.2% |
| 1846 | 10,076 | 0.2% |
| 1851 | 9,997 | −0.8% |
| 1856 | 10,809 | 8.1% |
| 1861 | 10,886 | 0.7% |
| 1866 | 10,693 | −1.8% |
| 1872 | 12,316 | 15.2% |
| 1876 | 10,295 | −16.4% |
| 1881 | 11,212 | 8.9% |
| 1886 | 10,500 | −6.4% |
| 1891 | 11,896 | 13.3% |
| 1896 | 11,476 | −3.5% |
| 1901 | 11,486 | 0.1% |
| 1906 | 10,647 | −7.3% |
| 1911 | 12,371 | 16.2% |
| 1921 | 12,390 | 0.2% |
| 1926 | 13,137 | 6.0% |
| 1931 | 12,864 | −2.1% |
| 1936 | 13,836 | 7.6% |
| 1946 | 11,311 | −18.2% |
| 1954 | 14,339 | 26.8% |
| 1962 | 17,137 | 19.5% |
| 1968 | 42,297 | 146.8% |
| 1975 | 45,030 | 6.5% |
| 1982 | 46,347 | 2.9% |
| 1990 | 48,057 | 3.7% |
| 1999 | 50,675 | 5.4% |
| 2005 | 49,600 | −2.1% |
| 2007 | 52,737 | 6.3% |
| From the year 1962 on: population without double counting | ||
| Source: Cassini[1] et INSEE[2] | ||
Inhabitants of Saint-Malo are called Malouins, Malouines.
Breton language
In 2008, 0.55% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.[3]
History
Saint-Malo during the Middle Ages was a fortified island at the mouth of the Rance River, controlling not only the estuary but the open sea beyond. The promontory fort of Aleth, south of the modern centre in what is now the Saint-Servan district, commanded approaches to the Rance even before the Romans, but modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the 6th century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of Brendan, Saint Malo.
Saint-Malo had a tradition of asserting its autonomy in dealings with the French authorities and even with the local Breton authorities. From 1490–1493, Saint-Malo declared itself to be an independent republic, taking the motto "not French, not Breton, but Malouins".[4]
Saint-Malo became notorious as the home of the corsairs, French privateers and sometimes pirates. (In the nineteenth century the city's "piratical" notoriety was portrayed in Jean Richepin's play Le flibustier and in César Cui's like-named opera derived therefrom.) The corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute, but also brought wealth from further afield. Jacques Cartier, who sailed the Saint Lawrence River and visited the sites of Quebec City and Montreal — and is thus credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo, as did the first colonists to settle the Falklands – hence the islands' French name Îles Malouines, which gave rise to the Spanish name Islas Malvinas.
In 1758 the Raid on St Malo saw a British expedition land intending to capture the town. However the British made no attempt on St Malo, and instead occupied the nearby town of St Servan where they destroyed 30 privateers before departing.
The commune of Saint-Servan was merged, together with Paramé, and became the commune of Saint-Malo in 1967.
Saint Malo was the site of an Anglo-French summit in 1998 which led to a significant agreement regarding European defence policy.
Food
Saint-Malo has one of the highest concentration of sea food restaurants in Europe. It is famous for its local oysters from the nearby village of Cancale.
Transport
Saint-Malo is a terminal for ferry services to Poole, Portsmouth and Weymouth in England via the Channel Islands.[5][6] It also has a railway station offering direct TGV service to Paris and a bus service provided by Keolis. There is an Airport at Pleurtuit, a little village near to Saint Malo.
Sites of interest
Now inseparably attached to the mainland, Saint-Malo is the most visited place in Brittany. Sites of interest include:
- The walled city (La Ville Intra-Muros)
- The château of Saint-Malo, part of which is now the town museum.
- The Solidor Tower in Saint-Servan is a fourteenth century building which holds a collection tracing the history of voyages around Cape Horn. Many scale models, nautical instruments and objects made by the sailors during their crossing or brought back from foreign ports invoke thoughts of travel aboard extraordinary tall ships at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
- The tomb of the writer Chateaubriand on the Ile du Grand Bé
- The Petit Bé
- The Cathedral of St. Vincent
- The Privateer's House ("La Demeure de Corsaire"), a ship-owner's town house built in 1725, shows objects from the history of privateering, weaponry and ship models.
- The Great Aquarium Saint-Malo, one of the major aquaria in France.
- The labyrinthe du Corsaire, (an actraction park in Saint Malo)
- The Pointe de la Varde, Natural Park.
- The City of Alet, in front of Saint Malo Intra Muros.
Notable people
Saint-Malo was the birthplace of:
- Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), explorer of Canada
- Philippe Cattiau (1892–1962), Olympic medalist in fencing
- Jacques Gouin de Beauchene (1652–1730), explorer of the Falkland Islands
- Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698–1759), mathematician and astronomer
- Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1699–1753), sailor and administrator
- François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), writer and diplomat
- Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne (1724–1772), explorer
- Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709–1751), physician and philosopher
- Robert Surcouf (1773–1827), sailor, trader, ship-owner and corsair
- Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais (1782–1854), priest, philosophical and political writer
- Louis Duchesne (1843–1922), historian, French academician
- Colin Clive (1900–1937), actor
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Saint-Malo is twinned with:
Port-Louis, Mauritius (1999)
Gaspé, Quebec, Canada (2009)- Saint-Malo, Quebec, Canada
St. Malo, Manitoba, Canada
Gallery
 Old map of Saint-Malo |
 The "Fort National" visible from Saint-Malo |
 View up a typical city street towards the cathedral |
 View of the city from the walls |
 Cathedral window |
 The city wall of St Malo. |
 Commemoration of the Cartier expedition in the floor of the cathedral. |
 The Holy Family on a Saint-Malo background, in a painting made by James Collinson in 1878, when he was living in Brittany |
See also
- Saint-Servan
- Rothéneuf
- Mont-Saint-Michel
- Battle for Brest
- Communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine department
References
- Notes
- ↑ "http://cassini.ehess.fr/ Population avant le recensement de 1962". http://cassini.ehess.fr/cassini/fr/html/6_index.htm.
- ↑ "INSEE: Population depuis le recensement de 1962". http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/psdc.htm.
- ↑ (French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue
- ↑ S. et J. Beaulieu, Saint Malo et l'histoire, p 10 to 32
- ↑ "http://www.condorferries.co.uk/Terminal/malo.html". Condor Ferries. http://www.condorferries.co.uk/Terminal/malo.html. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ↑ "Portsmouth - St Malo". Brittany Ferries. http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/routes/portsmouth-st-malo. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
External links
- Town hall's website (French)
- St. Malo: Capital of the corsaires Images and information
- Pictures from Saint Malo
- French Ministry of Culture list for Saint-Malo (French)
- Public transport of Saint-Malo (French)
- Saint-Malo France Independent travel guide to the historic city of Saint-Malo. (English)
- The best butter in the world can be found in St. Malo
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