Saint-Brieuc

Saint-Brieuc
Sant-Brieg


Coat of arms
Saint-Brieuc

Coordinates: 48°30′49″N 2°45′55″W / 48.5136°N 2.7653°WCoordinates: 48°30′49″N 2°45′55″W / 48.5136°N 2.7653°W
Country France
Region Brittany
Department Côtes-d'Armor
Arrondissement Saint-Brieuc
Intercommunality Saint-Brieuc
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Bruno Joncour (MoDem)
Area1 21.88 km2 (8.45 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 45,879
 • Density 2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 22278 / 22000
Elevation 0–134 m (0–440 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Saint-Brieuc (pronounced [sɛ̃.bʁi.jø], Breton: Sant-Brieg, Gallo: Saent-Berioec) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.

History

The historic bishoprics of Brittany

Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th 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

Overview

The town is located by the English Channel, on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Two rivers flow through Saint-Brieuc: the Goued/Gouët and the Gouedig/Gouédic.

Other towns of notable size in the département of Côtes d'Armor are Gwengamp/Guingamp, Dinan, and Lannuon/Lannion all sous-préfectures.

In 2009, large amounts of sea lettuce, a type of algae, washed up on many beaches of Brittany, and when it rotted it emitted dangerous levels of hydrogen sulphide.[1] A horse and some dogs died and a council worker driving a truckload of it fell unconscious at the wheel and died.[1] The beach at Saint-Brieuc suffered bad damage and had to be shut.

Neighboring communes

Langueux, La Méaugon, Plérin, Ploufragan, Trégueux and Trémuson.

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's statue of Anatole Le Braz. 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.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
196243,142—    
196850,281+16.5%
197552,559+4.5%
198248,563−7.6%
199044,752−7.8%
199946,087+3.0%
200845,879−0.5%

Breton language

In 2008, 3.98% of primary school children attended bilingual schools.[2]

Transport

Saint-Brieuc airport
St-Brieuc SNCF station

The Saint-Brieuc railway station, situated on the Paris–Brest railway, is connected by TGV Atlantique to Paris Montparnasse station in about 3 hours.

There are no scheduled air services from Saint-Brieuc – Armor Airport.

Personalities

Saint-Brieuc is hometown of many personalities:

International relations

Saint-Brieuc préfecture of the Côtes-d'Armor is twinned with :

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Seaweed suspected in French death". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  2. ↑ (French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue
  3. ↑ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 2013-07-11.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Brieuc.