Brest, France
Brest | |
---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
Coordinates: 48°23′N 4°29′W / 48.39°N 4.49°W | |
Country | France |
Region | Brittany |
Department | Finistère |
Arrondissement | Brest |
Canton | Brest-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 |
Intercommunality | Brest Métropole |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | François Cuillandre[1] (PS) |
Area 1 | 49.51 km2 (19.12 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 139,619 |
• Density | 2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Brestois (masculine) Brestoise (feminine) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 29019 /29200 |
Elevation | 0–103 m (0–338 ft) (avg. 34 m or 112 ft) |
Website | brest |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Brest (French pronunciation:
During the
Brest's history has since the 17th century been linked to the sea: the Académie de Marine (Naval Academy) was founded in 1752 in this city. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was built there. Every four years, Brest hosts the international festival of the sea, boats and sailors: it is a meeting of old riggings from around the world (Les Tonnerres de Brest).
History
The name of the town is first recorded as Bresta; it may derive from *brigs, a Celtic word for "hill".[9][11]
Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240,[
The advantages of Brest's situation as a seaport town were first recognized by
In 1694, an English squadron under
In 1917, during the
In the
In 1944, after the Allied
During the postwar
In 1972, the French Navy opened its nuclear weapon-submarine (deterrence) base at Île Longue in the Rade de Brest (Brest roadstead). This continues to be an important base for the French nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Brest is divided in two: to the left, there's the three fleurs-de-lis of the former kingdom of France, and to the right it has the ermines of the Duchy of Brittany. These arms were used for the first time in a register of deliberations of the city council dated the 15 July 1683[citation needed]. Additionally, it looks visually identical to the coat of arms of Bourg-la-Reine.
Sights
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2020) |
The Musée de la Tour Tanguy, in the Tanguy tower, houses a collection of dioramas that depict the city of Brest on the eve of World War II. The Musée national de la Marine de Brest, housed in the ancient castle, contains exhibits which outline Brest's maritime tradition, as well as an aquarium, the Océanopolis marine centre. The city also has a notable botanical garden specializing in endangered species, the Conservatoire botanique national de Brest, as well as the Jardin botanique de l'Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Clermont-Tonnerre.
The city of Brest does not have much remaining historical architecture, apart from a few select monuments such as the castle and the Tanguy tower. This is due to heavy bombing by the Allies during World War II, in an attempt to destroy the submarine base the Germans had built in the harbour. In the 1950s, the town was hastily rebuilt using a large amount of concrete. In Recouvrance, the west bank of the town, there remains an authentic street of the 17th century, Saint-Malo Street.
A few kilometres out of town, there are landscapes, from sandy beaches to
-
The Tanguy tower hosts a museum of the history of Brest; in the background, the Pont de Recouvrance (Recouvrance Bridge).
-
The castle hosts the Musée national de la Marine (National Navy Museum).
-
The conservatoire botanique national in autumn
-
Saint-Sauveur church inRecouvrance, designed by Amédée-François Frézier, the oldest church of Brest, built in 1750[16]
-
Monumental perspective from the Place de la Liberté opening to therade de Brest (Brest roadstead) in the background, and on the right, the steeple of Saint-Louis church dominating the rebuilt centre of Brest
Geography
Brest is located amidst a dramatic landscape near the entrance of the natural
It is situated to the north of a magnificent landlocked bay, and occupies the slopes of two hills divided by the river Penfeld. The part of the town on the left bank is regarded as Brest proper, while the part on the right is known as Recouvrance. There are also extensive suburbs to the east of the town. The hillsides are in some places so steep that the ascent from the lower to the upper town has to be effected by flights of steps and the second or third storey of one house is often on a level with the ground storey of the next.
Climate
Brest experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). As a result of maritime moderation, Brest has cool summers by French standards, July afternoons are cooler than the norm in Western Europe. Rainfall is common year-round, but snowfall is a rarer occurrence since temperatures usually remain several degrees above freezing during winter nights.
An extreme temperature of 39.3 °C (102.7 °F) was recorded on
Climate data for Brest (Bretagne Airport, altitude 94m, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1855–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 16.8 (62.2) |
20.7 (69.3) |
25.0 (77.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
30.6 (87.1) |
34.3 (93.7) |
39.3 (102.7) |
35.1 (95.2) |
35.0 (95.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
19.0 (66.2) |
39.3 (102.7) |
Mean maximum °C (°F) | 13.1 (55.6) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.9 (64.2) |
20.9 (69.6) |
24.3 (75.7) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.2 (81.0) |
25.4 (77.7) |
20.6 (69.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
13.7 (56.7) |
29.8 (85.6) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
11.9 (53.4) |
13.9 (57.0) |
16.8 (62.2) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.8 (69.4) |
20.9 (69.6) |
19.3 (66.7) |
16.0 (60.8) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.3 (50.5) |
15.1 (59.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) |
7.1 (44.8) |
8.6 (47.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
12.8 (55.0) |
15.3 (59.5) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.1 (62.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
12.8 (55.0) |
9.8 (49.6) |
7.7 (45.9) |
11.7 (53.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.6 (40.3) |
4.3 (39.7) |
5.4 (41.7) |
6.3 (43.3) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.4 (52.5) |
13.1 (55.6) |
13.2 (55.8) |
11.5 (52.7) |
9.6 (49.3) |
7.0 (44.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
8.4 (47.1) |
Mean minimum °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
0.8 (33.4) |
3.3 (37.9) |
6.6 (43.9) |
8.7 (47.7) |
8.3 (46.9) |
6.0 (42.8) |
3.2 (37.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −14.0 (6.8) |
−13.4 (7.9) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
3.7 (38.7) |
6.0 (42.8) |
5.8 (42.4) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
−14.0 (6.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 142.6 (5.61) |
118.7 (4.67) |
82.2 (3.24) |
91.8 (3.61) |
74.6 (2.94) |
64.6 (2.54) |
70.7 (2.78) |
75.3 (2.96) |
78.6 (3.09) |
129.4 (5.09) |
146.7 (5.78) |
154.6 (6.09) |
1,229.8 (48.42) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 18.0 | 14.9 | 13.2 | 12.5 | 10.3 | 9.1 | 10.6 | 9.8 | 10.1 | 15.4 | 17.9 | 17.8 | 159.5 |
Average snowy days | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 7.3 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
86 | 84 | 82 | 81 | 81 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 85 | 86 | 85 | 86 | 84 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 61.2 | 81.7 | 122.2 | 165.4 | 187.5 | 183.9 | 180.1 | 171.8 | 158.4 | 109.0 | 72.3 | 61.2 | 1,554.6 |
Percent possible sunshine | 24.0 | 31.0 | 35.0 | 43.0 | 46.0 | 46.0 | 48.0 | 47.0 | 45.0 | 37.0 | 29.0 | 25.0 | 38.0 |
Source 1: | |||||||||||||
Source 2: NOAA (percent sun 1961-1990),[20] Infoclimat.fr (humidity 1961-1990)[21] |
Population
In 1945 Brest absorbed three neighbouring communes.[22] The population data for 1936 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1945 borders.
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Source: EHESS[22] and INSEE (1968-2020)[6] |
Transport
The railway station of Brest,
trains to Paris take approximately three hours and forty minutes to reach the capital.A new 28-stop, 14.3 km (9 mi)
Brest international airport,
The harbour of Brest is mainly dedicated to
Economy
Due to its location, Brest is regarded as the first French port that can be accessed from the Americas. Shipping is big business, although
Despite its image of an industrialised city whose activity depends mainly on military order, the service sector represents 75% of the economic activity. The importance of the service sector is still increasing while industrialised activity is decaying, explaining the unchanged rate of working-class in Brest. Brest also hosts headquarters for many subsidiaries like the banking group Arkéa. Research and conception is taking an increasing importance. Brest claims to be the largest European centre for sciences and techniques linked to the sea: 60% of the French research in the maritime field is based in Brest.[27]
Administration
Mayors
- since 2001: François Cuillandre
- 1989–2001: Pierre Maille (2nd and 3rd terms)
- 1985–1989: Georges Kerbrat
- 1983–1985: Jacques Berthelot
- 1982–1983: Pierre Maille
- 1977–1982: Francis Le Blé
- 1973–1977: Eugène Berest
- 1959–1973: Georges Lombard
- 1958–1959: Auguste Kervern
- 1954–1958: Yves Jaouen
- 1954–1954: Lucien Chaix
- 1953–1954: Yves Jaouen
- 1947–1953: Alfred Pierre Marie Chupin
- 1945–1947: Jules Lullien
- 1944–1945: Jules Lullien
- 1942–1944: Victor Eusen
- 1929–1941: Victor Le Gorgeu
- 1921–1929: Léon Nardon
- 1920–1921: Hippolyte Masson
- 1919–1920: Louis Léon Nardon
- 1912–1919: Hippolyte Masson
- 1908–1912: Louis Arthur Delobeau
- 1904–1908: Victor Marie Aubert
- 1900–1904: Charles Berger
Breton language
Breton is not commonly spoken in the city of Brest, which was the only French-speaking city in western Brittany before the 1789 French Revolution, despite the surrounding countryside being fully Breton-speaking at that time. Like other French minority languages, Breton does not have any official language status in France.
The municipality launched a linguistic plan to revive Breton as a language through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 16 June 2006. In 2008, 1.94% of primary-school children attended French-Breton bilingual Diwan schools.[28] Besides bilingual schools, the Breton language is also taught in some schools and universities.
The association Sked federates all Breton cultural activities.[29]
Culture
The city is host to several events to celebrate its long maritime history. The largest of these is held every four years, when the town organises a tall ship meeting. The last such tall ship event was "Les Tonnerres de Brest 2016". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the next event is planned for 2022.
Brest also hosts an annual short film festival called "Brest European Short Film Festival". The city was the setting for the 1982 art film Querelle, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, itself based on the 1947 novel Querelle de Brest by Jean Genet.
Cuisine
Brittany's most famous local delicacy, the Breton crêpe, is the main culinary feature apart from seafood. There are many crêpe restaurants (called crêperies). Breton apple cider is often featured.
Traditional biscuits include Traou Mad, which is a full-fat butter biscuit similar to Scottish shortbread.
Sport
Brest has held the Grands Départs of the Tour de France on three occasions, in 1952, 1974 and 2008. The 2021 Tour de France is due to start from Brest on 26 June 2021. Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de France departed from Brest. Since 1901 Brest has served as the midpoint for the 1,200 km (750 mi) bicycle endurance event, Paris–Brest–Paris.
Brest is home to Stade Brestois 29, a football team in Ligue 1. the top tier of the French football league system.
Brest is also home to Brest Albatros Hockey, an ice hockey team in Ligue Magnus, and won the league title in the 1996 and 1997.
In 2002 the Brest throwball team Brest LC reached the 1st division of French throwball but were subsequently relegated due to financial difficulty. The club has recently adopted an Irish influenced infrastructure.[clarification needed]
Research and education
Primarily the research centre of western Brittany, Brest and its surrounding area is the home of several research and elite educational establishments:
- a multidisciplinary university, Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO) [1]
- Brest has also several grandes écolesand other undergraduate or graduate schools:
- École nationale d'ingénieurs de Brest (ENIB) (in Plouzané next to Brest) [2]
- Télécom Bretagne (ENST Bretagne) (in Plouzané next to Brest) [3]
- École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées de Bretagne (ENSTA Bretagne, formerly ENSIETA) [4]
- Institut supérieur de l'électronique et du numérique de Brest (ISEN Brest) [5]
- Brest Business School (ESC Bretagne Brest) [6]
- École Navale (French Naval Academy) (in Lanvéoc next to Brest) [7] Archived 27 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- To be noted that Brest is one of the hosts for the Indiana University Honors Foreign Language Program
- Brest has several research organisations:
- the largest Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) centre (in Plouzané next to Brest); about 1000 people work there.[30]
- Le Cedre (Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution)[31]
- the French Polar Institute (in Plouzané next to Brest)
- The Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM)
- the largest
Notable people
Brest was the birthplace of:
- Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec (1748–1792), navigator
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Antoinette Lemonnier (1787–1866), operatic soprano
- Prosper Garnot (1794–1838), surgeon and naturalist
- Léon Moreau (1870–1946), composer
- archeologist, writer and poet
- Jean Cras (1879–1932), French composer and career naval officer
- Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu (1889–1964), priest, diplomat and French Navy officer and admiral
- Jean Loysel (1889–1962), composer and lyricist
- Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008), writer and filmmaker
- Pierre Brice (1929–2015), actor
- Béatrice Dalle (born 1964), actress
- Christophe Miossec(born 1964), singer
- Benoît Hamon (born 1967), MEP and French presidential candidate, Parti Socialiste, 2017
- Yann Tiersen (born 1970), minimalist multi instrumentalist/musician
- Sébastien Flute (born 1972), Olympic gold medalist
- Benoît Menut (born 1977), composer
- Yohann Boulic (born 1978), footballer
- Larsen Touré (born 1984), footballer (naturalized Guinean)
- Gonzalo Higuaín (born 1987), footballer (naturalized Argentine)
- Laury Thilleman (born 1991), Miss France 2011
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Brest is
- Denver, Colorado, United States (1948)[33]
- Plymouth, Devon, England (1963)[34][35][36]
- Kiel, Germany (1964)
- Taranto, Italy (1964)
- , Japan (1970)
- Dún Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland (1984)
- Cádiz, Spain (1986)
- Saponé, Burkina Faso (1989)
- Constanța, Romania (1993)
- Qingdao, China (2006)
- Brest, Belarus (2012)
Friendly relationship
Brest has an official friendly relationship (protocole d'amitié) with:[32]
- Bejaïa, Algeria (1995)
See also
Notes
- ^ For example, by February 1941 only 470 German shipyard workers had arrived at Brest, whilst the Naval Arsenal had 6,349 French workers. Though work on capital ships was generally done by Germans, French employees worked extensively on submarines and the smaller military vessels in the surface fleet. German Navy reports indicate that this was a willing workforce and that there were no incidences of sabotage. As well as working on ship repairs, the French provided a significant fire-fighting force to help negate the effect of Allied air raids. This story is balanced by Resistance activity, such as that of Jean Philippon, a French Naval Lieutenant Commander who provided important ship movement intelligence to the Allies for more than a year. This espionage was a key component in the effectiveness of Allied air raids which ultimately led to the removal of German capital ships to safer bases.
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ISBN 9781405881180
- ^ Nouvel atlas linguistique de la Basse-Bretagne, 2001, Volume 1, map 6.
- ^ Stina Backer (31 March 2018). "Brest, France: What to see and do". CNN Travel.
- ^ a b Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ Brest.fr – Brest perspectives Archived 3 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c "Brest, France". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
- ^ Gaële MALGORN (22 February 1999). "Brest accueille ses 23 000 étudiants". Participation Brest. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ "Brest". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-14-191257-8.
- ^ Van Wyen, Adrian O. (1969). Naval Aviation in World War I. Washington, D.C.: Chief of Naval Operations. p. 65.
- ^ Hellwinkel, Lars (2014). Hitler's Gateway to the Atlantic: German Naval Bases in France 1940–1945 (Kindle ed.). Seaforth Publishing. pp. Kindle location 1151–1369.
- ^ "The Nizkor Project – Nuremberg Trials transcript". Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- ISBN 2-910981-65-7, page 25
- ^ "Données climatiques de la station de Brest" (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ "Climat Bretagne" (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ "Brest–Guipavas (29)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ "Brest (07110) – WMO Weather Station". NOAA. Retrieved 18 January 2019. Archived 18 January 2019, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Normes et records 1961–1990: Brest-Guipavas (29) – altitude 94m" (in French). Infoclimat.fr. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) 8 October 2014, at the Wayback Machine - ^ a b Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Brest, EHESS (in French).
- ^ "Brest tramway opens". Railway Gazette International. 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ^ "Le Télégramme – Brest ville – Port et aéroport de Brest. Progressions en 2010". Brest.letelegramme.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ "brest.aeroport.bzh/ » Environment". Airport.cci-brest.fr. 4 August 2005. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ "Port of Call: Brittany's Brest". The Avid Cruiser. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ Source: Invest in Brest, BMO Archived 22 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue
- ^ "[SKED] Les nouveautés". Sked.infini.fr. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Institut". Ifremer.fr. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ "Cedre: Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution". Cedre.fr. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ a b Les jumelages de Brest Archived 15 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Our First Sister City" (PDF). Denver Sister Cities International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- ^ "Les jumelages". Brest.fr. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ "Twin towns". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
Bibliography
External links
- Aerial photos of the whole city and urban community
- Brest Airport Travel Guide
- Interactive City Map of Brest
- Official website of Brest town hall (with webcam)
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- Brest Cultural Heritage (in French)
- Brest improvisation theatre Archived 15 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- Wiki-Brest, a community wiki containing articles about the city (in French).
- German submarine base in Brest