Brest in Belarus

18 July 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Monument of Courage in Brest Fortress © Alexxx Malev/cc-by-sa-4.0

Monument of Courage in Brest Fortress © Alexxx Malev/cc-by-sa-4.0

Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk, is a city (population 350,600 in 2019) in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish city of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It is the capital city of the Brest Region.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Fougères

1 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© S. Möller

© S. Möller

Fougères (Breton: Felger) is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department. Fougères’ major monument is a medieval stronghold built atop a granite ledge, which was part of the ultimately unsuccessful defence system of the Duchy of Brittany against French aggression, and part of a tripartate with Vitré   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Concarneau

9 June 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Aerial view of Ville Close, harbour and town centre © Ronan Voltz

Aerial view of Ville Close, harbour and town centre © Ronan Voltz

Concarneau (Breton: Konk Kerne, meaning Bay of Cornwall) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Vannes

1 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Vannes and his wife © Myrabella

Vannes and his wife © Myrabella

Vannes (Breton: Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago. Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west of Paris. Vannes is a market town and often linked to the sea.   read more…

The port city of Brest

26 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Rue Saint-Malo maisons © Moreau.henri

Rue Saint-Malo maisons © Moreau.henri

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon. The city is located at one of the occidental edges of continental Europe, hence the expression «Europe from Brest to Brest». Counting 142,722 inhabitants, Brestois and Brestoises (2007 sensur), Brest is the main metropolitan area (reaching 300,300 inhabitants) of Western Brittany, only third behind Nantes and Rennes in the whole Brittany, and the 22nd populous city of France; moreover, Brest provides services to the one million inhabitants of Western Brittany. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture (regional capital) of the department, Quimper, is much smaller.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Vitré

25 February 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Historical city centre © Electzik

Historical city centre © Electzik

Vitré (Breton: Gwitreg) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France. Vitré, a sub-prefecture until 1926, is the seat of a canton of around 17,000 inhabitants (2006). It lies on the edge of Brittany, near Normandy, Maine, and Anjou. The town has been designated a ville d’art et d’histoire, a town of artistic and historic significance, by the Ministry of Culture in recognition of its rich cultural inheritance. Vitré is the 37th French city with the most historic buildings and has 14% of the historical monuments of the department.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Quimper

22 February 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

St. Corentin Cathedral © Falk Koop

St. Corentin Cathedral © Falk Koop

Quimper (Breton: Kemper) is a commune and capital of the Finistère department in northwestern France. Quimper is the ancient capital of La Cornouaille, Brittany’s most traditional region, and has a distinctive Breton character. Shops and flags celebrating the region’s Celtic heritage can be found throughout the city. Quimper was originally settled during Roman times. By AD 495, the town had become a Bishopric. It subsequently became the capital of the counts of Cornouailles. In the 11th century, it was united with the Duchy of Brittany. During the civil wars of the 14th century, the town suffered considerable ruin. In 1364, the duchy passed to the House of Montfort.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Be Breizh!

20 February 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Bon appétit, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Crozon © S. Möller

Crozon © S. Möller

Brittany (Breton: Breizh, French: Bretagne) is one of the 27 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 is Rennes. The region of Brittany is made up of 80% of the former Duchy and Province of Brittany. The remaining 20% of the province is the Loire-Atlantique department which now lies inside the Pays de la Loire region, whose capital, Nantes, was the historical capital of the Duchy of Brittany.   read more…

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