Comprehensive information on the Brittany region

Brittany is a region in western France (Brittany: ''Breizh'', French: ''Bretagne'', Welsh: ''Llydaw'', English "brittany"). The origins of the Bretons are quite complex. Some people are descendants of the original Gauls (French: ''Gaulois''), and the other part are descendants of the Welsh people in southern England (French: ''Gallois'', English: ''Welsh'', Wei Ernst: ''Cymru''). As the English crossed the English Channel and settled in Brittany, they moved south. The people who immigrated to Brittany from the United Kingdom, their own language is very similar to the language of the local people, and after a long period of integration, they have become the modern Breton people. Basic introduction Chinese name: Brittany region Foreign name: brittany Region: Western France Region: Morbihan Province, etc. French name: Bretagne Language: Breton language Historical evolution, administrative divisions, traditional divisions, tradition Culture, language, clothing, specialty foods, tourist attractions, historical evolution Until the 15th century, Brittany was a completely independent principality, under the influence of two major powers, France and England. In 1499, Duchess Anna of Brittany married King Louis XII of France. From then on, Brittany lost its autonomy. In 1532, the Duchy of Brittany officially became part of France. Administrative divisions During the French Revolution in 1790, the Principality of Brittany was divided into five provinces, namely Morbihan, Côtes du nord (renamed Côtes d'Armor in 1990), Finistère, Ille et Vilaine and Loire-Inférieure (renamed Loire Atlantique in 1956. According to the administrative system at that time, the department was the largest administrative unit. France** * Dividing Brittany into several provinces without recognizing the historical and cultural connections between these provinces is tantamount to denying the existence of Brittany. The coat of arms was established by the French *** in 1956. A new administrative unit: the region (Région), each composed of several departments. The Brittany region consists of four departments: Flag of Morbihan (province code: 56, capital city: Vannes) Amor. Maritimes (province code: 22, capital city: Saint-Brieuc) Finistère (province code: 29, capital city: Quimper) Ille-Vilaine (province code: 35, capital city: Rennes) And Atlantis-Royal was placed in another region. Many Bretons were dissatisfied with this and believed that the province should be returned to Brittany. Brittany was also divided into Arvor (ie: "Maritime"). ") and Argoat (i.e.: "forest area"), because the inhabitants of the coastal areas and the inhabitants of the mainland show many differences in culture and lifestyle. Before the French Revolution, Brittany was organized according to the bishops Divided by jurisdiction (French: évéché). Traditional cultural language The traditional language of Brittany is Breton "Breton", but this language is facing extinction in the areas where Breton is still spoken. Since the 12th century, the regions of Ille-Vilaine and Atlantique-Royal have abandoned Breton in the three departments of Morbihan, C?te d'Armore and Finistère. French. The area where Breton is spoken is called ''Breizh Isel'' / ''Basse Bretagne'' (because it is far away from the center of France), while the area where French is spoken is called ''Breizh Uhel'' / ''Haute Bretagne'' "Upper Brittany". The French dialect of eastern Brittany is gallo, which has a Breton underpinning. Brittany has colorful national costumes. These costumes have been passed down from generation to generation. In the past, they were worn at family gatherings and public events. However, nowadays, they are only worn during pilgrimages and folk parades. Tourists may also wear them. Opportunity to appreciate. The sophistication of clothing used to be one of the signs of a family's wealth. The materials used for the clothing include satin or velvet, and then gold and silver threads are used to weave or embroider raised patterns and are decorated with lace. The local clothing produced using this process is comparable to various ceremonial attires. The main color of Breton folk clothing is generally black, decorated with velvet straps, which are sometimes embroidered with multi-color and flame patterns, such as those in Quimper and Ponti'Abbé regions. clothing.

The unique feature of traditional Breton women's clothing centers on the hat, which was formerly common in the provinces of Finistère and Morbihan. The most charming hat is undoubtedly the Pont-Aven hat. The lace is evenly distributed around the colorful ribbon and matches the high starched collar perfectly. The hat styles in the Punglabe area are also quite unique and are well-known in this region. This kind of exquisite and pretty hats decorated with lace used to be small in size, but gradually became larger after the 1930s. Specialty foods Brittany's specialty foods include: crepes (French: ''crêpes'', Breton: ''krampouezhenn'') rum (Brittany: ''chouchen'' ) Cream cake (Breton: ''kouign aman'') * Cider (French: ''cidre'', Breton: ''sistr''). Tourist Attractions Brittany Peninsula in Northwestern France If you are looking for a region with strong local color in France, the Brittany Peninsula in northwestern France will undoubtedly be your best choice. This peninsula is far away from the United Kingdom across the English Channel. It only became a territory of France in 1532 AD. The atmosphere of England can still be smelled in the present day. The ancestors of the Brittany people are the Celts who crossed the sea from England in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Today, they still wear traditional clothes and follow unique customs; you can still hear cloth in local taverns or cafes. Breizh is a language closely related to the Irish and Welsh languages ??of the United Kingdom. Due to its history and topography, it has always been entangled with Britain. Brittany, which is different from France and has a unique style, is loved by the French for its rugged and majestic granite shores, flat and clean beaches, peaceful and simple towns, excellent seafood cuisine, and Celtic lifestyle. And the shape; coupled with the convenient geographical location, close to Paris and the United Kingdom, it attracts an endless stream of tourists who want to see the style of Brittany and invest themselves in the lonely and desolate wilderness. This is the best way to appreciate Brittany. Best way. It is an obvious and distinctive way of life. Even today, we can still see women wearing lace hats and men wearing black jackets, trousers and wide-brimmed black hats at celebrations. It has never gone out of fashion. There are many traditional festivals from May to September. If you visit at this time, you can witness the residents celebrating in traditional costumes, participate in their celebrations, and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Brittany. Rennes is the capital of Brittany and the gateway to the Brittany Peninsula. The entire city is full of British-style and Tudor-style buildings. It was ravaged by Zhurong in 1720 AD, and the medieval streets were completely lost, but the remaining buildings are still worth seeing. Today it is a cutting-edge industrial city and a university town, full of modernity, but it does not conceal the charm of the past. Place de Mairie, Mt. St. Mechel (Place Ste. Anne), the Old Conference Hall, the Museum of Art (Musee des Beaux Arts) and the Museum of Brittany (Musee de Bretagne) are all A good place to visit. The displays in the museum can give visitors a deeper understanding of the history and traditions of Brittany, which is worth a visit. Prehistoric megaliths These prehistoric megaliths are memorial buildings built with natural stones. They are found all over Brittany. Common forms include megalithic pillars, cairns, stone sheds, and stone corridors. Their function is probably to hold funeral ceremonies and display tribes. of prestige. These primitive buildings from 5000 BC are often located on high ground, are large and can be seen from a long distance. They are seen as symbols of the patron saint of each village and play a role in dividing territory. The arrangement of these boulders seems to be related to the position of the sun at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, the summer and winter solstice, but there seems to be insufficient basis to conclude that they were built based on astronomy or astrology. What we can speculate is that in agricultural societies, various rituals in life made people's work relaxed and orderly. This situation continued in France until the 1950s. The pink coast between Brest and Rennes, located in northern Brittany, is called the Côte de Granit Rose. Such a romantic name is not based on imagination, but in this area you can see a lot of rose-red granite scattered on the coast, and the strange-shaped stones form a very special landscape. Walking on these beautiful rocks and looking carefully, you will find that these stones do not show a romantic rose color when exposed to the sun, but the stones themselves reveal a faint pink color, and are also scattered with dots of light. The Côte du Goêlo is located east of the Rose Coast. Starting from Pointe de L’Arcouest, you can take a boat to Brea Island. Every summer, it becomes one of the favorite tourist attractions for tourists, attracting up to 4,000 tourists every day. The Plougrescant coast has a very special geological landscape, including sea erosion terrain and saltwater lakes formed after the seawater recedes. Walking along the hiking trail towards the coast, at the end of the trail is a barren land that looks like an alien world.

It turns out that this is a special landscape formed by the rapid cooling of lava when it encountered water after a volcanic eruption tens of thousands of years ago. Black rocks and rugged terrain have also become a major feature of the coast in this area. Thalassotherapy The most famous of Brittany's northern coast is the Roscoff Thalassotherapy Center (Thalassothérapie de Roscoff), which was built 110 years ago. In France, thalassotherapy was originally a type of medical treatment, and various treatments needed to be carried out under the arrangement of doctors and professionals. Nowadays, thalassotherapy has gradually transformed into an activity for self-cultivation. The city of Roskov is one of the places with the richest seaweed species in the world, and the center's biggest feature is that it has more than 450 species of seaweed, making its seaweed massage treatments a household name. Vannes is located 90 kilometers southwest of Reines and is the capital of the Morbihan department. It still preserves the traditional wooden buildings of Brittany, especially the buildings and city walls surrounding St. Peter's Church. Thirty kilometers to the west, in Carnac, there are ancient tomb stones left over from prehistoric times by the Breton aborigines. Stone pillars and stones stretching for several kilometers have become a local feature. There are still nearly 3,000 menhirs left in modern times, which have stood in the wilderness for thousands of years and are told to future generations as witnesses of history. Pont-Aven is located on the southern coast of the Brittany Peninsula, a tourist attraction in Finistère. It is a small town with only a few streets. It only takes a few dozen minutes to walk around, but there are dozens of Home Gallery. Gauguin spent his later years here, and you can come here to visit Gauguin's studio and residence. Quimper is located in the westernmost part of the Brittany peninsula and is the capital of Finistère. It is the most rich and representative medieval town in Brittany. It is centered on the Gothic church from the 13th to the 15th century. It is known as the "spiritual hometown of Butun people". Quimper originally means the intersection of rivers. From the intersection to the church is the essence of the old city street. The old market street is very suitable for walking activities. It starts from the cathedral, with towering spiers on both sides of the church. Its main altar and wings were built in the 13th and 15th centuries respectively and were completed in 1856. The equestrian King Gladlon between the two towers is like the legendary King of Brittany in the sixth century. On the south side of the church, part of the city wall that once surrounded the city street still remains, and the main building on the city wall is now a local museum. Inside the museum, you can get a glimpse of Brittany’s traditional and unique hair accessories, which are made of white lace. Women wearing such hair accessories can be seen in various contemporary festivals. This town is also a famous ceramic production center in France. The exterior walls of antique wooden houses are covered with various ceramic products, which have become the most effective decoration for advertising. Ponte du Raz is the westernmost point of the French coast, facing the Atlantic Ocean. It has rich and varied sea erosion topography. Driving from Compey, you can see houses with gray slate roofs dotted along the way, which is also the architectural style of this area. Due to the close proximity to the sea, autumn comes early. Tourists are rare after mid-September, and public transportation facilities are also closed at this time. The largest national forest park in Brittany is located here. St. Malo is located on the edge of the Brittany peninsula and is one of the most beautiful cities on the Atlantic coast. The two-kilometer-long city wall surrounds the old city. Walking along it, you can look around at the stone houses of the old city, which is filled with a unique atmosphere. Most of the buildings in the city are from the 15th to 17th centuries, and the seaside, city walls and small streets are full of British flavor. French writer Froebel called Saint-Malo the stone crown on the waves. The classical and romantic atmosphere permeates this stone crown. The yacht port and beach outside the city attract Parisians to come here every year for vacation. Walking on the stone streets of this fortress city, everyone will be deeply fascinated by its neat city appearance, but this is not an ancient city. The old city was destroyed during World War II. The original reconstruction makes people feel like they are back in the ancient times. It is also evident that the French attach great importance to history and culture. Dinan is located thirty kilometers south of Saint-Malo. What is very different from Saint-Malo is that it was spared the destruction of artillery fire and is filled with antique buildings. Although it was spared from the war, the peeling marks on the house walls show that the ruthlessness of time is no less cruel than the war. There are ancient wooden houses and narrow and winding stone roads standing along the road. Strolling along it feels like searching for treasures, and you will often find unexpected surprises. There may be art craftsmen living and working in the quaint wooden houses. Wood carvings, leather carvings, and ceramic dolls all present a traditional brilliance under their skillful hands.

Other famous attractions include La pointe du Raz, La presqu'ile de Crozon, La Cote de Granit Rose and the charming towns along the coast; Lannion, Perau- Perros-Guirec, Pieumeur-Bodou, Trebeurden, Tregastel Le golfe du Morbihan Small fishing villages such as Quimper, Quiberon, Quimperle, and Concarneau; the famous La Baule seaside resort; the "pirate city" of La Cote d'Emeraude; Saint-Malo; Dinard Dinard and Dinan The walls of the church of Lampaul-Guimiliau in Finistere and Treguier in Les Cotes d'Armor The unique ancient and mysterious stone circle ruins, the natural harbor of Roscoff, the Thalado Biological Research Center and the Seaweed Discovery Center, the mythical Broceliande forest, the Almorica Regional Nature Park (Parc naturel) Les monts d'Arree in the regional d'Armorique Nautical school in the Glenans Islands