Brittany (administrative region)

Brittany [bʀəˈtaɲ] (Breton Breizh [depending on the region brɛɪ̯s or brɛɪ̯h], German obsolete also Kleinbritannien) is a western French region. It now consists of the departments of Côtes-d'Armor (brt. Aodoù-an-Arvor), Finistère (brt. Penn-ar-Bed), Ille-et-Vilaine (brt. Il-ha-Gwilen) and Morbihan (brt. Mor-bihan). The region has an area of 27,208 km² and 3,335,414 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2018). The capital of the region is Rennes (bret. Roazhon).

The Département Loire-Atlantique (bret. Liger-Atlantel), which belongs to the historical Brittany, but not to the modern administrative region of the same name, was split off in 1941 - together with the original Breton capital Nantes (bret. Naoned).

Brittany is the largest peninsula in France and the westernmost spur of mainland Europe north of the Iberian Peninsula. The Gauls called this land Aremorica (bret. Arvorig), which means "land by the sea". The inhabitants of Brittany are called Bretons.

Geography

Location

Armor is the Breton word for sea, but it does not only mean the coast, but also the islands, the amphibious zone of the tidal flats and the wide coastal strip. Argoat is the name given by the Bretons to the woodland of Brittany.

Brittany is a large peninsula in the far west of mainland France. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean (bret. Meurvor Atlantel) to the north, west and south. Here, Brittany separates the English Channel (bret. Mor Breizh) in the north from the Bay of Biscay in the south. On the mainland, it borders the Normandy region to the northeast and the Pays de la Loire region to the southeast.

In Brittany, at the coordinates 47° 13′ N, 1° 32′ W47.2166666667-1.53333333333, near the city of Nantes, lies the centre of the land hemisphere, that hemisphere of the globe which (computed) has the largest proportion of land.

Geology

Geologically, Brittany is part of the Armorican Mountains, which were folded up in the Carboniferous. The land mass of Brittany rests in large parts on very old and hard rock. Brittany has a very rugged coastline, which - especially in the west - is formed over long stretches as a steep coast. At Cap Fréhel, near the old fortress Fort La Latte, the granite cliffs rise more than 70 metres out of the Atlantic. Elsewhere, the landscape is rather hilly; particularly steep or high mountains are not to be found. The highest elevation is the Roc'h Ruz (385 metres) in the Monts d'Arrée (bret. Menez Are).

Climate

Due to its location near the Atlantic on the western edge of the European mainland and in the sphere of influence of the Gulf Stream, Brittany has a distinctly oceanic climate with relatively mild temperatures that average between 9 and 12 °C per year. Snow and frost are rare, summers are moderately warm with over 2000 hours of sunshine annually.

The weather pattern is characterized by a rapid alternation of high and low pressure areas, which approach from the Atlantic. The prevailing westerly winds often reach gale force, especially in winter. Rain showers and strong winds can occur at very short notice, but are usually short-lived. With an average of between 700 and 800 mm per year, precipitation is relatively low; while rainfall is lower in the coastal areas, the interior is wetter.

The influence of the strong tides on the weather pattern is clearly noticeable, but also the iodine content of the air, which reaches very high values in Brittany. The strong winds also cause a low level of pollutants in the air.

Nature

In the Neolithic period, Brittany was predominantly covered by forest. Remains of this vast forest area can be found between the former Forêt de Scissy near Mont-Saint-Michel (bret. Menez Mikael) and the Brocéliande (bret. Brekilien, today Paimpont west of the city of Rennes). Another well-known forest area is located near Huelgoat in the department of Finistère. The original landscape in the interior has been much altered since the medieval clearances. It has now largely given way to industrialised agriculture. Thus, only a few larger beech and oak forests can still be found in the interior of Brittany. The landscape is now dominated by fields and grassland, divided in a checkerboard fashion by the countless hedgerows (bocage) and stone walls.

Cities

The most populous cities in Brittany are:

City	Inhabitants (year)	Département
Rennes	217.728 (2018)	Ille-et-Vilaine
Brest	139.602 (2018)	Finistère
Quimper	63.166 (2018)	Finistère
Lorient	57.084 (2018)	Morbihan
Vannes	53.438 (2018)	Morbihan
Saint-Brieuc	44.170 (2018)	Côtes-d'Armor
Saint-Malo	46.478 (2018)	Ille-et-Vilaine
Lanester	23.026 (2018)	Morbihan
Fougères	20.528 (2018)	Ille-et-Vilaine
Lannion	20.040 (2018)	Côtes-d'Armor

Sunset at Pleumeur-Bodou


Port of Le Diben, Plougasnou (Brittany)


Typical Breton coastal landscape


Stormy sea in Pors-Loubous (Plogoff, Finistère)

Coat of arms and flag

Heraldic description: In white six rows of interspersed black ermine.

The historical flag of Brittany was the ermine flag. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the "Gwenn ha du" is mainly used.