Guérande
Encyclopedia
The medieval town of Guérande is located in the département of Loire-Atlantique
in western France
.
The inhabitants are so called Guérandais, for men, and Guérandaise, for women.
The Guérande Peninsula overlooks two contrasting landscapes : the "Pays Blanc" (White Land), because of its salt marshes, and the "Pays Noir", with the Brière peat bog.
Since 2004, the medieval town of Guerande has been a member of the national network of 120 towns Ville et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire (Towns and Regions of Art and History). The fortified wall of Guerande is one of the best preserved and complete in France. Its circumference reaches 1,333 meters.
The Breton name for Guérande is Gwenrann.
The Guérande Peninsula is surrounded by water. It stretches out from the Atlantic Ocean (West) to the Brière Regional Nature Reserve (East), and from the river Vilaine (North) to the Loire's estuary (South).
Guérande is in the heart of the peninsula called "Presqu'île guérandaise", along with other towns, such as La Baule, Le Croisic, Pornichet, Batz-sur-Mer, Le Pouliguen, or Piriac.
According to the classification established by the INSEE
in 1999, Guérande is now classified as a urban district, 1 out of 9 forming the urban area of Saint-Nazaire.
Guérande in figures :
-Population : 15,356 inhab. (census 2007)
-Land area : 8,144 hectares
-32 towns and villages, the biggest ones are Saillé, Clis, Careil and La Madeleine
-2000 hectares of salt marshes
The Peninsula represented an important crossroads for those tribes, as it was surrounded by waterways. One of those waterways was the river Vilaine, used by the tribes Redones and Vénètes. The Loire river was used by the tribes Namnètes and Pictons, and the Atlantic Ocean was used by the tribes Vénètes and by the Greeks.
.
In 1343 during breton War of Succession
, following the destruction inflicted on Guérande by troops commanded by Charles of Blois, Jean of Montfort demanded that the town be properly protected by improving its fortifications. Work started soon after and continued for more than a century, with the town's architecture adapted to reflect the latest artillery developments. It was not until 1488, or 145 years later, that these ramparts, by then complete, were inaugurated during the reign of Duke François II (father of Anne of Brittany), a few months before his death.
At the end of the breton War of Succession, the treaty's signature was signed in Guerande in 1365. This treaty put an end at the war between Charles of Blois (and his wife Joanna of Penthièvre) and the next duke John IV
. Then a second treaty was signed in 1381 by John IV and Charles VI
, king of France. The old walled town (known in French as vieille ville) is surrounded by nearly intact ramparts and has four fortified gates (the largest of which is a 15th century châtelet known as Porte Saint-Michel) and ten towers.
. In 1532, Brittany (and Guerande) begin a part of French Kingdom.
During XVIIth century and XVIIIth century, the city is transformed, bourgeois houses in granite replace the houses of the XVth century and XVIth century. These mansions and these houses represent about 50 % of the visible built today in the sector intra muros. In 1686, Saint-Aubin public place, a new building is built, Les Halles with an auditorium in the floor.
— Germany
Almagro
— Spain
Dolgellau
— Wales
Castro Marim
— Portugal
The name of 4 doors are:
The ramparts are not the only element of defense of the old city. We can also found:
One of the main site of interest of the medieval town.
The history of this building is complex, the archaeological researches made in the XIXth century then on three peripheral places during reorganizations realized these last years raise only partially the composed questions.
Certain parts of swamps and "Traict" are classified in Nature reserve (major stage for migratory birds) or under the control of the Conservatoire du Littoral. Traict and swamps are classified site Natura on 2000. These swamps are also registered since 1971 on the list of the wet zones to be protected from the Convention of Ramsar.
The salterns of Guérande, include two salicoles ponds:
They are a part of salterns of the Atlantic Ocean, situated for more than three quarters of them, of the Gironde and the peninsula of Quiberon.
We speak about salterns because it is the place where the salt workers collect approximately 15 000 tons of cooking salt a year for approximately 300 tons of flower of salt. This last one benefits from a quality charter, and the sea salt from Guérande, from a red Label. Besides, these salterns are classified "remarkable Sites of the taste".
In a will of conservation of this environment, the regional natural reserve of Brière was create October 16, 1970 (revised on June 6, 2001).
It was one of the first natural parks to be listed as a “Parc Naturel Régional” in 1970.
present many typical houses of salt workers. There are many monuments of interest like Sainte-Catherine church (built during the XVth century), Requer's cross (listed building in 1944) or also rests of a old roman wall.
, Franz Liszt
, and Marie d'Agoult
.
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
in western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The inhabitants are so called Guérandais, for men, and Guérandaise, for women.
The Guérande Peninsula overlooks two contrasting landscapes : the "Pays Blanc" (White Land), because of its salt marshes, and the "Pays Noir", with the Brière peat bog.
Since 2004, the medieval town of Guerande has been a member of the national network of 120 towns Ville et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire (Towns and Regions of Art and History). The fortified wall of Guerande is one of the best preserved and complete in France. Its circumference reaches 1,333 meters.
The Breton name for Guérande is Gwenrann.
Location
The main towns around Guérande are Saint-Nazaire and Nantes on the East side ( 19 km (11.81 mi) and 80 km (49.71 mi) away), and Vannes (70 km (43.5 mi) North).The Guérande Peninsula is surrounded by water. It stretches out from the Atlantic Ocean (West) to the Brière Regional Nature Reserve (East), and from the river Vilaine (North) to the Loire's estuary (South).
Guérande is in the heart of the peninsula called "Presqu'île guérandaise", along with other towns, such as La Baule, Le Croisic, Pornichet, Batz-sur-Mer, Le Pouliguen, or Piriac.
According to the classification established by the INSEE
INSEE
INSEE is the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. It collects and publishes information on the French economy and society, carrying out the periodic national census. Located in Paris, it is the French branch of Eurostat, European Statistical System...
in 1999, Guérande is now classified as a urban district, 1 out of 9 forming the urban area of Saint-Nazaire.
Guérande in figures :
-Population : 15,356 inhab. (census 2007)
-Land area : 8,144 hectares
-32 towns and villages, the biggest ones are Saillé, Clis, Careil and La Madeleine
-2000 hectares of salt marshes
Prehistory
About half of the remaining megalithic monuments of the Département Loire-Atlantique, is located on the Peninsula, which makes it an important place for Prehistory.Antiquity
At the end of the Iron Age, the Peninsula was occupied by 2 tribes : the Vénètes, in the North, with the river Vilaine as a frontier, and the Namnètes, further South, whose frontier was the Loire river.The Peninsula represented an important crossroads for those tribes, as it was surrounded by waterways. One of those waterways was the river Vilaine, used by the tribes Redones and Vénètes. The Loire river was used by the tribes Namnètes and Pictons, and the Atlantic Ocean was used by the tribes Vénètes and by the Greeks.
Middle Ages
During Middle Ages, the town has a very rich history, full of important events. It was the capital of the Pays Guérandais, an ancient region of the Duchy of BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
In 1343 during breton War of Succession
Breton War of Succession
The Breton War of Succession was a conflict between the Houses of Blois and Montfort for control of the Duchy of Brittany. It was fought between 1341 and 1364. It formed an integral part of the early Hundred Years War due to the involvement of the French and English governments in the conflict; the...
, following the destruction inflicted on Guérande by troops commanded by Charles of Blois, Jean of Montfort demanded that the town be properly protected by improving its fortifications. Work started soon after and continued for more than a century, with the town's architecture adapted to reflect the latest artillery developments. It was not until 1488, or 145 years later, that these ramparts, by then complete, were inaugurated during the reign of Duke François II (father of Anne of Brittany), a few months before his death.
At the end of the breton War of Succession, the treaty's signature was signed in Guerande in 1365. This treaty put an end at the war between Charles of Blois (and his wife Joanna of Penthièvre) and the next duke John IV
John IV, Duke of Brittany
John IV of Montfort , was duke of Brittany, from 1341 to his death. He was son of Duke Arthur II and Yolande de Dreux, countess of Montfort, his second wife.In 1322 he succeeded his mother as count of Montfort, and in 1329, he married Joanna of Flanders at Chartres...
. Then a second treaty was signed in 1381 by John IV and Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
, king of France. The old walled town (known in French as vieille ville) is surrounded by nearly intact ramparts and has four fortified gates (the largest of which is a 15th century châtelet known as Porte Saint-Michel) and ten towers.
Modern times
Guérande was visited regularly by Breton rulers such as duchess Anne of BrittanyAnne of Brittany
Anne, Duchess of Brittany , also known as Anna of Brittany , was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of...
. In 1532, Brittany (and Guerande) begin a part of French Kingdom.
During XVIIth century and XVIIIth century, the city is transformed, bourgeois houses in granite replace the houses of the XVth century and XVIth century. These mansions and these houses represent about 50 % of the visible built today in the sector intra muros. In 1686, Saint-Aubin public place, a new building is built, Les Halles with an auditorium in the floor.
Breton language
In 2008, 2.02% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.Twin towns
DinkelsbühlDinkelsbühl
Dinkelsbühl is a historic city in Bavaria, Germany and a former Free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Now it belongs to the district of Ansbach, north of Aalen.-History:...
— Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Almagro
Almagro
Almagro may refer to:*Diego de Almagro , Spanish explorer*Diego Almagro II , assassin of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro*Nicolás Almagro , Spanish tennis player*Almagro, Buenos Aires...
— Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Dolgellau
Dolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
— Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Castro Marim
Castro Marim
Castro Marim is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The municipality is composed of 4 parishes.The present Mayor is José Fernandes Estevens, elected by the Social Democratic Party.The municipal holiday is June 24....
— Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
The ramparts (XV-XVI)
Listed building in 1877.- The surrounding wall: This surrounding wall strengthened by Guérande is one of the rare cities medieval to have to preserve its ramparts in its entirety. It is also one the best the preserved by France. It was little reshaped since its phase of main construction (in the XVth century) and little "restored" in the XIXth century... It includes at present 10 towers, 4 doors and a poterne (opened to the XIXth century), connected by a curtain, on a 1,434 kilometer length (for comparison: Quoted from Carcassonne, 1250 km (776.72 mi) for the internal surrounding wall. After the sack of Guérande by the troops of Louis of SpainLuis de la CerdaLuis de La Cerda, also called Louis of Spain was an expatriate royal prince of the Crown of Castile, who lived and served in the Kingdom of France. Among his titles, Luis de la Cerda was the count of Talmont, count of Clermont and an admiral of France...
in 1342 during the war of succession of Brittany, the city begins to build a rampart from the next year in 1343. The works will last more than one and a half century.
The name of 4 doors are:
- La porte Saint-Michel - the main gate: Originally, the door was occupied by the captain of city, that is the representative of the authority of the duke of Brittany in this city. But further to the fastening of Brittany with the kingdom of France in 1532, the captain of city will leave his place to the governor. The French Revolution will chase away of Guérande his last governor and will settle a prison in the door Saint Michel. The building not being adapted to this function, the municipality will settle his city hall afterward. Even there, the building becomes fast too small and unsuitable. The city hall will leave finally its place to the museum of Friends de Guérande, established in 1928, which groups includes an interesting collection of headgears and traditional costumes, as well as archaeological collections and the Treasury of the Collegiate church
- La porte Vannetaise (XIIIth century)
- La porte de Saillé (XVIth century)
- La porte Bizienne-it is the most recent part of the walls.
The ramparts are not the only element of defense of the old city. We can also found:
- Ditch along a large part of walls.
- Boulevard in front of Saint-Michel gate.
The Saint Aubin's Church (XV-XVI)
Listed building in 1853.One of the main site of interest of the medieval town.
The history of this building is complex, the archaeological researches made in the XIXth century then on three peripheral places during reorganizations realized these last years raise only partially the composed questions.
Others monuments
- Notre-Dame la Blanche Church. Listed building in 1910. Built in Gothic style in the XIVth century under Jean de Montfort, it is the oldest building of the medieval city.
- Saint-Jean Church
The salt marshes
The salterns of Guérande is a swamp of salt water about 1 700 hectares.Certain parts of swamps and "Traict" are classified in Nature reserve (major stage for migratory birds) or under the control of the Conservatoire du Littoral. Traict and swamps are classified site Natura on 2000. These swamps are also registered since 1971 on the list of the wet zones to be protected from the Convention of Ramsar.
The salterns of Guérande, include two salicoles ponds:
- The pond of Guérande: the biggest and the most known between Guérande and the peninsula of Croisic, on Traict
- The pond of Mès, more modest, to Mesquer. It is the pond salicole most in the North of Europe.
They are a part of salterns of the Atlantic Ocean, situated for more than three quarters of them, of the Gironde and the peninsula of Quiberon.
We speak about salterns because it is the place where the salt workers collect approximately 15 000 tons of cooking salt a year for approximately 300 tons of flower of salt. This last one benefits from a quality charter, and the sea salt from Guérande, from a red Label. Besides, these salterns are classified "remarkable Sites of the taste".
The natural park of la Brière
Brière is a territory of 490 km² (189.19 sq mi) of which 170 km² (65.64 sq mi) of wet zones. Its swamp of brackish water called The Swamp of Grande Brière covers to him only 70 km² (27.03 sq mi). It is 21 municipalities which are a part of this territory and of which Guérande is a member.In a will of conservation of this environment, the regional natural reserve of Brière was create October 16, 1970 (revised on June 6, 2001).
It was one of the first natural parks to be listed as a “Parc Naturel Régional” in 1970.
Clis
This small village between Guerande and La TurballeLa Turballe
La Turballe is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France....
present many typical houses of salt workers. There are many monuments of interest like Sainte-Catherine church (built during the XVth century), Requer's cross (listed building in 1944) or also rests of a old roman wall.
Saillé
This village is situated in the heart of salt marshes. Like Clis, there are many typical houses of salt workers.Cultural references
The Balzac novel Béatrix is set in Guérande, concerning Calyste, son of the baron de Guenic, and his relations with characters based on George SandGeorge Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
, Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, and Marie d'Agoult
Marie d'Agoult
Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny, Vicomtesse de Flavigny , was a French author, known also by her married name and title, Marie, Comtesse d'Agoult, and by her pen name, Daniel Stern....
.
Articles
- La Baule - Guérande Peninsula
- Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
- BrièreBrièreBrière is the marsh area to the north of the Loire estuary in France at its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The residents of Brière are called Brièrons...
- Parc naturel régional de Brière
External links
- http://www.ot-guerande.fr/accueil.html?L=2/ Tourist center of Guerande
- http://www.ville-guerande.fr/ Web site of Hall Town (in French)