Saint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d’Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.

History

Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there. Bro Sant-Brieg/Pays de Saint-Brieuc, one of the nine traditional bishoprics of Brittany which were used as administrative areas before the French Revolution, was named after Saint-Brieuc. It also dates from the Middle Ages when the “pays de Saint Brieuc,” or Penteur, was established by Duke Arthur II of Brittany as one of his eight “battles” or administrative regions.

Geography

Overview

The town is located by the English Channel, on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Two rivers flow through Saint-Brieuc: the Goued/Gouët and the Gouedig/Gouédic.

In 2009, large amounts of sea lettuce, a type of algae, washed up on many beaches of Brittany, and when it rotted it emitted dangerous levels of hydrogen sulphide. A horse and some dogs died and a council worker driving a truckload of it fell unconscious at the wheel and died.

Culture

The Cemetery of Saint Michel contains graves of several notable Bretons, and sculptures by Paul le Goff and Jean Boucher. Outside the wall is Armel Beaufils’s statue of Anatole Le Braz. Le Goff, who was killed with his two brothers in World War I, is also commemorated in a street and with his major sculptural work La forme se dégageant de la matière in the central gardens, which also includes a memorial to him by Jules-Charles Le Bozec and work by Francis Renaud.

The town of St. Brieux in Saskatchewan, Canada is named after Saint-Brieuc of Brittany. It was founded by immigrants from this region in Brittany. It was settled in the early 1900s.

Briochin parks and gardens

Saint-Brieuc, Golden Flower

The city already had four flowers. It keeps them and receives the highest award from the national label Ville et Villages Fleuris.
A few towns and villages that already hold a “4 flowers” ​​distinction each year obtain the “Golden Flower” trophy. This supreme award recognizes the efforts made by the municipalities in terms of landscaping, floral decoration, but also more generally of environmental quality and quality of life. They must master all the criteria established by the National Council of Cities and Villages in Bloom.

Transport

The Saint-Brieuc railway station, situated on the Paris–Brest railway, is connected by TGV Atlantique to Paris Montparnasse station, journey time is about 3 hours.

There are no scheduled air services from Saint-Brieuc – Armor Airport.