3250 FRANCE (Brittany) - A traditional breton farm

The rural architecture of France has a rich variety, because the farms are the expression of the coexistence of several agrarian civilisation, of the variety of natural environments and of types of farming. In Brittany, specific are the long, low, compact houses, with transverse elements. The house and the farm buildings such as stables and sheds, are built in a row under the same roof in the case of small farms, and under roofs of different  of heights in the case of large farms; the house thus consists of juxtaposed units.

2313, 2477 FRANCE (Brittany) - The Breton coast

2313 The Breton coast

Posted on 20.02.2016, 20.04.2016
Brittany is the largest French peninsula, bordered to the north by the English Channel, to the south by the Bay of Biscay and the waters located between the western coast and Ushant island form the Iroise Sea. It has over 2,860km of coastline, which represents a third of the total French coastline. The Breton coast is very indented, with many cliffs, rias and capes. The Gulf of Morbihan is a vast natural harbour with some forty islands that is almost a closed sea.

24tt Brittany

The variety of the rocky north Breton coast is reflected in the names of sections of this coast; the Jade Coast, the Emerald Coast, the Pink Granite coast, and the Wild Coast. But along with the rocks and cliffs, this coastline, like that of North Cornwall, offers a wealth of sandy coves and beaches. The south Breton coast is warmer and less rugged than the north, and in the department of Morbihan, the coast is characterised by fine sandy beaches.

0824 FRANCE (Brittany) - Saint-Malo

Once a feared base of corsairs, French privateers and even pirates, heavily fortified against Norman (or English) attack, Saint-Malo, located at the mouth of the Rance River, and controlling not only the estuary, but the open sea beyond, is today one of the top tourist draws in Brittany. The star of the show is the atmospheric walled city (intramuros), largely destroyed in the WWII but painstakingly reconstructed.

The promontory fort of Aleth, placed in what is now the Saint-Servan district, commanded approaches to the Rance even before the Romans, but modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the 6th century. Its name is derived from a Welsh monk, probably a follower of Brendan, Saint Malo or Maclou. The corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute, but also brought wealth from further afield. Jacques Cartier, who is thus credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo, as did the first colonists to settle the Falklands.

0781 FRANCE (Brittany) - A women from Pays Bigouden wearing "la brouette"

I wrote a little about Brittany and its pays or bro ("country" in French, respectively Breton) here, but if then it was about a dance from Pays Pourlet, the old woman depicted in this postcard is from Pays Bigouden (in Breton, Ar Vro Vigoudenn). As says Romain, she was photographed on the quay of the harbour of Saint Guénolé, one of the four villages which forms the municipality of Penmarch. The area has distinctive customs and costumes, and during the 19th century local costumes became increasingly elaborate and colourful.

0768 FRANCE (Brittany) - La Vieille

The Pointe du Raz (Beg ar Raz in Breton language) is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, and, even if it isn't the westernmost extent of France (that would be Pointe de Corsen, just to the north), is considered "the end of the world", France’s equivalent of Land’s End, in the southern UK. It is named after the Raz de Sein, the dangerous stretch of water between it and the island of Sein (Enez Sun in Breton). As can be seen in the postcard, is a wild and dramatic place of crashing waves and strong winds. It became popular in the 19th century, thanks to its appearance in the works of Gustave Flaubert and Victor Hugo, who were enchanted by its stark beauty.

0754 FRANCE (Brittany) - Dance Gwenedour of Pays Pourlet

Once, the Celts formed the largest group of peoples in Europe, covering a huge territory (from Ireland to Asia Minor, and from Iberian Peninsula to the South of Germany), and their contribution to the formation of the majority of the peoples in central and western continent was essential. Brittany (Breizh), previously a kingdom and then a duchy, united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province, is one of the six Celtic nations which have survived until nowadays. It occupies the northwest peninsula of continental Europe in northwest France, and traditionaly was divided into pays or bro ("country" in French respectively Breton). One of these is Pays Pourlet, which spans around the commune Guémené-sur-Scorff, in the area where they speak a breton dialect of low-Vannes type, Pourlet Breton.