Brittany [antikvár]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION The Coast. - The most vivid memory left after a visit to Brittany is that of the coast, with its red, rosy, grey or mauve cliffs, scarred, rent and crumbled by a restless sea; a multitude of reefs and a chaplet of islands; tremendous piles of rocks; impressive headlands that seem trufy to mark the ends of the earth; huge bays; gracious inlets and beaches of fine sand, sometimes narrow, sometimes spreading farther than the eye can reach. The Islands. - The Breton islands, whether far out on the high seas or just offshore, alj have their own special character be it a certain charm, solitude or wild beauty. In the Channel Bréhat with its red rocks supports highly scented flóra: mimosa, eucalyptus and fig trees. Opposite the pink gránité coast' or Bretonne Corniche the group, Archipe! des Sept lles, surrounded by foam fringed reefs, is a birds' paradise, especially Rouzic, an extinct volcano bathed by a warm currentand covered with a reddish coloured plánt. Batz, near Roscoff, is known for its abundance of seaweed and shellfish. The Atlantic islands are often bigger and placed further out to sea: Ushant rising above its sea pounded reefs, with its broken coastline, lighthouses and purple or yellow heaths. Séin off the Raz Point on the Cornouaille coastline is a fiat, green, wind battered island. The Glénan Islands (lles de Glénan), off Concarneau, evidence of a drowned continent (coastline) are reputed for their sailing facilities. Groix near Lorient with its beaches and cliffs; Belle-lle and its varying aspects. threatening rocks, peaceful vales, immense beaches, gorse covered heaths and hydrangea fiiled gardens; finally two small isles Houat and Hoedic. The Morbihan Gulf is a sheltered haven for the peaceful Moines Island (lle aux Moines) with its sea pines, broom and camellias, Arz, Gavrinis and Er Lannic all with megalithic monuments. The Interior. - To the tourist who has had his fill of seascapes, the Breton hinterland offers strongly marked characteristics; fields bounded by wooded banks; melancholy heaths covered with brush and gorse; hilly forests; crests with rocky slopes, from which wide panoramas can be seen; short rivers flowing through green, narrow valleys which open out suddenly intő great river estuaries. Seaside resorts and towns. - There are two large, fashionable seaside resorts, Dinard on the Channel and La Baule on the Atlantic coast. There are many others, ideál for family holidays or little out of the way places for those who seek solitude. The chief fishing villages, except St-Malo, are on the Atlantic coast. There are alsó commercial ports of which two of the most important are Nantes and St-Nazaire and two naval bases, Brest and Lorient. There are no large towns inland apart from Rennes. The régiónál centres are Quimper, Tréguier, Morlaix, Vannes and the markét towns with their many old streets and ancient houses. Inland are scattered a great number of hamlets and isolated farms. Agriculture, fishing and the tourist industry provide a living for most of the Breton population. Industry's role is not to be despised: with maritime and agricultural based industries predominating although others such as electronics, car and rubber manufacturing have been established. Mystical atmosphere. - Long before the Christian era, this was a land of religion; it contains more druidical remains (menhirs) than any other place in the world. Nine cathedrals, thousands of churches and chapels consecrated to a host of local saints, crosses standing by the roadsides, the "parish closes" with their Calvaries and ossuaries and the sacred springs, show that Breton piety has flourished through the centuries. Even today thepardons, though often accompanied by social festivals, give glimpses of the pious fervour which animates the people. The Breton character. - At the beginning of the twentieth century the customs, dress and ideas of the time of Louis XIV were still to be found in many parts of Brjttany. Since the First World War there has been a more rapid advance. The picturesque old costumes are no longer worn every day, but pardons and the family festivities of baptism, confirmation, and weddings bring them out of the cupboards to make a spectacle in which tourists delight. In Finistére and Morbihan many of the older women stili wear the traditional head-dress. Many box beds, great wardrobes, chests and dressers have found their way to the antique dealers' shops and those that have remained have often been put to very different usé from that for which they were designed. In the west, Breton is still a living tongue, but French is spoken everywhere, while legends and simple beliefs are fading away. In spite of the efforts of the folklore societies, Breton life has lost much of its traditional character and the motorist who travels through the country at high speed may suffer somé disappointment. Yet the distinctive nature of Brittany remains. It is due chiefly to the sky which is often overcast and always changing, the sea, the landscape, the buildings and monuments so different from those in other parts of Francé. Travellers from Britain will, however, notice many similarities with Cornwall and southwest Wales with which Brittany has innumerable ties. The companion guides In English In this serles on Francé are Cháteaux of the Loire, Dordogne, French Riviéra, Normandy, Provence, Paris