- Châteaubriant
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Châteaubriant
The Chère at Châteaubriant. 
ChâteaubriantLocation within Pays de la Loire region
ChâteaubriantAdministration Country France Region Pays de la Loire Department Loire-Atlantique Arrondissement Châteaubriant Canton Châteaubriant Intercommunality Castelbriantais Mayor Alain Hunault
(2001–present)Statistics Elevation 48–107 m (157–351 ft)
(avg. 70 m/230 ft)Land area1 33.62 km2 (12.98 sq mi) Population2 12,850 (2009) - Density 382 /km2 (990 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 44036/ 44110 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. Coordinates: 47°43′04″N 1°22′30″W / 47.7177777778°N 1.375°W
Châteaubriant (Breton: Kastell-Briant) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department and the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is part of the historic duchy of Brittany and the country of Mée.
The inhabitants of Châteaubriant are called Castelbriantais and Castelbriantaises.
Contents
Geography
Location of Châteaubriant in the Department Loire-Atlantique.
Châteaubriant lies 49 km (30 mi) north of Ancenis, 68 km (42 mi) south of Rennes, 69 km (43 mi) north of Nantes, and 85 km (53 mi) west of Angers.
The neighboring communes are Rougé, Saint-Aubin-des-Châteaux, Louisfert, Erbray, and Soudan.
The river Chère flows westward through the commune and crosses the town.
History
Châteaubriant's history began in the 11th century when Brient (an envoy of the Count of Rennes) constructed a castle on a motte bordering the Chère and Rollard rivers. He later founded the Priory Saint-Sauveur-de-Béré. The fortress was a part of eastern Brittany's defensive line, known as the Marches of Brittany, along with the other fortified townships of Vitré and Fougères (both in Ille-et-Vilaine) and Ancenis and Clisson (both in Loire Atlantique), which formed the first line of defense against the French Kingdom. Later in the 12th century a town developed around the western flank of the castle and was called Châteaubriant. As the castle was in a very strategic location, the town was subjected to numerous battles and invasions during the Middle Ages. One of the largest sieges is surely the one commissioned by Louis IX in 1235. Insecurity led the lords to raise ramparts and strengthen the fortifications around the town, which encircled it from the thirteenth century to the 15th century.
The 16th century was marked by the actions of Jean de Laval, governor of Brittany from 1531 to 1542, who modified and built the three Renaissance wings of the castle for his wife Françoise de Foix. Jean de Laval went on to bequeath his barony to Anne de Montmorency.
After the Revolution, Brutus Hugo, and young Republican lieutenant, met a young Nantaise exile, Sophie Trébuchet. They had a son: Victor Hugo. The house of Sophie Trébuchet still exists and is located near the Maison de l'Ange which currently houses the Tourist Information Office.
In October 1941, 27 Communist hostages (imprisoned by the Republican government during the run-up to WWII and by the Vichy police in the fall of 1941) in the Châteaubriant Internment Camp were handed over to the Nazis and shot by a firing squad in revenge for the murder of the German lieutenant-colonel Karl Hotz on 20 October 1941 in Nantes. The youngest of the 27 hostages, Guy Môquet, was 17 years old. The place of execution, known as the Carrière des Fusillés is one of the principal memorials to the Nazi occupation in the region.
Administration
Vestiges of Medieval Brittany mingle with signs of modern civilization in this simulated natural colour satellite image of Châteaubriant.List of successive mayors Period Name Party March 2001 Alain Hunault UMP June 1995 Martine Buron PS March 1989 Martine Buron PS ' Demography
Historical population of Châteaubriant 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 10 852 11 986 13 231 14 023 12 783 12 065 From the year 1962 on: population without double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once. Coat of arms
Two coats of arms are attributed :
- First Pale: Blue, three gold fleurs de lys, Pales split in two by a shortened staff with a red hache. (La France illustrée, 1882, de Malte-Brun)
- Red haches, semy of gold fleur-de-lis. (La France illustrée, 1882, de Malte-Brun)
Notable people
- Jean de Laval - in French
- Françoise de Foix
- Victor Hugo
Monuments and sites of interest
- Château de Châteaubriant
- Église Saint-Jean de Béré: 10th Century Parish.
- Carrière des Fusillés: Memorial dedicated to those executed by Germans in revenge for the assassination of their Lieutenant-Colonel Karl Holtz in Nantes on 22 October 1941.
Sister cities
See also
External links
- see Châteaubriant's French Wikipedia site for external links in French
- Châteaubriant on the French Map
- Map of Châteaubriant
- Site officiel du Pays de Châteaubriant
- Châteaubriant Online News
Categories:- Communes of Loire-Atlantique
- Subprefectures in France
- Barons of Chateaubriant
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