Brittany Facts for Kids

Historical region of Brittany

Where the region is in France.

Brittany is a region in Northwest France. In Breton it is called Breizh and in French Bretagne. The adjective for Brittany is Breton.

Today the official administrative region has 4 departments:

Before 1941, a fifth département was part of Brittany: Loire-Atlantique, which includes Nantes. The five departments form the cultural region of Brittany, also known as "historical Brittany".

Brittany is situated in the West of France and its coastline juts out into the Atlantic. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, Brittany has a mild and temperate climate with warm summers and wet winters.

Three languages are traditionally spoken in Brittany:

Breton language in the West part, a Celtic mix similar to Cornish;
Gallo (a Romance language) in the East part;
And everywhere, French.

The capital of Brittany is Rennes, a lively city in the Ille-et-Vilaine department.

The name of Brittany is related to Great Britain (in French, Grand Bretagne). The region has also been called Lesser Britain or Little Britain in the past. After the Anglo-Saxons started arriving in Great Britain in the 5th century, many of the Ancient Britons (Celts) moved to this region. The region may have already had strong ties with the Ancient Britons even before that. These tribes gave Brittany its name, the Breton language, the local place names and many parts of its culture. Brittany was a separate country from the 9th century until it was united with France in 1532. It was a province of France until the French Revolution, when its land was divided in departments. Brittany regained a regional government in the 1980s.

Brittany is the home of the world's largest collection of standing stones in one place, the Carnac stones.

Brittany's main industry is agriculture, in particular: pork farming, chicken farming and the production of maize (for cattle feed). Brittany is also the name of a dog breed.

Images for kids

The Carnac stones
The temple of Mars in Corseul
The Brythonic community around the 6th century. The sea was a communication medium rather than a barrier.
A 1922 nationalist engraving of Nominoe, first king of Brittany
Battle of Ar Roc'h-Derrien during the War of the Breton Succession
Anne of Brittany is regarded in Brittany as a conscientious ruler who defended the duchy against France.
Province of Brittany (1789) - showing internal borders of five new departments: Côtes-du-Nord (now Côtes-d'Armor), Finistère, Ille-et-Villaine, Loire-Inférieure (now Loire-Atlantique) and Morbihan.
A Royal Air Force attack on Saint-Malo in 1942
The Amoco Cadiz oil spill in 1978 significantly affected the Breton coast
The Pink Granite Coast around Trégastel
A bog around the Monts d'Arrée
The Pointe du Raz, one of the westernmost extents of both Brittany and Metropolitan France
An ocean sunfish exhibiting its characteristic horizontal basking behaviour several miles off Penmarch
A Breton horse
A battalion of the Saint-Cyr-Coëtquidan military academy
RMS Queen Mary 2, once the world's largest passenger ship, was built in Saint-Nazaire.
A fishing trawler from Le Guilvinec
Rennes, the most populated city in Region Brittany and the second in historical Brittany, behind Nantes
Breton women wearing the Bigouden distinctive headdress, one of the symbols of Breton identity
Lower Brittany (in colours), where the Breton language is traditionally spoken and Upper Brittany (in shades of grey), where the Gallo language is traditionally spoken. The changing shades indicate the advance of Gallo and French, and retreat of Breton from 900 AD.
Bilingual road signs can be seen in traditional Breton-speaking areas.
Signs in Gallo are very rare and the writing systems they use are unknown by most of the speakers.
Sculpted "calvaries" can be found in many villages in Lower Brittany.
A chapel and a calvary in Locronan, Finistère
A sculpted Ankou in Ploudiry
Josselin Castle
A traditional house in Plougoumelen
An Art Deco villa in Bénodet
The Beautiful Angèle by Paul Gauguin
The Lann-Bihoué bagad
Nolwenn Leroy and Alan Stivell (2012)
The singer-songwriter Théodore Botrel dressed in traditional Breton costume
The Götheborg ship replica at the Brest tall ship meeting in 2012
Roazhon Park in Rennes
Galettes served with eggs and sausages
An old road sign on the Route Nationale 786 in Tréveneuc
The Morlaix railway viaduct is one of the highest in France.
The Brittany Ferries MS Bretagne off Saint-Malo
The modern flag of Brittany
Merlin's tomb in the Brocéliande forest, Paimpont
A dolmen in Plouharnel
The city wall of Guérande
Castle of Saint-Malo, Qui Qu'en Grogne Tower
Château de Suscinio
Île Vierge lighthouse
Parlement of Brittany in Rennes
Abbey and lighthouse of Saint-Mathieu
Ar Meilhoù Glaz, a Bagad from Quimper
Festival du chant de marin, sea songs festival in Paimpol
A Breton headdress from Batz-sur-Mer
Modern Brittany - Illustration from Legends & Romances of Brittany by Lewis Spence, illustrated by W. Otway Cannell.
Men Ruz lighthouse, Ploumanac'h

Brittany facts for kids

Images for kids

See also