Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in
north-western France. Located in a sheltered position not far
from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, Brest is an
important seaport and naval base. The 1999 census recorded
303,484 inhabitants of the Brest metropolitan area, while the
population of the city itself was estimated in 2004 to number
some 146,000. Although Brest is by far the largest city in
Finistère, the préfecture (capital) of the department is the
much smaller commune of Quimper. Brest is located amidst
dramatic landscape near the entrance of the natural Rade de
Brest, at the west end of Brittany. It is situated to the north
of a magnificent landlocked bay, and occupies the slopes of two
hills divided by the river Penfeld. The part of the town on the
left bank is regarded as Brest proper, while the part on the
right is known as Recouvrance. There are also extensive suburbs
to the east of the town. The hillsides are in some places so
steep that the ascent from the lower to the upper town has to be
effected by flights of steps and the second or third storey of
one house is often on a level with the ground storey of the next.
Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240, when a
count of Léon ceded it to John I, the Duke of Brittany. In 1342,
John de Montfort surrendered Brest to the English, in whose
possession it was to remain until 1397. Brest is best-known for
its Pont de Recouvrance (a massive drawbridge 64 m/210 ft high),
the military arsenal and the rue de Siam (Siam Street). The
Castle and the Tour Tanguy are the oldest monuments of Brest.
The Musée de la Tour Tanguy houses a collection of dioramas that
depict the city of Brest on the eve of World War II. The Musée
de la Marine de Brest, housed in the ancient castle, contains
exhibits which outline Brest's maritime tradition, as well as an
aquarium, the Océanopolis marine centre. The city also has a
notable botanical garden specializing in endangered species, the
Conservatoire botanique national de Brest, as well as the Jardin
botanique de l'Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées
Clermont-Tonnerre. |