Vannes


Vannes is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.

History

Celtic Era

The name Vannes comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the south-western part of Armorica in Gaul before the Roman invasions. The region seems to have been involved in a cross channel trade for thousands of years, probably using hide boats and perhaps Ferriby Boats. Wheat that apparently was grown in the Middle East was part of this trade. At about 150 BC the evidence of trade with the Thames estuary area of Great Britain dramatically increased.

Roman Era

The Veneti were defeated by Julius Caesar's fleet in 56 BC in front of Locmariaquer; many of the Veneti were then either slaughtered or sold into slavery. The Romans settled a town called Darioritum in a location previously belonging to the Veneti. At the end of the 1st century BC, the Ramparts of Vannes were established as fortifications to protect the city during major crises.

The Britons arrive

From the 5th to the 7th century, the remaining Gauls were displaced or assimilated by waves of immigrant Britons fleeing the Saxon invasions of Britain. Under the Breton name Gwened, the town was the center of an independent principality or kingdom variously called Bro-Wened or Bro-Ereg, the latter for a prominent member of its dynasty, which claimed descent from Caradog Strongarm. The diocese of Vannes was erected in the 5th century. The Council of Vannes was held there in 461. The realm annexed Cornouaille for a time in the early 6th century but was permanently joined with Domnonia under its king and Saint Judicaël around 635.

Breton War of Succession

In 1342, Vannes was besieged four times between forces from both sides of the Breton War of Succession. The city's defending commander, Olivier IV de Clisson, was captured by the English but finally released. The French eventually executed him since they suspected him of being a traitor since the ransom was unusually low.

14th–17th centuries

Vannes was the capital of the duchy of Brittany in the 14th and 15th centuries. Duke Arthur II was entombed there, and Duke John IV "the Conqueror" heavily fortified the city and the Ramparts. The Franco–English Tournament of Vannes took place in 1381. Both John V and Francis I were born in Vannes at the Château de l'Hermine.
The appellate court the Parlement of Brittany at Vannes was made a sovereign court in 1485 by Duke Francis II but was soon subordinated to the royal Paris courts. After 1553 it moved to Nantes and Rennes. It returned to Vannes from 1675 to 1690, causing a significant influx of wealthy residents, their servants, and their suppliers.
The Court of Auditors of Brittany was established in Vannes in the 13th century, and remained there until 1491, when it moved to Nantes due to the personal union of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII.

18th century

In 1759, Vannes was used as the staging point for a planned [French invasion of Britain |planned French invasion of Britain]. A large army was assembled there, but it was never able to sail after the French naval defeat at the Battle of [Quiberon Bay] in November 1759.
In 1795, during the French Revolution, French forces based in Vannes successfully repelled a planned British-Royalist invasion through Quiberon.

19th century

The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1886.

Geography

Vannes, located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin, is around northwest of Nantes and south west of Paris. Vannes is a market town linked to the sea.

Climate

Transport

Train

The Vannes railway station offers connections to Quimper, Rennes, Nantes, Paris and several regional destinations.

With the fast train TGV, the journey takes:

– 30 minutes to Lorient,

– 1 hour to Nantes or Rennes,

– 2.5 to 4 hours to Paris.

The Transport express régional or TER is a slower train to join railway stations in the close neighborhood, such as Auray or Questembert.

There is no direct line from Vannes to Saint-Brieuc, so the train from Vannes to Saint Brieuc goes via Rennes, which doubles the travel time and cost: it takes 2 to 3 hours to go from Vannes to Saint Brieuc by train.
Car

Two highways, in the north of Vannes, provide fast connections by car:

– N165: west to Lorient and Quimper, south east to Nantes

– N166: north east to Rennes

+ a network of small roads connects Vannes to smaller cities.
There is no highway from Vannes to Saint-Brieuc, so the way to northern Brittany consists of small roads. The lack of highway or railway between Vannes and Saint-Brieuc cuts the communications between northern and southern Brittany, and limits Brittany economic performance.
Airplanes

Vannes has a small airfield in the village of Monterblanc, called Vannes-Meucon airport, or "Vannes – Golfe du Morbihan airport". It used to be a military airport, but it is now dedicated to general aviation aircraft. It belongs to Vannes Agglomeration community, the group of cities gathered around Vannes, and the main users of this airfield are Vannes flying club, the local ultralight aviation club, and Vannes school of skydiving.
Bus

There are 2 bus networks in Vannes:
– Kicéo, proposes short travels starting from Vannes Place de la République on behalf of Vannes Agglomeration community,

– CAT, propose longer travel starting from the railway station on behalf of Morbihan.

So there are 2 central bus stations in Vannes: one on Place de la Libération, the other at the railway station.
Bike

Vannes has a public bicycle rental program, called Vélocéo based on the same idea as the Paris Vélib'.
Hundreds of bicycles are available across 10 automated rental stations each with 10 to fifteen bikes/spaces.
Each Vélocéo service station is equipped with an automatic rental terminal and stands for bicycles.
This replaces the Velocea service, which was discontinued in August 2017.

Population

Inhabitants of Vannes are called Vannetais.

Monuments and sights

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 12 October 2007. In 2008, 7.71% of children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.

In fiction

is a professional rugby union club currently competing in the Top 14 competition, the highest level of the French domestic championship. In the 2024-25 season they have gained automatic qualification for the European Professional Club Rugby Challenge Cup
The local football team is Vannes OC, who play in the 5th tier Championnat National 3 as of the 2023–24 season.
Both teams play at the Stade de la Rabine built in 2001.
The town was the start line for stage 9 of the 2015 Tour de France.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vannes is twinned with: