Rennes
Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department
Rennes (French: [ʁɛn] ( listen); French: Rennes, Gallo: Resnn, Breton: Roazhon, Latin: Condate, Civitas Redonum) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department. The city is the tenth largest in France, with a metropolitan area of about 700,000 inhabitants. With more than 63,000 students in 2013, is also the eighth-largest university campus of France.
In 2012, l'Express named Rennes as "the most liveable city in France".
Rennes is the administrative capital of the French department of Ille-et-Vilaine. Before the French revolution, prior to the integration of the Duchy of Brittany into the Kingdom of France, Rennes was the capital of the duchy, with the other historical capitals of Brittany's Ducal period being Nantes and Vannes. It has a long history due to its location at the confluence of two rivers and its proximity to the bordering regions from which arose various challenges to the borders of Brittany.
By the second century BC the Gallic tribe known as the Redones had occupied a territory in eastern Brittany roughly equivalent to the modern department of Ille-et-Vilaine and had established their chief township at the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers, the site of the modern city of Rennes. Although the tribe's name - from the Celtic root red cognate with ride suggesting the Redones were known for their horsemanship - would eventually default to their chief township ultimately yielding the name of the modern city of Rennes, the chief township of the Redones was contemporaneously referred to as Condate a Celtic term for confluence which was utilized to designate numerous towns in ancient Gaul.[citation needed]
Early in the 1st century BC, the Redones adopted the Greek and Roman practice of issuing coinage, adapting the widely imitated gold staters of Philip II of Macedon, in the characteristic Celtic coin metal alloy called billion. Without inscriptions, as the Celtic practice was, the Redones coinage features a charioteer whose pony has a human head. Large hoards of their coins were unearthed in the "treasure of Amanlis" found in June 1835 and that of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, discovered in February 1941. The museum at Rennes contains a large representative collection.[citation needed]
In 57 BC the Redones joined the Gaulish coalition against Rome which was suppressed by Crassus. In 56 BC Roman emissaries were held hostage by the Redones causing Julius Caesar to intervene in Armorica suppressing the rebels, and the following year to cross the Channel to discourage further support of the Redones by the Britons. In 52 BC the Redones responded to the call of Vercingetorix to furnish a large contingent of warriors.
It was subsequent to its Roman occupation that the chief township of the Redones became known as Condate Riedonum - alternately Civitas Riedonum - the second element, referring to the Redones tribe who had founded it, ultimately yielding the name of the modern city of Rennes. The oldest known Rennais is Titus Flavius Postuminus, known to us from his steles found in Rennes in 1969. As indicated by his name, he would have been born under the Flavian dynasty, under the reign of Titus, i.e. between 79 and 81 AD. One of the steles tells us, in Latin, that he took charge over all the public affairs in the Civitas Riedonum. He was twice duumvir and flamen for life for Mars Mullo.
During the Roman era, the strategic position of the town contributed to its importance. To the west the principal Roman route, via Osismii, stretched from Condate Riedonum to Vorgium (modern Carhaix).
In the year 275, the threat of barbarians led to the erection of a robust brick wall around Rennes. Threatened by the danger of the peasant marauders designated as bagaudae in the final days of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Armorican peninsula, including Brittany and therefore Rennes, constituted the last stronghold of the western Roman Empire with the Armorican Romans invincible against Clovis I, who occupied most of Alamans, then the Visigoths.
The Holy See of Rennes had been established by 453, with a church having occupied the site of the current Rennes Cathedral since the start of the sixth century. One of the earliest bishops of Rennes: Melaine - who would become the city's patron saint - played an important role in the peace treaty between the Franks and the Armoricans in the year 497. He famously declared "Il faut faire la paix entre chrétiens" ("Peace must be made between Christians").
From the 5th century, Bretons occupied the western part of the Armorican peninsula, which was resultantly known as Brittany (i.e. Little Britain), while the Franks took the rest of Armorica. To contain the expansion and avoid Breton incursions, the Carolingians instituted a Breton March or frontier province, composed of the counties of Rennes, Nantes, and Vannes. These marches were entirely absorbed by the kingdom of Brittany in the 9th century, with Rennes becoming fully Breton in 851. Throughout Brittany's existence as an independent state - first as a kingdom and then as a duchy - Rennes generally was considered to be one of three cities acting as the territory's capital, the others being Nantes and Vannes, with Rennes Cathedral being the coronation site for the dukes of Brittany.
During the Breton War of Succession (1356–57) Rennes was laid siege to by Henry of Grosmont (Duke of Lancaster), cousin of the English king, but Bertrand du Guesclin penetrated the city and commandeered the resistance with ultimate victory. After nearly a year, Lancaster abandoned the English siege in 1357.
In 1491, the French army of Charles VIII, led by General Louis II de la Trémoille, unsuccessfully attacked Rennes. Brittany having already capitulated elsewhere, Rennes alone resisted. The defenders of Rennes were determined to resist to the death, but the Duchess Anne of Brittany chose instead to negotiate. The resulting treaty of Rennes of 15 November 1491 dictated her marriage to Charles VIII and brought Brittany into the French kingdom. Anne zealously guarded Brittany's autonomy and the treaty promised that justice would continue to be dispensed according to practices, usages and customs maintained and observed heretofore. Furthermore, he promised the continuation of the Parlement of Brittany which met in February–April 1493, September 1494 and September 1495.
In 1720, a major fire destroyed all timber framing houses in the northern part of the city. The rebuilding was made of stone, on a grid plan.
The Mordelles Gates (Portes mordelaises), built in 1440, served as the principal entry to the town during the Middle Ages.
The Parlement of Brittany, built 1618–1655.
Old style streets in Rennes
New style streets in Rennes, after the 1720s fire.
In 1857, the Rennes train station was built, which gradually led to the southward sprawl of the town. In 1899, Alfred Dreyfus' second trial in Rennes caused a national sensation.
With several faculties of the University of Brittany having transferred from Nantes to Rennes beginning with the law school in 1730, the full-fledged University of Rennes began operation in 1885 (although it was not so named until 1896 rather being referred to as a Conseil des facultés).
During World War II, Rennes suffered heavy damage from just three German aircraft which hit an ammunition train parked alongside French and English troop trains and near a refugee train on the yard: 1,000 died. The next day, 18 June 1940, German troops entered the city. Later, Rennes endured heavy bombing by the US and Royal Air Forces in March and May 1943, and again in June 1944, causing hundreds of deaths. Rennes contained a German transit POW camp and a POW hospital which contained many of the paratroopers captured on D-Day. Patton's army freed the capital of Brittany on 4 August, as retreating German troops blew up the bridges behind them, adding further damage. About 50,000 German prisoners were kept in four camps, in a city of only about 100,000 inhabitants at the time.
From 1954 onward, the city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 220,000 inhabitants, helping it become the second fastest-growing city in France, after Toulouse (1999 census).
Entry to the former fish market at Les Halles Centrales, south of La Vilaine, from 1922. Now a contemporary art museum.
The banks of the Vilaine.
Le Palais du Commerce at Place de la République.
The Lycée Zola, where Alfred Dreyfus' trial took place in 1889
Rennes is divided into 11 cantons:
Since the 2008 cantonal elections, all eleven cantons are held by Socialists or their allies. The right held Rennes-Nord-Ouest until 2008.
Rennes is divided into 12 quarters:
The current mayor of Rennes is Nathalie Appéré. A member of the Socialist Party, she replaced retiring Socialist incumbent Daniel Delaveau, in office from 2008 to 2014.
Among previous well-known mayors are:
The mairie (City hall) is right in the centre of Rennes.
The French Prison Service operates the Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes, the largest women's prison in France.
The ancient centre of the town is built on a hill, with the north side being more elevated than the south side. It is at the confluence of two rivers: the Ille and the Vilaine.
Rennes features an oceanic climate with mild winters and warm summers. Precipitation in Rennes is considerably less abundant than in the Western parts of Brittany, reaching only half of the levels of, e.g., the city of Quimper, which makes rainfall in Rennes comparable to the levels of larger parts of Western Germany. Sunshine hours range between 1700 and 1850 annually, which is about the amount of sunshine received by the city of Lausanne.
In 2012, the inner population of the city was of 209,860, and in the urban area they counted 690,467 inhabitants.
The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais in French.
Rennes has the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in France after Toulouse and before Montpellier, Bordeaux and Nantes.
Rennes is classified as a city of art and history.
The historic centre is located on the former plan of the ramparts. There is a difference between the northern city centre and the southern city centre due to the 1720 fire, which destroyed most of the timber framed houses in the northern part of the city. The rebuilding was done in stone, on a grid plan. The southern part, the poorest at this time, was not rebuilt.
Due to the presence of the parlement de Bretagne, many "hôtels particuliers" were built in the northern part, the richest in the 18th century. Most of the monuments historiques can be found there.
Colourful traditional half-timbered houses are situated primarily along the roads of Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Georges, de Saint-Malo, Saint-Guillaume, des Dames, du Chapitre, Vasselot, Saint-Michel, de la Psallette and around the plazas of Champ-Jacquet, des Lices, Saint-Anne and Rallier-du-Baty.
The Parlement de Bretagne (Administrative and judicial centre of Brittany, Breton: Breujoù Breizh) is the most famous 17th century building in Rennes. It was rebuilt after a terrible fire in 1994 that may have been caused by a flare fired by a protester during a demonstration. It houses the Rennes Court of Appeal. The plaza around is built on the classical architecture.
On the west, the Place de la Mairie (City Hall Plaza, Plasenn Ti Kêr) :
On the east, at the end of the rue saint-Georges with traditional half-timbered houses :
On the south-east :
Saint-Germain church
Opera of Rennes
Saint-Georges Palace
Rennes's city hall
The place des Lices is lined by hôtels particuliers. with the place Railler-du-Baty, is the location of the weekly big market, the marché des Lices.
Near the Rennes Cathedral (cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes) is the rue du Chapitre :
On this era are the former St. Yves chapel, now the tourism office and a museum about the historical development of Rennes . and the Basilica Saint-Sauveur
Place des Lices with the roof top of Les Halles Martenot seen in on the left, and the hôtels particuliers on the right.
Rue du Chapitre
Gate of the Hôtel de Blossac
Basilique Saint-Sauveur
Built from the 3rd to the 12th centuries, the ramparts were largely destroyed between the beginning of the 16th century and the 1860s.
The Portes mordelaises. The street crossing this gate comes from the place des Lices and ends at the cathedral
Tour Duchesne
Place Railler-du-Baty
Map of the remaining ramparts in Rennes
Place Saint-Anne (Plasenn Santez-Anna)
South-western, la rue Saint-Michel nicknamed Rue de La Soif (Road of Thirst) because there are bars all along this street.
South-eastern, the Champ-Jacquet square, with Renaissance buildings and a statue of mayor Jean Leperdit ripping up a conscription list.
place Saint-Anne
the Jacobite convent, vieved from the Place Saint-Anne
rue saint-Michel
Some medieval and Renaissance houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the centre of Rennes.
Area of Saint-Melaine square
The Jardin botanique du Thabor (formal French garden, orangerie, rose garden, aviary) a botanical garden on 10 hectares of land, built between 1860 and 1867.
The 17th century promenade "la Motte à Madame", and a monumental stairway overlooking the rue de Paris entrance to the Thabor.
Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine basilica, viewed from the parc du Thabor
Main gate of the parc du Thabor
Rue de Paris Thabor entrance
The south city centre is a mix of old buildings and 19th and 20th centuries constructions.
Maison des Carmes
Lycée Zola
Toussaints church
Palais du commerce
The Fine Arts Museum is situated on Quai Émile Zola, by the Vilaine River.
Les Champs Libres is a building on Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, and was designed by the architect Christian de Portzamparc. It houses the Brittany Museum (Musée de Bretagne), the regional library Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole with six floors, and the Espace des Sciences science centre with a planetarium.
At Place Honoré Commeurec is Les Halles Centrales, a covered market from 1922, with one part converted into contemporary art gallery.
The Mercure Hotel is located in a restored building on rue du Pré-Botté, which was the prior location of Ouest-Éclair, and then of Ouest-France, a premier daily regional newspaper.
There are large mills at Rue Duhamel, constructed on each side of the south branch of the Vilaine in 1895 and 1902.
To the northwest of Rennes, near rue de Saint-Malo are the locks of the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance of 1843.
There are two halls of the printer, Oberthür, built by Marthenot between 1870 and 1895 on Rue de Paris in the eastern part of the city. Oberthür Park is the second biggest garden in the city.
The 17th century manor of Haute-Chalais, a granite chateau, is situated to the south of the city in Blosne Quarter (Bréquigny).
Local industries include car manufacturing and telecommunications. PSA Peugeot Citroën, currently the largest employer of the population of Rennes, opened a manufacturing plant at La Janais in Chartres-de-Bretagne in 1961. Technicolor (ex-Thomson) employs over 1,000, and France Telecom R&D over 1,200.
In few years, Rennes became one of the main centres in high technology industry. The city hosts one of the first Technopoles established in France[citation needed].
Rennes is the 2nd concentration of ITC firms in France after Paris (with well-known companies like Atos, SFR, Orange France Telecom, Envivio, Technicolor R&D, Canon, Mitsubishi, Alcatel-Lucent, Texas Instruments, NXP, Sopra Group, Thales or Logica), and the 3rd innovation potential in agrofood French industry.
Other large firms located in Rennes include the restaurant conglomerate Groupe Le Duff, owners of Brioche Dorée.
Rennes invests heavily in arts and culture and a number of its festivals (such as the music festival Les Transmusicales, les Tombées de la Nuit and Travelling (a cinematic festival)) are well known throughout France. Rennes is often cited as the French town of rock music.
There are five museums in Rennes:
In addition to this list, there is art facilities, such as 40mcube exhibition space or the center for contemporary art La Criée.
Rennes is also well equipped in musical facilities :
There is also miscellaneous cultural places : the dance dedicated place the Triange, an "Art et Essai" - art house cinemas - movie theater called l'Arvor. Remark that the surrounding citys house many other cultural places.
Rennes was one of the first towns in France to have its own local television channel 'TV Rennes', created in 1987.
In Rennes is the only Institut Franco-Américain in France.
The Parc du Thabor contains a compact but significant botanical garden, the Jardin botanique du Thabor. The University of Rennes 1, with a campus in the city's eastern section, also contains a botanical garden and collections (the Jardin botanique de l'Université de Rennes).
The Rennes agglomeration has a large student population (around 63,000).
The city has two main universities; Université de Rennes 1, which offers courses in science, technology, medicine, philosophy, law, management and economics and Université Rennes 2, which has courses in the arts, literature, languages, communication, human and social sciences, sport. The official website of Université Rennes 2 identifies that facility as "the largest research and higher learning institution in Arts, Literature, Languages, Social Sciences, and Humanities in the West of France."
There are a few École Supérieures in Rennes, like the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (which has a branch on the Ker Lann campus, just outside Rennes), the Institut d'études politiques de Rennes, or the ESC Rennes School of Business.
There is also branches of École Supérieure d'Électricité – Supélec and Telecom Bretagne in the east of the city (Cesson-Sévigné), a campus of the École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies, and the grande école Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, which is next to the "École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes".
The computer science and applied mathematics research institute, IRISA, is located on the campus of the Université des Sciences, nearby Cesson-Sévigné. The Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (defense procurement agency) operates the CELAR research center, dedicated to electronics and computing, in Bruz, a neighboring town.
The city is also home to an American study abroad program for high school students, School Year Abroad, in which students are immersed in French culture through five classes in the language and a nine-month home stay.
The École Compleméntaire Japonaise de Rennes (レンヌ補習授業校 Rennu Hoshū Jugyō Kō), a part-time Japanese supplementary school, is held in the Collège Anne de Bretagne in Rennes.
In Brittany, two regional languages are spoken: the Breton and the Gallo. In and around Rennes, Gallo was traditionally spoken as a local language, but Breton have always been spoken by regional migrants coming from the western part of the region.
Nowadays, the Breton language is taught in one Diwan school, some bilingual public and catholic schools, in evening courses, and in university.
The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 24 January 2008.
In 2008, 2.87% of primary-school children were enrolled in bilingual primary schools, and the number of children enrolled in these schools is steadily growing.
Rennes has well-developed national road, rail and air links :
Rennes is twinned with:
(These twinned towns are inscribed on the bridge over the central canal of Rennes)
Within France
Pacts of cooperation
Sponsorship
The Opera of Rennes
Saint George Palace
Historic downtown
The Notre-Dame en Saint-Mélaine church
The Ouest-France building
Place Saint-Anne
Windows of the Hôtel Racape de La Feuillée at Place des Lices
Marché des Lices, a market on weekly basis for local producers at Place des Lices
Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department
Rennes (French: [ʁɛn] ( listen); French: Rennes, Gallo: Resnn, Breton: Roazhon, Latin: Condate, Civitas Redonum) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department. The city is the tenth largest in France, with a metropolitan area of about 700,000 inhabitants. With more than 63,000 students in 2013, is also the eighth-largest university campus of France.
In 2012, l'Express named Rennes as "the most liveable city in France".
Rennes is the administrative capital of the French department of Ille-et-Vilaine. Before the French revolution, prior to the integration of the Duchy of Brittany into the Kingdom of France, Rennes was the capital of the duchy, with the other historical capitals of Brittany's Ducal period being Nantes and Vannes. It has a long history due to its location at the confluence of two rivers and its proximity to the bordering regions from which arose various challenges to the borders of Brittany.
By the second century BC the Gallic tribe known as the Redones had occupied a territory in eastern Brittany roughly equivalent to the modern department of Ille-et-Vilaine and had established their chief township at the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers, the site of the modern city of Rennes. Although the tribe's name - from the Celtic root red cognate with ride suggesting the Redones were known for their horsemanship - would eventually default to their chief township ultimately yielding the name of the modern city of Rennes, the chief township of the Redones was contemporaneously referred to as Condate a Celtic term for confluence which was utilized to designate numerous towns in ancient Gaul.[citation needed]
Early in the 1st century BC, the Redones adopted the Greek and Roman practice of issuing coinage, adapting the widely imitated gold staters of Philip II of Macedon, in the characteristic Celtic coin metal alloy called billion. Without inscriptions, as the Celtic practice was, the Redones coinage features a charioteer whose pony has a human head. Large hoards of their coins were unearthed in the "treasure of Amanlis" found in June 1835 and that of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, discovered in February 1941. The museum at Rennes contains a large representative collection.[citation needed]
In 57 BC the Redones joined the Gaulish coalition against Rome which was suppressed by Crassus. In 56 BC Roman emissaries were held hostage by the Redones causing Julius Caesar to intervene in Armorica suppressing the rebels, and the following year to cross the Channel to discourage further support of the Redones by the Britons. In 52 BC the Redones responded to the call of Vercingetorix to furnish a large contingent of warriors.
It was subsequent to its Roman occupation that the chief township of the Redones became known as Condate Riedonum - alternately Civitas Riedonum - the second element, referring to the Redones tribe who had founded it, ultimately yielding the name of the modern city of Rennes. The oldest known Rennais is Titus Flavius Postuminus, known to us from his steles found in Rennes in 1969. As indicated by his name, he would have been born under the Flavian dynasty, under the reign of Titus, i.e. between 79 and 81 AD. One of the steles tells us, in Latin, that he took charge over all the public affairs in the Civitas Riedonum. He was twice duumvir and flamen for life for Mars Mullo.
During the Roman era, the strategic position of the town contributed to its importance. To the west the principal Roman route, via Osismii, stretched from Condate Riedonum to Vorgium (modern Carhaix).
In the year 275, the threat of barbarians led to the erection of a robust brick wall around Rennes. Threatened by the danger of the peasant marauders designated as bagaudae in the final days of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Armorican peninsula, including Brittany and therefore Rennes, constituted the last stronghold of the western Roman Empire with the Armorican Romans invincible against Clovis I, who occupied most of Alamans, then the Visigoths.
The Holy See of Rennes had been established by 453, with a church having occupied the site of the current Rennes Cathedral since the start of the sixth century. One of the earliest bishops of Rennes: Melaine - who would become the city's patron saint - played an important role in the peace treaty between the Franks and the Armoricans in the year 497. He famously declared "Il faut faire la paix entre chrétiens" ("Peace must be made between Christians").
From the 5th century, Bretons occupied the western part of the Armorican peninsula, which was resultantly known as Brittany (i.e. Little Britain), while the Franks took the rest of Armorica. To contain the expansion and avoid Breton incursions, the Carolingians instituted a Breton March or frontier province, composed of the counties of Rennes, Nantes, and Vannes. These marches were entirely absorbed by the kingdom of Brittany in the 9th century, with Rennes becoming fully Breton in 851. Throughout Brittany's existence as an independent state - first as a kingdom and then as a duchy - Rennes generally was considered to be one of three cities acting as the territory's capital, the others being Nantes and Vannes, with Rennes Cathedral being the coronation site for the dukes of Brittany.
During the Breton War of Succession (1356–57) Rennes was laid siege to by Henry of Grosmont (Duke of Lancaster), cousin of the English king, but Bertrand du Guesclin penetrated the city and commandeered the resistance with ultimate victory. After nearly a year, Lancaster abandoned the English siege in 1357.
In 1491, the French army of Charles VIII, led by General Louis II de la Trémoille, unsuccessfully attacked Rennes. Brittany having already capitulated elsewhere, Rennes alone resisted. The defenders of Rennes were determined to resist to the death, but the Duchess Anne of Brittany chose instead to negotiate. The resulting treaty of Rennes of 15 November 1491 dictated her marriage to Charles VIII and brought Brittany into the French kingdom. Anne zealously guarded Brittany's autonomy and the treaty promised that justice would continue to be dispensed according to practices, usages and customs maintained and observed heretofore. Furthermore, he promised the continuation of the Parlement of Brittany which met in February–April 1493, September 1494 and September 1495.
In 1720, a major fire destroyed all timber framing houses in the northern part of the city. The rebuilding was made of stone, on a grid plan.
The Mordelles Gates (Portes mordelaises), built in 1440, served as the principal entry to the town during the Middle Ages.
The Parlement of Brittany, built 1618–1655.
Old style streets in Rennes
New style streets in Rennes, after the 1720s fire.
In 1857, the Rennes train station was built, which gradually led to the southward sprawl of the town. In 1899, Alfred Dreyfus' second trial in Rennes caused a national sensation.
With several faculties of the University of Brittany having transferred from Nantes to Rennes beginning with the law school in 1730, the full-fledged University of Rennes began operation in 1885 (although it was not so named until 1896 rather being referred to as a Conseil des facultés).
During World War II, Rennes suffered heavy damage from just three German aircraft which hit an ammunition train parked alongside French and English troop trains and near a refugee train on the yard: 1,000 died. The next day, 18 June 1940, German troops entered the city. Later, Rennes endured heavy bombing by the US and Royal Air Forces in March and May 1943, and again in June 1944, causing hundreds of deaths. Rennes contained a German transit POW camp and a POW hospital which contained many of the paratroopers captured on D-Day. Patton's army freed the capital of Brittany on 4 August, as retreating German troops blew up the bridges behind them, adding further damage. About 50,000 German prisoners were kept in four camps, in a city of only about 100,000 inhabitants at the time.
From 1954 onward, the city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 220,000 inhabitants, helping it become the second fastest-growing city in France, after Toulouse (1999 census).
Entry to the former fish market at Les Halles Centrales, south of La Vilaine, from 1922. Now a contemporary art museum.
The banks of the Vilaine.
Le Palais du Commerce at Place de la République.
The Lycée Zola, where Alfred Dreyfus' trial took place in 1889
Rennes is divided into 11 cantons:
Since the 2008 cantonal elections, all eleven cantons are held by Socialists or their allies. The right held Rennes-Nord-Ouest until 2008.
Rennes is divided into 12 quarters:
The current mayor of Rennes is Nathalie Appéré. A member of the Socialist Party, she replaced retiring Socialist incumbent Daniel Delaveau, in office from 2008 to 2014.
Among previous well-known mayors are:
The mairie (City hall) is right in the centre of Rennes.
The French Prison Service operates the Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes, the largest women's prison in France.
The ancient centre of the town is built on a hill, with the north side being more elevated than the south side. It is at the confluence of two rivers: the Ille and the Vilaine.
Rennes features an oceanic climate with mild winters and warm summers. Precipitation in Rennes is considerably less abundant than in the Western parts of Brittany, reaching only half of the levels of, e.g., the city of Quimper, which makes rainfall in Rennes comparable to the levels of larger parts of Western Germany. Sunshine hours range between 1700 and 1850 annually, which is about the amount of sunshine received by the city of Lausanne.
In 2012, the inner population of the city was of 209,860, and in the urban area they counted 690,467 inhabitants.
The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais in French.
Rennes has the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in France after Toulouse and before Montpellier, Bordeaux and Nantes.
Rennes is classified as a city of art and history.
The historic centre is located on the former plan of the ramparts. There is a difference between the northern city centre and the southern city centre due to the 1720 fire, which destroyed most of the timber framed houses in the northern part of the city. The rebuilding was done in stone, on a grid plan. The southern part, the poorest at this time, was not rebuilt.
Due to the presence of the parlement de Bretagne, many "hôtels particuliers" were built in the northern part, the richest in the 18th century. Most of the monuments historiques can be found there.
Colourful traditional half-timbered houses are situated primarily along the roads of Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Georges, de Saint-Malo, Saint-Guillaume, des Dames, du Chapitre, Vasselot, Saint-Michel, de la Psallette and around the plazas of Champ-Jacquet, des Lices, Saint-Anne and Rallier-du-Baty.
The Parlement de Bretagne (Administrative and judicial centre of Brittany, Breton: Breujoù Breizh) is the most famous 17th century building in Rennes. It was rebuilt after a terrible fire in 1994 that may have been caused by a flare fired by a protester during a demonstration. It houses the Rennes Court of Appeal. The plaza around is built on the classical architecture.
On the west, the Place de la Mairie (City Hall Plaza, Plasenn Ti Kêr) :
On the east, at the end of the rue saint-Georges with traditional half-timbered houses :
On the south-east :
Saint-Germain church
Opera of Rennes
Saint-Georges Palace
Rennes's city hall
The place des Lices is lined by hôtels particuliers. with the place Railler-du-Baty, is the location of the weekly big market, the marché des Lices.
Near the Rennes Cathedral (cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes) is the rue du Chapitre :
On this era are the former St. Yves chapel, now the tourism office and a museum about the historical development of Rennes . and the Basilica Saint-Sauveur
Place des Lices with the roof top of Les Halles Martenot seen in on the left, and the hôtels particuliers on the right.
Rue du Chapitre
Gate of the Hôtel de Blossac
Basilique Saint-Sauveur
Built from the 3rd to the 12th centuries, the ramparts were largely destroyed between the beginning of the 16th century and the 1860s.
The Portes mordelaises. The street crossing this gate comes from the place des Lices and ends at the cathedral
Tour Duchesne
Place Railler-du-Baty
Map of the remaining ramparts in Rennes
Place Saint-Anne (Plasenn Santez-Anna)
South-western, la rue Saint-Michel nicknamed Rue de La Soif (Road of Thirst) because there are bars all along this street.
South-eastern, the Champ-Jacquet square, with Renaissance buildings and a statue of mayor Jean Leperdit ripping up a conscription list.
place Saint-Anne
the Jacobite convent, vieved from the Place Saint-Anne
rue saint-Michel
Some medieval and Renaissance houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the centre of Rennes.
Area of Saint-Melaine square
The Jardin botanique du Thabor (formal French garden, orangerie, rose garden, aviary) a botanical garden on 10 hectares of land, built between 1860 and 1867.
The 17th century promenade "la Motte à Madame", and a monumental stairway overlooking the rue de Paris entrance to the Thabor.
Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine basilica, viewed from the parc du Thabor
Main gate of the parc du Thabor
Rue de Paris Thabor entrance
The south city centre is a mix of old buildings and 19th and 20th centuries constructions.
Maison des Carmes
Lycée Zola
Toussaints church
Palais du commerce
The Fine Arts Museum is situated on Quai Émile Zola, by the Vilaine River.
Les Champs Libres is a building on Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, and was designed by the architect Christian de Portzamparc. It houses the Brittany Museum (Musée de Bretagne), the regional library Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole with six floors, and the Espace des Sciences science centre with a planetarium.
At Place Honoré Commeurec is Les Halles Centrales, a covered market from 1922, with one part converted into contemporary art gallery.
The Mercure Hotel is located in a restored building on rue du Pré-Botté, which was the prior location of Ouest-Éclair, and then of Ouest-France, a premier daily regional newspaper.
There are large mills at Rue Duhamel, constructed on each side of the south branch of the Vilaine in 1895 and 1902.
To the northwest of Rennes, near rue de Saint-Malo are the locks of the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance of 1843.
There are two halls of the printer, Oberthür, built by Marthenot between 1870 and 1895 on Rue de Paris in the eastern part of the city. Oberthür Park is the second biggest garden in the city.
The 17th century manor of Haute-Chalais, a granite chateau, is situated to the south of the city in Blosne Quarter (Bréquigny).
Local industries include car manufacturing and telecommunications. PSA Peugeot Citroën, currently the largest employer of the population of Rennes, opened a manufacturing plant at La Janais in Chartres-de-Bretagne in 1961. Technicolor (ex-Thomson) employs over 1,000, and France Telecom R&D over 1,200.
In few years, Rennes became one of the main centres in high technology industry. The city hosts one of the first Technopoles established in France[citation needed].
Rennes is the 2nd concentration of ITC firms in France after Paris (with well-known companies like Atos, SFR, Orange France Telecom, Envivio, Technicolor R&D, Canon, Mitsubishi, Alcatel-Lucent, Texas Instruments, NXP, Sopra Group, Thales or Logica), and the 3rd innovation potential in agrofood French industry.
Other large firms located in Rennes include the restaurant conglomerate Groupe Le Duff, owners of Brioche Dorée.
Rennes invests heavily in arts and culture and a number of its festivals (such as the music festival Les Transmusicales, les Tombées de la Nuit and Travelling (a cinematic festival)) are well known throughout France. Rennes is often cited as the French town of rock music.
There are five museums in Rennes:
In addition to this list, there is art facilities, such as 40mcube exhibition space or the center for contemporary art La Criée.
Rennes is also well equipped in musical facilities :
There is also miscellaneous cultural places : the dance dedicated place the Triange, an "Art et Essai" - art house cinemas - movie theater called l'Arvor. Remark that the surrounding citys house many other cultural places.
Rennes was one of the first towns in France to have its own local television channel 'TV Rennes', created in 1987.
In Rennes is the only Institut Franco-Américain in France.
The Parc du Thabor contains a compact but significant botanical garden, the Jardin botanique du Thabor. The University of Rennes 1, with a campus in the city's eastern section, also contains a botanical garden and collections (the Jardin botanique de l'Université de Rennes).
The Rennes agglomeration has a large student population (around 63,000).
The city has two main universities; Université de Rennes 1, which offers courses in science, technology, medicine, philosophy, law, management and economics and Université Rennes 2, which has courses in the arts, literature, languages, communication, human and social sciences, sport. The official website of Université Rennes 2 identifies that facility as "the largest research and higher learning institution in Arts, Literature, Languages, Social Sciences, and Humanities in the West of France."
There are a few École Supérieures in Rennes, like the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (which has a branch on the Ker Lann campus, just outside Rennes), the Institut d'études politiques de Rennes, or the ESC Rennes School of Business.
There is also branches of École Supérieure d'Électricité – Supélec and Telecom Bretagne in the east of the city (Cesson-Sévigné), a campus of the École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies, and the grande école Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, which is next to the "École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes".
The computer science and applied mathematics research institute, IRISA, is located on the campus of the Université des Sciences, nearby Cesson-Sévigné. The Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (defense procurement agency) operates the CELAR research center, dedicated to electronics and computing, in Bruz, a neighboring town.
The city is also home to an American study abroad program for high school students, School Year Abroad, in which students are immersed in French culture through five classes in the language and a nine-month home stay.
The École Compleméntaire Japonaise de Rennes (レンヌ補習授業校 Rennu Hoshū Jugyō Kō), a part-time Japanese supplementary school, is held in the Collège Anne de Bretagne in Rennes.
In Brittany, two regional languages are spoken: the Breton and the Gallo. In and around Rennes, Gallo was traditionally spoken as a local language, but Breton have always been spoken by regional migrants coming from the western part of the region.
Nowadays, the Breton language is taught in one Diwan school, some bilingual public and catholic schools, in evening courses, and in university.
The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 24 January 2008.
In 2008, 2.87% of primary-school children were enrolled in bilingual primary schools, and the number of children enrolled in these schools is steadily growing.
Rennes has well-developed national road, rail and air links :
Rennes is twinned with:
(These twinned towns are inscribed on the bridge over the central canal of Rennes)
Within France
Pacts of cooperation
Sponsorship
The Opera of Rennes
Saint George Palace
Historic downtown
The Notre-Dame en Saint-Mélaine church
The Ouest-France building
Place Saint-Anne
Windows of the Hôtel Racape de La Feuillée at Place des Lices
Marché des Lices, a market on weekly basis for local producers at Place des Lices
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France, Brittany, Rennes, description