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Bréhat (Municipality, Côtes-d'Armor, France)

Flag of Bréhat - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 11 January 2002

Presentation of Bréhat
Flag of Bréhat

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Presentation of Bréhat

The municnipality of Bréhat (421 permanent inhabitants) is located on the small island (c. 3.5 x 1.5 km) of the same name, c. 5 km off the northern coast of Brittany. Bréhat enjoys a very specific mild mesoclimate, which allows growing fig trees, eucalyptus and mimosas. Such trees are normally found in France in the Mediterranean area only.
The name of Bréhat might come from Breizh Coat (in Breton, wooded Brittany) and is said to have been invented by an Irish monk who settled on the island in 470. The island was later strongly disputed between France and England, and corsairs lived on the island until the XIXth century. In the XVIIIth century, Vauban built a bridge (bridge Ar Prat) to link the two islets which constituted Bréhat.
A legend said that corsair Coatanlem, from Bréhat, explained to Christopher Columbus in 1484 how to reach the New World. It is not impossible that fishers from the island and other parts of Brittany reached Newfoundland before Columbus' travels.

Ivan Sache, 11 January 2002

Flag of Bréhat

The flag of Bréhat, as seen on television images, is white with the municipal coat of arms ("ermine, a bend gules") in the middle.

Ivan Sache, 11 January 2002