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Château de Brest

Buildings and structures in Brest, FranceCastles in BrittanyFortifications of Brest, FranceHistory of Brest, FranceMaritime museums in France
Monuments historiques of FinistèreMuseums in FinistèreTourist attractions in Finistère
17 10 2005 318donjonbrest
17 10 2005 318donjonbrest

The Château de Brest (Breton: Kastell Brest) is a castle in Brest, Finistère, France. The oldest monument in the town, it is located at the mouth of the river Penfeld at the heart of the roadstead of Brest, one of the largest roadsteads in the world. From the Roman castellum to Vauban's citadel, the site has over 1700 years of history, holding right up to the present day its original role as a military fortress and a strategic location of the highest importance. It is thus the oldest castle in the world still in use, and was classified as a monument historique on 21 March 1923.The structure's heterogeneous architecture has been the result of continual adaptations to developments in siege warfare and armament on land and sea. The château stands on the opposite bank to the Tour Tanguy combining to defend the entrance to the Penfeld.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Château de Brest (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Château de Brest
Boulevard de la Marine, Brest Recouvrance

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 48.381256 ° E -4.494708 °
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Address

Préfecture maritime de l'Atlantique

Boulevard de la Marine
29200 Brest, Recouvrance
Brittany, France
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Phone number

call+33298221223

Website
premar-atlantique.gouv.fr

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17 10 2005 318donjonbrest
17 10 2005 318donjonbrest
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Brest, France
Brest, France

Brest (French pronunciation: [bʁɛst] (listen); Breton pronunciation: [bʀest]) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon. The city is located on the western edge of continental France. With 142,722 inhabitants in a 2007 census, Brest forms Western Brittany's largest metropolitan area (with a population of 300,300 in total), ranking third behind only Nantes and Rennes in the whole of historic Brittany, and the 19th most populous city in France; moreover, Brest provides services to the one million inhabitants of Western Brittany. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture (regional capital) of the department is the much smaller Quimper. During the Middle Ages, the history of Brest was the history of its castle. Then Richelieu made it a military harbour in 1631. Brest grew around its arsenal until the second part of the 20th century. Heavily damaged by the Allies' bombing raids during World War II, the city centre was completely rebuilt after the war. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the deindustrialization of the city was followed by the development of the service sector. Nowadays, Brest is an important university town with 23,000 students. Besides a multidisciplinary university, the University of Western Brittany, Brest and its surrounding area possess several prestigious French elite schools such as École Navale (the French Naval Academy), Télécom Bretagne and the Superior National School of Advanced Techniques of Brittany (ENSTA Bretagne, formerly ENSIETA). Brest is also an important research centre, mainly focused on the sea, with among others the largest Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) centre, le Cedre (Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution) and the French Polar Institute. Brest's history has since the 17th century been linked to the sea: the Académie de Marine (Naval Academy) was founded in 1752 in this city. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was built there. Every four years, Brest hosts the international festival of the sea, boats and sailors: it is a meeting of old riggings from around the world (Les Tonnerres de Brest).