Rennes - The History of the City

Rennes derives its name from a Celtic tribe, called the Riedones. The present site of Rennes, on the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers was the political and religious seat of the tribe, spanning most of Brittany. It was conquered in 57bc by Julius Ceasar in his Western conquests that ended with the reprisal raid on Britain in 54bc. In general keeping with Roman policy, the site was Romanised, gaining the name Citivas Riedonum. The Riedones were quickly romanised, benefitting from the peace and superior development. As the Empire weakened, and attacks from Germanic tribesmen became a reality, some of the toughest fortifications ever built in the Roman Empire were constructed. The nickname, The Red City descends from the use of red clay brickwork for this.

As Saxon attacks battered and finally destroyed the Sub-Roman state of Britain, the population of Brittany was augmented by the fleeing refugees from across the channel, earning the region its name. Brittany then entered into a complex relationship with the Frankish kingdom, until 851AD when the bretons were strong enough to declare full independance under the Dukes of Brittany.

Rennes was besieged in 1356 by a marauding English army, in support of the de Monfort faction in the war of Succession, a bloody civil war for the title of the Duchy of Brittany. It was delivered by a French force under the knight Guesclin. The Place des Lices is the site of the engagement that forced the English to wthdraw. The war was bloody, long and ended with the nephew of the original duke in power.

With France and England preoccupied with their own struggle for mastery in France, Brittany recovered from the devastation and soon came into it's golden age in the 15th century. Rennes gained in size, with large fortifications built to protect it. Towards the end of 15th century, the successive marriages of Anne, Duchesse of Brittany, saw the Duchy become part of France via the dowery of her daughter, in 1514. One of the rights secured in these negotiations was the right to have a separate parliament.

The parliament increased the importance of Rennes, which became the administrative capital of Brittany, in addition to its military and other roles, gathering an elite of intellectuals and nobles who vigourously opposed the excesses of central power. Louis XIV's war with Holland strained the French economy, and new taxes on paper money saw a full blown revolt in Rennes put down with some difficulty. It was on a similar scale to the Prayer Book rebellion that devastated the South West of England.

Brittany, with Rennes providing its voice, contiuned as a fairly autonomous region of France (in comparison with the other regions). The Great Fire in 1720 being the next major event. On 23rd December 1720, the centre of the city was gutted by a six day fire that was only stopped at the canal, and burnt itself out. Nearly 900 buildings were destroyed. Only the quarters around the cathedral and the faubourgs remained. The project of rebuilding Rennes was directed by Jacques Gabriel, the personal architect of Louis XV, and Isaac Robelin. The regular plan of present day Rennes dates from this.

The Revolutionary period was a period of turmoil in Brittany, with a strong groundswell support for the Royalist cause. Indeed, there was a large royalist landing, supported by the British, in the west, but which has viciously crushed by General Hoche. In Rennes, the city stayed moderate, the mayor, Jean Leperdit, opposed the Terror and managed to avert several massacres.

The nineteenth century saw the further develoment of Rennes into an industrial city. A massive printing works, the Oberthur, and the construction of the Arsenal, brought many more workers into the city, enlarging the city towards the south. The university of Rennes was established, and from 1857 onwards, the railway became a principal employer in the city. There were two important events at the end of the century. The first was the final act in the national scandal of the Dreyfus affair. His retrial was held at the lycee Emile Zola (author of the J'Accuse letter which prompted the retrial). Dreyfus's name was cleared and he was elevated to the rank of Colonel, but the affair left a very embittered and wronged man, and a divided nation. The second was the foundation of Ouest-Eclair, later to become Ouest-France, now with the largest printing works in France.

During the Second World War, Rennes escaped the destructive power of the Blitzkrieg, but became the administrative centre of the Occupation of Brittany. A prison where the Theatre National Bretagne now stands, gained notoriety as a hellhole. During the allied build up to D-Day, Rennes was damaged during the bombings of road and rail hubs, and bridges. It was finally liberated in August 1944 by the American Third Army and the French Forces of the Interior. In 1950 a vast plan of reconstruction was begun, with the massive new quarters of Villejean, Maurepas, and Cleunay, as well as the modern zone to the south, being constructed at this time. The modern industrial estates were also begun, and the Citroen works built in 1957 firmly marked the start of a new industrialisation. The expansion of the universities and the establishment of specialised research institutes has firmly placed Rennes at the forefront of university education and technological research. Of the 240 000 inhabitants, 58 000 are students.

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