La Roche-Bernard-Wikipedia

La Roche-Bernard [to ʁɔʃ bɛʁnaʁ] is a French commune, chief town of the canton of La Roche-Bernard, located in the department of Morbihan and the Brittany region. It is one of the twelve municipalities of Arc Sud Brittany intercommunality and the district of Vannes.

Part of the association Small Cities of Character, the town is best known for its marina on the banks of the Vilaine as well as its old district.

Attested in its Latin form Rocha Bernardi in 1026 ^{[ first ]} , Rupes Bernardi in 1252. Toponym linked to the marked and characteristic rock of the edges of the Vilaine as well as a certain Bernard, first known lord of the place.

His name in Gallo is La Roch . His name in Breton is Ar Roc’h-Bernez ^{[ 2 ]} , but he is often nicknamed Ar Roc’h locally, pronounced [ as ʁ O a ] .

Situation [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

La Roche-Bernard is a town which is 36 km northwest of Saint-Nazaire, at 41 km south-east of Vannes and 70 km northwest of Nantes. The Vannes-Nantes axis (n 165) goes through the Morbihan bridge near the town. The Atlantic Ocean is about twenty kilometers away.

The commune of La Roche-Bernard is bordered to the south by the Guérandaise peninsula, to the west by the peninsula of Rhuys and to the north by the country of Questembert.

Finally, La Roche-Bernard is located on the limit between the Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions but it belongs to the department of Morbihan although located on the left bank of the Vilaine.

Neighboring municipalities [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The area of ​​the town not exceeding 42 ha , La Roche-Bernard is one of the smallest chief towns in Canton in France. It is also known to be the road entry in the south of Brittany by the La Roche-Bernard bridge and the Morbihan bridge. Its territory is surrounded by municipalities with a much larger area: Nivillac, Férel, Marzan and Herbignac.

Climate [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The climate that characterizes the municipality was qualified, in 2010, as a “frank oceanic climate”, according to the typology of the climates of France which then had eight main types of climates in mainland France ^{[ 3 ]} . In 2020, the municipality came out of the “ocean climate” type in the classification established by Météo-France, which now only has five main types of climates in mainland France. This type of climate results in mild temperatures and relatively abundant rainfall (in connection with the disturbances coming from the Atlantic), distributed throughout the year with a slight maximum from October to February ^{[ 4 ]} .

The climatic parameters which made it possible to establish the typology of 2010 have six variables for temperatures and eight for precipitation, whose values ​​correspond to normal 1971-2000 ^{[ Note 1 ]} . The seven main variables characterizing the municipality are presented in the box below.

Communal climatic parameters over the period 1971-2000 [ 3 ] Annual temperature average: 11.9 °C Number of days with a temperature below −5 °C  : 1,2 j Number of days with a temperature above 30 °C  : 2,8 j Annual thermal amplitude [ Note 2 ] : 12.5 °C Annual precipitation accumulation [ Note 3 ] : 826 mm Number of precipitation days in January: 12.5 d Number of precipitation days in July: 6.1 d

With climate change, these variables have evolved. A study carried out in 2014 by the Directorate General of Energy and Climate ^{[ 7 ]} supplemented by regional studies ^{[ 8 ]} provides indeed that the average temperature should grow and the average rainfall is lower, with high regional variations. These changes can be noted on the nearest Météo-France weather station, “Arzal”, in the town of Arzal, commissioned in 1988 ^{[ 9 ]} and which is 6 km as the crow flies ^{[ ten ] , [ Note 4 ]} , where the average annual temperature is 12.2 °C and the precipitation height of 837.4 mm For the period 1981-2010 ^{[ 11 ]} .
On the nearest historical weather station, “Saint-Nazaire-Montoir”, in the town of Montoir-de-Bretagne, in the Loire-Atlantique department, commissioned in 1957 and 24 km ^{[ twelfth ]} , the average annual temperature evolves from 12.2 °C For the period 1971-2000 ^{[ 13 ]} , To 12.3 °C For 1981-2010 ^{[ 14 ]} , then 12.6 °C For 1991-2020 ^{[ 15 ]} .

Typology [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

La Roche-Bernard is a rural commune, because it is one of the municipalities that are not very little dense, in the sense of the municipal gate of density of INSEE ^{[ Note 5 ] , [ 16 ] , [ 17 ] , [ 18 ]} .
The municipality is also outside the attraction of cities ^{[ 19 ] , [ 20 ]} .

Land use [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The occupation of the soils of the municipality, as it emerges from the European Database for Biophysics of Corine Land Cover (CLC), is marked by the importance of artificial territories (76.4% in 2018) , a proportion identical to that of 1990 (76.4%). The detailed distribution in 2018 is as follows:
Urbanized areas (76.4%), continental waters ^{[ Note 6 ]} (15%), forests (8.6%) ^{[ 21 ]} .

The IGN also provides an online tool to compare the evolution over time of the soil occupation of the municipality (or territories to different scales). Several eras are accessible in the form of aerial cards or photos: the Cassini card ( XVIII ^{It is} century), the staff map (1820-1866) and the current period (1950 to today) ^{[ 22 ]} .

antiquity [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The occupation of the site is attested, from the Bronze Age by the discovery of a deposit of swords said in “carp languages” ^{[ 23 ]} . The territory of La Roche-Bernard was located on the western border of the City of Namnets, facing that of the Venets, on the right bank of the Vilaine ^{[ 24 ]} .

Middle Ages [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The City Foundation [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Bernard is mentioned for the first time in a charter dated XI ^{It is} century and which is in the cartulary of Redon. A man named Simon, son of Bernard, founded with Father Hélogon, the abbey of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois in 1026. In 1089, we then find the name of a certain Bernard de la Roche Among the witnesses present during a judgment rendered by Duke Alain Fergent for the benefit of the monks of Redon.

The development of barony [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

A castle, seat of a powerful lordship, is built there in the first third of the XI ^{It is} century ^{[ 25 ]} . Out of 5,000 km ² , the territory of the barony extended to the sea, was clearly delimited by the Vilaine and the forests separated it from the brivet marshes. The barons of La Roche-Bernard frequent, sometimes diligently, the Court of the Counts of Nantes then Dukes of Brittany which are anxious to ensure the loyalty of lords who control a strategic passage on the Vilaine. No doubt worried about the rest of the souls of his father Bernard and his brother Rivalon, both murdered ^{[ 26 ]} , Simon de La Roche-Bernard largely endowes the religious: he made an endowment in Saint-Sauveur de Redon in 1031 and seems, from that time, to have founded the abbey of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois where one of 1100 died one his successors, Bernard II, who had withdrawn ^{[ 27 ]} .

During the War of Succession of Brittany (1341-1365), who opposed Jean de Montfort to Jeanne de Penthièvre, wife of Charles de Blois, the Barons de la Roche-Bernard took the side of the King of France. Their castle is then entirely destroyed by the supporters of Jean de Montfort. They leave the city and take refuge in Missillac at the Château de la Bretesche.

Modern era [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 1421, Louis d’Avaugour (1390-1445) was Lord of Orbs under the viscounty of Falaise and Lord of the Park. He was part of the army that rescued King Charles VII and was governor of La Roche-Bernard ^{[ Note 7 ]} . He was married to Catherine de Rouvray in 1422, an only daughter and heiress of Martin du Rouvray, lord of Lauresse, and Marguerite de TailCoulCoul heir to Courtalain and Bois-Ruffin.

In 1547, François de Coligny, Marquis d’Andelot and Mari de Claude de Rieux, became Baron de La Roche-Bernard. By introducing Protestant worship in 1558, he made it one of the first established centers in Brittany. To his establishment, noble and bourgeois convert. Reformed city in a Catholic province, it was occupied in 1590 by Spanish troops commanded by the Duke of Mercœur.

In 1595, the Duke of Mercœur built a fort with La Roche-Bernard ^{[ 28 ]} , to prevent navigation on the Vilaine river, and to make a strong place in this country where there was no fortress.

From 1629 to 1634, under the order of the Cardinal of Richelieu, La Roche-Bernard houses an important shipyard of naval construction from which the Crown , first line vessel with three bridges from the royal navy. Other vessels, including devoted to the slave trade contribute to the prosperity of the port.

In 1665, the baronies of La Roche-Bernard and Pontchâteau were united at the Marquisat de Coislin, erected as a duchy-country of Coislin in favor of Armand du Cambout who prohibited Protestant worship in La Roche.

In 1666, La Roche-Bernard was erected as a city community by Louis XIV, a privilege highly sought after at the time, which allowed the city to deputate the States of Brittany.

Contemporary period [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The revolutionary period [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• 1788: Before the French Revolution, La Roche-Bernard is the bishopric of Nantes and the barony belonging to the lord Louis-Bruno de Boisgelin then in particular president of the States of Brittany. The Barons of La Roche-Bernard do not remain in the city but at the Château de la Bretesche in Missillac and this since the XIV ^{It is} century.
• 1789: In 1789, large negotiations within the Breton deputies allocated this end of the Nantes country to the department of Morbihan.
• 1790: The city was appointed chief town of district in 1790. It remained so until 1795.
• 1791: troubles explode in the evening of September 18, 1791 . That evening, several patriots are exalted by the announcement of the constitution punishable by the king. To ensure the safety of the old dark and poorly lit district, the municipality of the city sends a guardhouse of eight men to make rounds. When the patriots meet the guards, the tone rises then fights burst, the guards retaliate to the attack and repel their attackers. The order was then given to ring the city’s tocsin to call the city guard with arms but the attackers invade the church and kill one of the ringers, a man named Pierre Morice. The disorders continue a good part of the rest of the night until the National Guard succeeds in definitively mastering the attackers.
• 1793:
  

  The Revolution experienced its culminating point in La Roche-Bernard in 1793 when 6,000 chouans led by René Guiheneuf invaded the city. In the evening, they light a joy fire to burn the public archives, the furniture of the court as well as the tree of freedom. Subsequently, the Chouans imprison two republican leaders, the Floch du Cosquer and Joseph Sauveur. The first was killed while he was trying to escape. Meanwhile, Joseph Sauveur is led outside the prison. Led in the middle of the halls, the chouans are shouting ” Long live the king ! »» to which he answers “Long live the nation, long live the Republic!” »» . He receives a first stroke of a pistol in the face but the weapon being loaded only with powder, the blow only burns his skin. The captive is then taken further into the city. Again, he received several other shots in the face of his refusal to take an oath to the king and to God. We then drag him near a ditch where he has these last words for his torturers: “My friends, finish me, don’t make me languish. Long live the nation! »» . To these words, the chouans finished it. In honor of the latter, the city will be renamed La Roche-Sauveur from 1793 to 1802. After their visit to the city, the Chouans then headed for Guérande following the call of Thomas Caradeuc. Order and calm are then restored to La Roche-Bernard.

• 1794: Louis-Bruno de Boisgelin as well as his wife are guillotine July 7, 1794 . His death put an end to the barony of La Roche-Bernard.

The XIX ^{It is} century: peak of port activity [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Is the XIX ^{It is} A century that port activity reached its peak in La Roche-Bernard, especially in the years 1880-1890. Nearly 200 ships from the whole Atlantic arc pass through its port because it was the Redon supply port which itself was for Rennes. In ships of ships: salt, wine, lime but also mine posts. Naval construction also reaches its peak during this period.

The XIX ^{It is} century will be marked by major works, including the construction of a first bridge to cross the Vilaine (inaugurated in 1839, now disappeared), the realization of the Quai Saint-Antoine then the Quai de la Customs, the drill of the rock In order to facilitate the passage between the two quays.

Rural life at the end of XIX ^{It is} century [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 1893, L. Maître, quoted by Georges Minois, thus described the rural habitat around La Roche-Bernard:

“The dwellings of most cultivators looked like stables rather than housing intended for human beings […]. The floor was in clay […]. The stable with oxen and cows was separated from the master’s room by a partition of boards […]. This arrangement, it is true, increased the warmth of the home at no cost, but, on the other hand, the vicinity of the animals imposed, during the summer, the inconvenience of breathing too hot air and stacked with infected exhale. A homeless and without light house, under the eyes a pre-lined full of decomposition manure, these are the detestable conditions in which our peasant too often passed its existence ^{[ 29 ]} . »

The difficult first half of the XX ^{It is} century [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Faced with the development of other modes of transport in the end of the second half of the XIX ^{It is} A century, notably railway, river traffic in the port of the city will quickly decrease. In addition, the saltworks of Guérande salt marshes can no longer compete with the emergence of new salt production areas, especially in the south of France. The ever -increasing speed of transport makes transport on foot deciduous. It is a whole region that sinks into a major economic crisis and La Roche-Bernard, whose wealth was partly linked to the salt trade, does not escape it.

When the First World War began in 1914, the general mobilization order was displayed in front of the town hall. Several soldiers go to the front from Vannes station. Adjoining the town hall rose a hospital which will later become a dispensary where the soldiers wounded at the front will be treated. In 1917, while the United States went to war alongside the Allies and then landed in Saint-Nazaire, La Roche-Bernard welcomed a detachment of genius which then settled in the Rhodoir. For the Rochois, the arrival of these new occupants cause wonder because they discover the technological advance of the Americans, in particular the automobile.

During the Second World War, La Roche-Bernard acquired strategic importance for the German army because of its geographic location and the presence of the only bridge over the Vilaine from its mouth to Redon. For this reason, an important German contingent parked in the city whose staff was established in the Rhodoir manor located a little behind the city.

At the end of the Second World War, because of the existence of the pocket of Saint-Nazaire, the German occupation continued in La Roche-Bernard as on all the neighboring localities of the estuary for 9 months of more’ August 1944 At May 11, 1945 ), the effective surrender of the pocket working 3 days after the capitulation of Germany.
From the start of this period, the Germans decided to undermine the La Roche-Bernard bridge dating from the XIX ^{It is} century to stop the progression of the allies. However, the August 15, 1944 , lightning falls on one of the mines placed and blew up the bridge. The town will only be released at the time of the surrender of the pocket of Saint-Nazaire, the May 11, 1945 .

The new face of the city at XX ^{It is} century [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

During the second half of the XX ^{It is} A century, the city took off with the development of marina navigation and its tourism activity. After the war, maritime traffic was stopped because of the floating gateway, built in 1948 from Port Mulberry elements, installed to compensate for the destruction of the previous bridge. The Tour de France cycling will pass during the summer of 1954. In 1960, after 10 years of work, the La Roche-Bernard bridge was inaugurated and the city then became the obligatory passage to cross the Vilaine.

Development work on the edges of Vilaine is carried out: enlargement of the marina, development of a walk along the Quai Saint-Antoine. The city then also attracted a large proportion of British residents. Faced with growing road traffic, you could see up to 20 km of plugs per day during the summer season because the bridge has only 2 traffic lanes. We decide the construction of a 4 -lane traffic bridge which bypass the town by the North.

The December 23, 1993 , the community of communes of the Pays de la Roche-Bernard is created by the grouping of four municipalities: La Roche-Bernard, Marzan, Nivillac and Saint-Dolay. Its existence will be brief since the first ^is January 2011 , it merges with the community of communes of the Pays de Muzillac to create inter -municipal Arc Sud Brittany bringing together 12 municipalities.

Linguistic history [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In 1636, Dubuisson-Aubenay, passing through La Roche-Bernard, wrote these few lines about the language in use in La Roche Bernard and in the vicinity: “After the traject, you enter the Roche Bernard, a very big town, by them called a city; […] There, the mother tongue is Gallote or Françoise, the Breton remaining beyond the river which separates the dioceses of Vannes and Nantes, both mixed. Because in Celuy de Nantes, below to the sea, we speak Breton and François ^{[ 30 ]} » . It is concluded that the Vilaine served at the time, at the height of La Roche-Bernard, of the linguistic border between Breton and French.

Demography [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Demographic evolution [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses made in the municipality since 1793. From 2006, the legal populations of the municipalities are published annually by INSEE. The census is now based on an annual information collection, successively concerning all the municipal territories during a period of five years. For municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, a census survey relating to the entire population is carried out every five years, the legal populations of the intermediate years being estimated by interpolation or extrapolation ^{[ 33 ]} . For the municipality, the first exhaustive census falling within the framework of the new system was carried out in 2008 ^{[ 34 ]} .

In 2020, the town had 694 inhabitants ^{[ Note 8 ]} , increased by 5.15%compared to 2014 (Morbihan: +3.12%, France excluding Mayotte: +1.9%).

Age structure [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The population of the town is relatively old.
In 2018, the rate of people of an age lower than 30 years amounts to 26.4%, below the departmental average (31.2%). Conversely, the rate of age higher than 60 years is 31.9% the same year, while it was 31.3% at the departmental level.

In 2018, the town had 324 men For 375 women , or a rate of 53.65% of women, much higher than the departmental rate (51.51%).

The pyramids of the ages of the town and the department are established as follows.

Places and monuments [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Material heritage [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The old quarter [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The old district of La Roche-Bernard is the historic district of the city. Located on the edge of the granite promontory, it consists of a set of houses and old warehouses mainly dating from XVI ^{It is} century. The rue de la Saulnerie testifies to the old commercial function and transit of goods from this district but today the historic district of the city houses several artisans and art workshops: potter, leather maker, calligrapher … several remarkable buildings are located in this sector.

• Château des Basses-Fosses (current Musée de la Vilaine Maritime): this building, one of the most imposing in the city, has a castle only the name since it is actually a former mansion dating mainly XVI ^{It is} century and XVII ^{It is} century (the most recent part dates from 1604). It has the particularity of having 2 elevation levels on the front facade (Ruicard side) and 5 on the rear facade, including cellars built on the rock side. The importance of these cellars assumes that the building belonged to a rich merchant or shipowner. Some illustrious characters have stayed in this mansion: Henriette Marie de France (daughter of King Henri IV and Marie de Médicis) or Jacques II of England, king of England and cousin of Louis XIV. In 1983, the building was bought by the municipality and since 1987 it houses The Vilaine Maritime Museum Including collections of objects linked to shipbuilding in particular models of the French War Ship The Crown and other objects devoted to rural traditions.
• La Maison au Canon (registered in Historic Monuments): built in 1599 by the Lord of Lourmois. The four central windows are later additions dating from the XVIII ^{It is} century just like the bell tower and the sundial which date from the XIX ^{It is} century. On the sundial is written a Latin motto meaning “Me, it’s the sun that pays me, you are my shadow” . A small statue at the top of the building represents a man named Father La Roche of which we find the female equivalent on the facade of the Château des Basses-Fosses, Mother La Roche . The name of the cannon house comes from the artillery room located at the corner of the building and which comes from the French ship L’Inflexible cast in November 1759 During the Battle of the Cardinals. Today, the cannon house houses the town hall as well as a media library and an exhibition hall.
• The Auberge des Deux Magots : former mansion probably built by a shipowner or a naval officer at XVII ^{It is} century. The building takes its name from the two sculptures on the facade which represent Magot monkeys which would be a memory of the travel owner of the building. As its name suggests, the building now houses an inn-restaurant.
• Crêperie de la Roche : half -timbered house dating XV ^{It is} century which was probably used as a place of storage of goods from the port. One of the oldest buildings in the city is also the only one of this type that remains in La Roche-Bernard.
• The Notre-Dame chapel: The foundation of this chapel is attested by the Cartulaire de Redon in 1063. The Romance Foundations have today disappeared and now remain only parts dating essentially XVI ^{It is} And XIX ^{It is} centuries. At the architectural level, the chapel does not have great interest but it is its historical importance as a symbol of Protestantism in Brittany which makes this place an interesting place. It was here in 1558 that the Lord of Ancelot de Coligny introduced Protestant worship into the city which in short time became a nucleus of Protestantism in the region. In 1551, the first ^is Protestant marriage of Brittany. At that time, the building had two entrance doors. Not wanting to go under the same door as the Catholics and thus not to pass under a representation of the Virgin, the Protestants would have decided to build a new door. In 1570, following the peace of Saint-Germain, the Sainte-Anne chapel was returned to Catholic worship. The door pierced by Protestants is then walled up by Catholics. During the French Revolution, it lost its religious function since the revolutionary tribunal settled there. It will then be sold as a national property. Abandoned for decades and as she threatens to collapse, a heritage safeguard association (ASPAH) decided to restore the building between 1974 and 1984.
• The Hôtel du Cardinal Odet de Chatillon-Coligny: this building owes its name to its former owner, Odet de Coligny, who was cardinal-archbishop of Toulouse before converting to Calvinism. The hotel displays artistic influences of the Renaissance. At XVI ^{It is} A century, it was the Lord Gabart de Rollieuc who settled there until 1793 when his home became the seat of the district and the municipality during the revolutionary period. Later, the Cornunudet family, one of the members of which was mayor of the city from 1915 to 1945, bought the building which was later sold to a religious community. However, the hotel is currently unoccupied.
• Place du Bouffay: it is the old nerve center of the city. Halles once extended from house to cannon to the current Crêperie de la Roche But they were destroyed at the start of XX ^{It is} A century to make room for the various markets, including the animal market, including the animal market. The prison, as well as the last turret of the old city castle, won these halls on the Ruicard side. These halls looked like those that are still found today in Questembert. Finally, it should be noted that this was also the place of many tortures: formerly named Place du pimers , she also welcomed the guillotine during the French Revolution.
• Rue de la Qunenelle: its name would originate the name given to a tax on wine barrels. It was before one of the only streets of access to the city for merchants from Penestin and Guérande because La Roche-Bernard was a stop city for the latter before going to larger cities like Vannes , Nantes or Redon. It was sent there all kinds of goods often on the back of the mule due to the high drop in this street. The latter was once fully paved and the watershed was located in the middle of the street.
• The rue de la Saulnerie: it takes its name from the activity of the Saulniers, that is to say people who bought and resells salt. Their costume made that they were easily recognizable by the rest of the population. Due to its old market function, this street is made up of old granaries, stalls, workshops and warehouses mostly dating from XVI ^{It is} century. The Baron de La Roche-Bernard stored the salt he received thanks to the taxes on this commodity which transited in abundance on his barony.
• Saint-Michel church.

The port [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The port activity of La Roche-Bernard is attested from the XIII ^{It is} century. Pleasure is now the activity and the main line of the port of the city.

• The old port: it corresponds to the floor which extends along the Quai Saint-Antoine. From the city’s foundation until the beginning of XX ^{It is} century, it was the main place of transit of goods. There were mainly four products exchanged in the port: salt, coming from Guérande salt marshes, wine mainly from the hillsides of Guérande, lime then, later XIX ^{It is} century, mine posts were one of the city’s flagship goods. Naval construction was also very important before quickly declining at XX ^{It is} century. It was mainly built there fishing boats. The sinful fish in the Atlantic had come up via the Vilaine in La Roche-Bernard to then be sold in the rest of the region. Today, pleasure boats have replaced those of goods and fishing.
• The new port: this port corresponds to the current customs quay and the Vilaine front which extends to the Roche-Bernard bridge. Before XX ^{It is} century was mainly a place of shipbuilding. This is where the first ^is three -mast warships called the crown . Vacant lot following the abandonment of shipbuilding, this edge of the Vilaine was then arranged during the second half of XX ^{It is} century. There are now locations and installations related to water sports.

Les ponts [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The crossing of the Vilaine at La Roche-Bernard has always been a complicated affair. Today, out of the four bridges built during the previous centuries, only two of them survived.

• The old La Roche-Bernard bridge: Formerly, the crossing of the Vilaine was made thanks to a container system between the passage of the Guédas on the Marzan side to a wedge located on the other bank on the La Roche-Bernard side. The strong winds and the effects of the tide made the perilous crossing. It was in 1709 that the most serious accident took place when 70 pilgrims died drowned during the crossing. In addition, the smugglers were not recognized for their great reliability. We must wait for the first half of the XIX ^{It is} century and the reign of Louis-Philippe I ^is So that the construction of a bridge is decided in La Roche-Bernard. A first bridge was therefore inaugurated in 1839. Two imposing stone batteries wore a one -way gateway. A system of bells on each side made it possible to warn that the bridge was crossed and thus avoid traffic jams. However, the force of the wind weakening the global structure, the cables broke up for the first time in 1852.

In 1911, the suspension bridge was replaced by a bridge with metallic arches. This project is carried out without interruption of traffic: the arches are set up on both sides of the old apron which is gradually replaced by the new. Thanks to this modification, the Morbihan railway line built with narrow tracks (1 m ), could cross the Vilaine and ensure the connection between Vannes and Saint-Nazaire. The old La Roche-Bernard bridge experienced a tragic fate, since it was undermined during the Second World War, then, during the day of the August 15, 1944 , lightning falls on one of the mines, causing the destruction of the building (this was seen by several people).

• The La Roche-Bernard bridge: After the war, we come back to a system of crossing by BAC, then we install a floating gateway between 1950 and 1960 which was recovered from the landing equipment in Normandy. In 1954, the cycling tour of France passed over this bridge. The latter had two major drawbacks: it resisted less and less with road traffic (there was the total supported weight to 2 tonnes) and it completely blocked river traffic. In 1960, the second La Roche-Bernard bridge was inaugurated, a suspension bridge on the Tancarville bridge model.
• The Morbihan bridge: victim of road traffic development, the La Roche-Bernard bridge fails to absorb all the flows and the two traffic lanes no longer meet the imperatives of road traffic. During the summer periods, between 30,000 and 40,000 vehicles passed through the bridge every day. In order to unclog the city, we then decide the construction of a new bridge between the municipalities of Marzan and Nivillac barely 1 km upstream of the previous one. It will be inaugurated in 1996. 600 m , it has a pedestrian arch located just below the main apron.

Natural sites [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Despite the reduced surface of the town, La Roche-Bernard has several natural spaces.

River [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

La Vilaine flows near La Roche-Bernard. The city is 20 km From the mouth between the river and the Atlantic Ocean and it is at the level of the customs quay that the depth of this river is the highest of all its journey from its source to its mouth.

The classified site of the rock [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Located rue du Passage, this granitic promontory overlooks the Vilaine and the port. There are also 2 guns that belonged to the French war vessel ” The right “Sun during the Battle of the Cardinals in 1759. A commemorative plaque indicates that it was in La Roche-Bernard that was built at XVII ^{It is} century The War Vessel La Couronne.

The Garennes garden [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

It is the only park in the city. Located below the old district, this park was originally a space occupied by a multitude of individual vegetable gardens, one of which remains today. The land was then bought by the municipality to make it a pleasure garden while preserving the existing plant heritage. A stream, which starts from the old wash house, crosses the park to then throw itself into the nasty. Since 1997, the Les Garennes festival has been held there every year during the summer.

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  La Vilaine, seen from the rock.

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  The top of the Rocher site.

• 

Heraldry [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

	The coat of arms of La Roche-Bernard are thus blasing: Golden to an eagle, two -headed sandplays of sand, beaked, tired and hung on gules. (Weapons of the La Roche-Bernard family.)

• Henriette Marie de France, daughter of King Henri IV and Marie de Médicis; As well as Jacques II (king of England and cousin of Louis XIV) both stayed in La Roche-Bernard at the Château des Basses-Fosses.
• François Luczot de la Thébaudais, engineer from the Ponts-et-Chaussées, born in 1770 in Bain de Bretagne, who died in Paris at the age of 74. Admitted in 1792 to the School of Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, was appointed the following year in Besançon where he became Charles Nodier. Together Nodier and Luczot signed a Dissertation on the use of antennas in insects, and on the organ of hearing in the same animals entrusted to the Briot printer. A few years later it was to François Luczot that the mission of directing the work of the Ille and Rance canal was entrusted. He joined his new assignment in Ille-et-Vilaine, under the orders of chief engineer Anfray son, in the month of April 1804 ; And ended his career as chief engineer of bridges and roads for Morbihan, in residence in Vannes: he is the author of the plans and quotes of the first bridge of La Roche Bernard, inaugurated in 1839 ^{[ 39 ]} .
• Gustave Thomas de Closmadeuc, (1828-1918), native of La Roche-Bernard, chief surgeon of the Vannes hospital, archaeologist, president of the Polymatic Society of Morbihan, knight of the Legion of Honor.

Cultural and leisure equipment [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Exhibition halls [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The municipality has three exhibition rooms:

• The Turner gallery, rue du Docteur-Cornudet;
• The Notre-Dame chapel, rue Haute-Notre-Dame;
• The dance hall located at the town hall.

Museum [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Musée de la Vilaine Maritime: Museum comprising collections of objects related to shipbuilding in particular models of the French War Ship The Crown and other objects devoted to rural traditions.

Movie theater [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Movie theater The crown : Associative cinema formerly located near college and pharmacy. Its name comes from the war vessel built in La Roche-Bernard.

Demonstrations and events [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Traditional market: market which takes place every Thursday morning in the town of the city, mainly along rue Saint-James and around the church.
• Les Garennes Festival: it is an annual and free outdoor music festival created and organized by the OMCSL association ( Music Office Culture Sports and Leisure ) since 1997 and which takes its name from the park in which it takes place.
• Vilaine in celebration! : Gathering of old rigges of the traditional Lower Vilaine flotilla.
• Ancient books and postcards market: this market is held annually on the Place du Bouffay and its surroundings. Are sold there by amateurs and professionals, old books, postcards, posters, etc.

Education [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Primary school: School of Small Murins.
• Primary school: Saint Michel school.
• College: Saint-Joseph college.

Sports [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Hiking trails [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• The bridges circuit (5.7 km , approximately first h 30 ): La Roche-Bernard is the start of the circuit of the bridges which allows a discovery of the Vilaine and the different bridges. It allows in particular to pass on the pedestrian arch which is located below the bridge of Morbihan.
• Passage to the Grande Randonnée Chemin n ^O 39 (GR39): a path starting from the end of the Quai Saint-Antoine makes it possible to reach the GR39 between Guérande and Mont Saint-Michel.

Notes [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

References [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Related articles [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

external links [ modifier | Modifier and code ]