Vannes, port of the Morbihan Gulf, the center of the "Great West" is a magical place where sea, earth, sky mingle in changing and unusual landscapes. A rich and varied environment which should enhance and preserve.
Historical and modern Vannes seduced as much by its ramparts and medieval center with its university and its future-oriented companies.
The city was founded by the Romans after their victory over the Veneti in 56 BC. The armies of Julius Caesar conquered all victorious Armorica.
Darioritum (first name of the city) is growing on a hill (now the St Patern). From the third century a castrum was built to protect the inhabitants of the threats of the barbarians.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, replacing Darioritum Venetis, the ancient city was abandoned and became a suburb. The medieval town develops gradually within the fortifications. It was then that becomes a bishopric Vannes (one of the first in Britain).
In 1532, François 1st stays Vannes preparing the Treaty of Union between Britain and France.
At the end of the seventeenth, the exile of the Breton Parliament by order of Louis the 14th gives a boost to the city. We build many mansions and the city extends outside the enclosure.
In the second half of the 19th century Vannes takes another face. Urban development is generated by the arrival of the railway in 1862 and the installation of two artillery regiments after the defeat of 1870. It also inaugurated at that time the town hall, the prefecture and the court. Vannes has suffered little of the Second World War. Today the city values its tourism assets through enhancement of its old quarters and its proximity to the Gulf of Morbihan.