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

by Arnaud Leroy

Source: TV images

Presentation of Bréhat
Description of the flag of Bréhat

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Presentation of the municipality

Bréhat is a small island (c. 3.5 x 1.5 km) located c. 5 km off the northern coast of Brittany. The municipality has 421 inhabitants. 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 have been living 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

Description of the flag

The flag of Bréhat is white with the municipal coat of arms in the middle. The coat of arms is:

Ermine, a bend gules

Ivan Sache, 11 January 2002