Fougères

Fougères (French pronunciation: [fuʒɛʁ] ; Breton: Felger; Gallo: Foujerr) is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department, located in Brittany, northwestern France. As of 2017, Fougères had 20,418 inhabitants. The Fougères area comprises approximately 88,000 inhabitants and is currently growing, unlike the town centre.
Fougères is a town on the edge of Brittany, Maine and Normandy and is named after a fern (see also fougère), or from fous which means fossé ("gap").
The town of Fougères is mentioned in the chorus of the song La Blanche Hermine by Gilles Servat. The author uses it as a symbol of the Breton resistance where it is adjacent to the town of Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique.
Fougères is historically, since the arrival of Latin in Armorica, a region where Gallo is spoken. In Gallo, Fougères translates to Foujerr while its Breton name is Felger. Entry signs to the agglomeration have carried the Breton name for several years. One of the two bagad of the city takes this name: Bagad Bro Felger [fr] and the Diwan school, opened in 2013, is also called Skol Diwan bro Felger.
The presence of many megalithic monuments, particularly in the Forest of Fougères [fr], suggests that the area was already inhabited in the Neolithic era (5000 to 2000 years BC).
The creation of Fougères dates back to the Middle Ages. The Château de Fougères was first mentioned around the end of the 10th century. At the time, it was a simple wooden fortification located on a rocky ridge, whose position favourably dominated the Nançon [fr] Valley and the surrounding marshes. Fougères was at the crossing of two Roman roads, one from Chartres to Carhaix and the other from Avranches to Nantes. From the 12th century, the population moved away from the shore of the Nançon and the city grew in size, divided into two parishes: Saint-Sulpice for the lower town and Saint-Léonard for the upper town. Since the Middle Ages, crafts developed around tannery, weavers and drapers in the lower town.
Built in the 11th century by the lords of Fougères, the first fortification, defended by Raoul II (1130–1194), was taken by Henry II of England in 1166 and destroyed. Raoul II stubbornly rebuilt a more imposing structure and it became a stronghold defending the borders of Brittany from Mont Saint-Michel to Nantes. However, the geographical position and the interests of the lords of Fougères often tipped in favour of the Kingdom of France. When Raoul III offered its possession to Louis IX of France, the Breton prince Pierre Mauclerc captured the city in 1231, which was re-captured by the king. The daughter of Raoul III, Jeanne de Fougères, who married Hugh XII of Lusignan, undertook new fortification work and beautified the city. The end of the 13th century was a period of peace and prosperity for Fougères.
In 1307, Philip IV of France bought the domain but the Kingdom of France was not interested and did not maintain it. After various fights and reversals of alliances, Bertrand du Guesclin entered in 1373, but the situation did not improve. Abandoned and ravaged by pillaging, the population of Fougères requested assistance from the Duchy of Brittany and the town joined the duchy in 1428, sold by John II of Alençon. However, in 1449, a man named François de Surienne, an Aragonese mercenary at the service of the English, captured and sacked the town in an attempt to force Brittany to ally with England. There were many massacres, which caused a reaction from Francis I, Duke of Brittany, determined to get rid of the English. The Duke of Brittany allied with Charles VII of France and attacked the south of Normandy, laying siege to Fougères. Surienne and his men were, however, able to resist and surrendered on the condition of being able to walk free. This episode announced the Battle of Formigny. Finally, the French general La Trémoille seized Fougères in 1488, during the Mad War.
In the 16th century, the town lost its defensive role. Crafts continued to develop, including the craft of tin (in Rue de la Pinterie). During the Wars of Religion, the town remained Catholic while Vitré was affected by clashes with the Huguenots.
Until 1775, Fougères was barely mentioned. The Marquis de La Rouërie, a young man of high standing, then moved to the United States to fight with American insurgents. Back in France, after having been imprisoned for a month for leading the Breton conspiracy [fr], he was greeted as a hero in his homeland.
During the French Revolution, the province of Brittany disappeared along with its privileges. The first changes were originally welcomed by the population. However, over time the Civil Constitution of the Clergy of the priests and the Levée en masse triggered a rebellion, the Chouannerie. In 1793, during the Virée de Galerne, the Vendéens and Chouans seized the town which was taken a few weeks later by the Republicans. For eight years, the town and its region passed from hand to hand, with many massacres and looting occurring. The leader of the Chouans of the Fougères area was the young general Aimé du Boisguy.
The Organization of the Revolutionary Celebrations [fr] reflected a favourable feeling from the population to the new regime:
Little by little, industry replaced crafts and Fougères saw the establishment of shoe manufacturers. In the winter of 1906–07, workers went on strike in the shoe factories and in response, managers organised a lockout. Solidarity was very strong in the city ("Communist" soups to feed the strikers without family income) but also beyond: Children were welcomed by Rennes and Parisian families during conflicts. Jean Jaurès came to Fougères to support the movement.
Glassware production had also existed in the Fougères area since the arrival of Italian glass masters in the 16th and 17th centuries. The installation of this industry is explained by the presence of a sandy soil (since sand is the main component of glass), a forest (since sand needs to be melted) and ferns (soda-rich plants). A glass factory existed on the outskirts of the town (Laignelet), which flourished in the 19th century. However, following social demands in 1921, religious unionism was mobilized and a new Fougères glass factory: La Cristallerie Fougeraise, was founded by Abbot Bridel [fr], as well as a working town later in 1922, designed by the architect Hyacinthe Perrin [fr], to accommodate staff.
The 20th century was marked by the British and American bombings on 8 June 1944, during Operation Overlord, which killed 300 people, injured twice as many, and destroyed most of the public and industrial facilities. This bombing was in preparation to liberate France after surrendering to Nazi Germany on June 22 1940. Since then, the town has largely been open to tourism, thanks to its medieval castle and its historic districts. From the 1970s, industry has been diverse: food processing, furniture, mechanical, glass, electronics, computing, and robotics.
Fougères also organizes an important cattle market.
640 names are engraved in a monument to commemorate the death of soldiers from Fougères that fought for France during World War I. Fougères also welcomed many war wounded soldiers in its hospital and the monument mention 148 additional names of soldiers that died in Fougères but were not originating from the city.
On 11 July 2013, Fougères hosted the Tour de France as a departure town. When the Tour de France returned on 10 July 2015, Fougères was the finish town for stage 7 (Livarot-Fougères). It was a stage victory for the British cyclist Mark Cavendish. Cyclism came back to the town on 4 July 2016, where Fougères was a race-through town in the stage Granville-Angers.
Fougères is also one of the control points for the Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP) bicycle event. PBP is an ultra-marathon event where cyclists are expected to complete the 1,200 km (746 miles) course in under 90 hours, and occurs the year before a Summer Olympic year. Fougères is a control point both out bound to Brest as well as back to Paris.
Located northeast of Ille-et-Vilaine, the Pays de Fougères [fr] has 83,000 inhabitants. This population continues to grow and represents 11.77% of the population of the Department covering 977,449 inhabitants and seven Pays. The Pays is composed of 58 communes, divided into five communities:
Fougères is classified as a town of art and history since 1985. It houses 24 historical monuments and 87 buildings surveyed.
Fougères has the label tourisme et handicap, since July 2011.
Fougères' most visited attraction is the Château de Fougères, a medieval stronghold built atop a granite ledge, which was part of the Duchy of Brittany's ultimately unsuccessful defence against French aggression, and part of a tripartite with Vitré.
The castle is one of the most impressive French castles, occupying an area of 2 hectares (4.9 acres), or even for some "the largest medieval fortress of Europe." It consists of three enclosures whose walls have been preserved. Although the seigniorial is ruined, the thirteen towers still rise with majesty. Some of these towers can be visited (the Hallay Tower and Tower of the Hague (12th century), Raoul Tower (15th century) and the Mélusine Tower, erected in 1242 by Hugues of Lusignan). At the entrance, is a triple watermill. Access to the west curtain wall allows observation of the upper town (48°21′13″N 1°12′34″W﻿ / ﻿48.35361°N 1.20944°W﻿ / 48.35361; -1.20944).
The castle and its surroundings has been classified as a historic monument by list of 1862, by order of 4 July 1928 and by order of 26 February 1953.
A postage stamp [fr] representing the castle was issued on 18 January 1960.
This was the first to be built in Brittany, in 1397, and also one of only three belfries in Brittany. The location serves as the centre of the weekend market. It symbolised the dynamism of a small-scale civil society seeking independence. Funded by local merchants, it allowed ordinary people access to timekeeping, previously the preserve of the church and nobility. Its architecture was inspired by the Flemish models which the drapers of Fougères discovered during their travels in Flanders. Engraved on the Bell is the inscription: In 1397 the market town of Fougères made me and my name is Roland Chapelle.
The belfry was classified as a historical monument by Decree of 1 September 1922.
A sizable section of the town wall survives, stretching from the château in the lower town, up the hill to surround the upper town. Medieval citizens in the lower town were outside the fortifications and had to retreat into the fortress in times of trouble. The gate of the 15th century with a double drawbridge presents many defenses including moats, embrasures, machicolations, etc., and a protective Virgin turned outwards. It is the only fortified town gate which is left.
The Notre-Dame Gate [fr] was listed a historical monument by Decree of 9 December 1946, with the south and west of the city walls.
The Church of Saint-Sulpice [fr] dates in part from the 15th century. It was classified as a historical monument by Decree of 26 September 1910. There are two remarkable medieval altarpieces of monumental granite with carved decoration: The altarpiece of the Tanners and the altarpiece of Notre-Dame-des-Marais.
The Church of Saint-Léonard also dates from the 15th century. It was listed a historical monument by Decree of 15 March 1949. Located at the top of the upper town, it offers a panoramic view of the city.
The Tower of Papegaud [fr], place where the plot of the novel Les Chouans by de Balzac unravels.
Fougères is situated in the Cadomian chain. The oldest buildings use readily available stone: la cornéenne. A metamorphic rock, difficult to cut and of very different appearance, it is very solid. Later came the use of Louvigné granite, which is more homogeneous. Most of the buildings of the town are built with these local materials. It took the arrival of the railway to import other stones (late 19th century). In military strategy, note that the castle is not on high, but on a deposit of la cornéenne, which prevents the risk of attacks by mining and from underground.
Fougères is situated:
Fougères is twinned with:
These two towns have also been paired together since 1964.
Fougères is an industrial town and its typical demographic trends show very well. In the 1850s, the Brittany town was "moving in the manufacture of leather shoes to solve a crisis in the shoe industry." Success followed (the Cordier factory, for example) and Fougères saw its population increase by 124% from 9,344 inhabitants in 1856 to 20,952 in 1901, an increase of 11,608 people in less than 50 years (or more than the population of Vitré). At the beginning of the 20th century, Fougères became the capital of female footwear: "...more than 12,000 workers are distributed in 40 factories. In 1946, they manufacture 10.7% of French production for town and fancy use and 7% of work shoes" (Jérôme Cucarull). The crisis of the 1930s put what must be called an industrial district into difficulty, (Florent Le Bot). The mass-closure of SMEs and the concentration of employment into fewer companies (mainly Réhault, JB Martin and Morel et Gâté) provided a second wind to the Fougères industry (4,500 employees in 1966). The slowdown in growth during the second half of the 1960s, then the oil shock in 1973, caused a massacre in the footwear sector, particularly in February–March 1976, with the closure of three companies (Réhault, Morel et Gâté and Maunoir) and the dismissal of 1,140 employees. Since 2008 and the closure of Hasley, only the JB Martin company maintains the tradition of footwear production in Fougères (F. Le Bot, Laurence Héry).
In 2017, the commune had 20,418 inhabitants.
Since the end of World War II, the Trente Glorieuses boosted Fougères and the town increased its population until the 1975 census, arriving at almost 27,000 inhabitants.
By 1975, the town had suffered deeply from the oil crisis of 1973 and had been hit. The town was devastated by successive closures of factories from a crisis in the shoe sector, and refused the implantation of the Citroën company on its territory. The city struggled to recover and saw its population fall. The town went from a population of 26,610 in 1975 to 19,820 in 2008, a 26% decline in population in 34 years, although suburbanisation offset this decline. Today the shoe sector has a few hundred jobs in the town: For example, the JB Martin company remains in Fougères, even though it has completely relocated its production to Asia. The town is growing in relation to Rennes since the inauguration of the Autoroute des Estuaires in 2000, which provides access to Rennes in 30 minutes, and has achieved a satisfactory development based on the growth of more diversified economic activities. More than 30 hectares (74 acres) of business parks, between the motorway and the city centre, give an economic attractiveness to the area.
The urban area of Fougères [fr] has 20 communes gathering 42,818 inhabitants (2009) including 46% of this population which is in the town centre. This makes the Fougères urban area the 164th of 241 large urban areas of France.
Inhabitants of Fougères are called Fougerais (male) and Fougeraise (female) in French.
There used to be an important shoemaking industry which is now almost extinct. There was also an important glass making industry.
During the Middle Ages, salt was heavily taxed and was imported from the Breton regions to the rest of France. Fougères was made a stronghold for "salt smugglers", who would creep along the wall of the city with confiscated salt, to sell in other regions. There is a communal garden in modern Fougères that commemorates this interesting and little-known fact.
Fougères was the seat of the Chamber of commerce and industry of the Pays de Fougères [fr] until 2011, replaced since by a delegation from the Chamber of commerce and industry of Saint-Malo-Fougères [fr] after the merger of these.
In 2008, the major employers in Fougères were the Centre hospitalier de Fougères, Sagem [fr]-Safran Group, Carl Zeiss Vision [fr], the town of Fougères, the Transports Gélin, Carrefour (Sofodis), the Association Jean-Baptiste Le Taillandier (AREP and the Notre-Dame-des-Marais, Edmond Michelet, Saint-Joseph, and Beau-site schools), the Jean Guéhenno city school, the Groupe Royer [fr], and Groom, as well as Otima.
The central hospital of Pays de Fougères has just completed its renovation in 2013: It offers access to 13 care services, emergency, maternity, 16 specialties and 440 beds.
The elderly have two suitable facilities: The Henri Rebuffé sheltered housing, opened in 1987 in the former premises of the Morel et Gaté firm in the Bonabry quarter, and the Cotterêts sheltered housing.
Higher education is present at Fougères, notably in the field of health:
The town has 38 remarkable trees [fr]. Several of them (chestnut, tulip trees, sequoia, araucaria) are visible in a private park on boulevard Saint-Germain.
In Fougères, five councils of quarters have been implemented:
Fougères participates in the contest of flowery cities and villages and has the label of four flowers (220 cities rewarded in France) and five in Ille-et-Vilaine for the quality of its planning and management of the landscaped areas. The signs are located at all entrances of the city.
Fougères is also served by the Illenoo interurban network.
Fougères is served by the A84 autoroute linking Caen to Rennes.
Since the cessation of regular passenger traffic between Fougères and Vitré in 1972, only freight and some special trains continued to circulate until 1991, when Fougères station closed. Subsequently, the building served as an SNCF point of sale, until its demolition in 2001 to make way for a shopping complex in the town centre.
For some time, the idea of the return of trains to Fougères has risen in some minds, but eluded most of the local elected representatives.
In the former Réhault factory, renovated and renamed Les Ateliers, near the glassworks factory, houses many associations as well as the Maison des associations. More than 100 associations are listed in the field of sport and recreation in particular.
The town will host the start of stage 7 of the 2018 Tour de France.
The town has numerous municipal sports facilities to allow the people to practice their sport in the best possible conditions:
Other complementing facilities:
Private sports centres also exist:
Each year the town of Fougères invites four nations to participate in a basketball tournament. This tournament concerns U17 (under 17 years old) or U16 (under 16) female competitors. For three nights (Thursday, Friday and Saturday), each nation competes. In addition to the matches, a 3-point contest is held where the basketball players from each nation must score as many 3-point baskets as possible.
After three matches, the player who has scored the most points is titled "best scorer of the tournament".
The first tournament was in 1993, won by Russia. France has had the most wins (7) ahead of Russia (6) and Australia (3).
Fougères is a town of Art and History (Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire), a designation assigned to historic areas by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. The town was involved in the rebellion against the French Revolution in 1793. A skirmish near Fougères was the subject of the French painter Julien Le Blant's (1851–1933) most famous work Le Bataillon Carré, Affaire de Fougères 1793, which won a Gold Medal in the Exposition Universelle in 1889. This large work is now located in the United States, at the Lee Library on the campus of Brigham Young University.
L'association de formation et d'animation populaire [The association of training and popular animation] - or AFAP - is an association created in 1976 whose objective is "to bring together persons wishing to experience and develop traditional cultures in the pays de Fougères (music, dance and singing)." With nearly 200 members, it annually organises the Froger-Ferron prize, whose 25th anniversary in 2011 was marked by the presence of Graeme Allwright.
The Bagad Bro Felger [fr] is an ensemble of traditional Breton music from the lands of Fougères, created in the autumn of 2002 at Fougères. A member of the Bodadeg ar Sonerion [fr] federation, it currently competes in 2nd category of the national championship of the bagadou [fr] and is present at many festivals in France.
Still active to date, it is the first bagad of the town and one of the first of Brittany, created in 1954, it quickly took the name of Raoul II in honour of the founder of the town of Fougères.
A Diwan school was opened in September 2013, where 14 children are enrolled, or 0.7% of the commune's primary schoolchildren.
Every year in July, the Festival des Voix de Pays [Festival of the Country Voices] is held within the walls of the castle, organized by the Juliette-Drouet de Fougères Community cultural centre. This event has taken place for more than twenty years,
The newspapers and journals of Fougères are:
There are local information magazines published on the metropolitan area, such as La Lettre of the Fougères community [fr].
Several free radio stations have existed in Fougères, namely: