ILLE-ET-VILAINE

'Ille-et-Vilaine' ('Il-ha-Gwilen' in Breton) is a department of France, located in the region of Bretagne in the northwest of France.

Contents

History

Geography

Demography

Culture

See also

External links

History

Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Brittany.

Geography

Ille-et-Vilaine is a part of the current region of Bretagne and is bordered by the departments of Manche, Mayenne, Maine-et-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan, and Côtes-d'Armor, as well as the English Channel to the north.
Major rivers running through it are the Ille, the Vilaine, the Rance and the Couesnon.

Demography

The population has grown over the last few decades and was estimated at 903,400 in January 2003.

Culture

Gallo is a historic minority language spoken in eastern Brittany. Gallo and Breton are both studied at the University of Rennes.

See also

★ Cantons of the Ille-et-Vilaine department

★ Communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine department

★ Arrondissements of the Ille-et-Vilaine department

External links

★ Prefecture website

★ Conseil Général website

★ Cultural Heritage

★ City of Rennes website