Combourg
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Combourg |
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| Château de Combourg | |
 Combourg
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Location within Brittany region
Combourg
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Brittany |
| Department | Ille-et-Vilaine |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Malo |
| Canton | Combourg |
| Intercommunality | Bretagne Romantique |
| Mayor | Joël Le Besco (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 29–120 m (95–390 ft) (avg. 66 m or 217 ft) |
| Land area1 | 63.55 km2 (24.54 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 5,572 (2008) |
| - Density | 88 /km2 (230 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 35085/ 35270 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Coordinates: 48°24′34″N 1°45′02″W / 48.4094°N 1.7506°W
Combourg (Breton: Komborn, Gallo: Conbórn) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France.
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[edit] Population
Inhabitants of Combourg are called Combourgeois and, more rarely Combournais, in French.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1810 | 4,170 | — |
| 1962 | 4,339 | +4.1% |
| 1968 | 4,457 | +2.7% |
| 1975 | 4,647 | +4.3% |
| 1982 | 4,733 | +1.9% |
| 1990 | 4,843 | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 4,850 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 5,572 | +14.9% |
[edit] History
Arthur Young, the English writer and economist, visited Combourg on his travels through France in 1788. He wrote of the town:
SEPTEMBER 1 [1788]. The country has a savage aspect; husbandry not much further advanced, at least in skill, than among the Hurons, which appears incredible amidst enclosures; the people almost as wild as their country, and their town of Combourg one of the most brutal filthy places that can be seen; mud houses, no windows, and a pavement so broken, as to impede all passengers, but ease none — yet here is a chateau, and inhabited; who is this Monsieur de Chateaubriant, the owner, that has nerves strung for a residence amidst such filth and poverty? Below this hideous heap of wretchedness is a fine lake, surrounded by well wooded enclosures.[1]
Chateaubriand commented later: "This M. de Chateaubriand was my father. The retreat that seemed so hideous to the ill-tempered agronomist was a fine and noble dwelling, albeit dark and solemn."[2] He did not comment on Young's description of the town.[3]
[edit] Personalities
François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848) grew up in his family's castle, the Château de Combourg.
[edit] International relations
Combourg is twinned with Waldmünchen, in Bavaria, Germany.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website (French)
- Combourg's Tourism Information Center site ((English)
- Cultural Heritage (French)
Place Chateaubriand
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