Rennes

Rennes lies in eastern Brittany where the Ille flows into the Vilaine, on the site of the Gallo-Roman town of Condate. The dukes of Brittany held their coronations in its cathedral of Saint-Pierre, and in the 15th century the city outgrew its old Roman walls, with new ramparts to the east and south of the river.

Rennes changed hands in the War of Breton Succession, and in 1356 Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster, besieged it for months before withdrawing in 1357. Anne of Brittany entered the city in February 1489 and was crowned duchess in the cathedral, but the French army besieged her here in 1491 until she agreed to marry Charles VIII. After the union of 1532 the Parlement of Brittany settled in Rennes in 1561, and its magistrates built the Palais du Parlement between 1618 and 1655. In 1675 the Stamped Paper Revolt brought riots to the city. From 23 to 29 December 1720 a fire swept through the timber-framed upper town, from the Parlement to Saint-Sauveur. The rebuilding laid out regular stone streets and a new town hall.