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Belle-Isle-en-Terre is located among the woods and the rivers of the Côtes d’Armor region of Brittany. Originally it lay on the Route National (N12), the national road from Paris via Rennes to Brest. But the N12 now by-passes the town to the north and its proximity provides good access to the ports (Roscoff and St Malo) and to the airports (Dinard, Rennes and Brest).
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Visitors to Belle-Isle-en-Terre invariably ask the same question: why "Isle"?
Tradition has it that the origins of Belle-Isle-en-Terre go back to the 9th century. The Lexobiens, inhabitants of Yaudet, close to Lannion on the north Brittany coast were driven inland up the Léguer river by Normans, to the confluence of the the two rivers Guer and Guic. And that is where they settled, to be called Belle-Isle-en-Terre. Villages built at the confluence of two rivers were given the name of "Isle".
Belle-Isle-en-Terre probably owes something of its name to the monks of Belle-Isle, an island off the western coast of Brittany, who founded a monastery in nearby Locmaria, also in the 9th century.
During the era of the Crusades, the abbot of Largez founded a hospice and chapel (St Catherine) in the town for the benefit of pilgrims on their way to Saint Jacques de Compostelle.
The current Belle-Isle-en-Terre church, built in 1880, bears the name of Saint Jacques the Major (the disciple James) and the flag of Belle-Isle-en-Terre reflects the association with the pilgrims by the inclusion of three Saint Jacques shells (scallops); the symbol of pilgrims.
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A celebrity of Belle-Isle-en-Terre was Lady Mond who was born in Belle-Isle-en-Terre. She became very rich by marrying an English industrialist and returned to the town, funding the building of the chateau Mond, the Mairie and the Post Office.
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Each year in April, Belle-Isle-en-Terre hosts Rando Muco, a charity event to raise awareness and support for sufferers of cystic fibrosis
In July, Belle-Isle-en-Terre hosts the Breton Wrestling (Lutte) Championships in the grounds behind the Château.
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| Belle-Isle-en-Terre owes its beauty to its rivers, its steep wooded valleys, its mysterious forests and its Château. Belle-Isle-en-Terre provides a focal point to explore the rivers, forests and a host of other interests in the Côtes d’Armor region of Brittany. | |
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