Celtic Era The name
Vannes comes from the
Veneti, a seafaring
Celtic people who lived in the south-western part of
Armorica in
Gaul before the
Roman invasions. The region seems to have been involved in a cross channel trade for thousands of years, probably using hide boats and perhaps
Ferriby Boats. Wheat that apparently was grown in the Middle East was part of this trade. At about 150 BC the evidence of trade (such as Gallo-Belgic coins) with the
Thames estuary area of
Great Britain dramatically increased.
Roman Era The Veneti were defeated by
Julius Caesar's fleet in 56 BC in front of
Locmariaquer; many of the Veneti were then either slaughtered or sold into slavery. The Romans settled a town called
Darioritum in a location previously belonging to the Veneti. At the end of the 1st century BC, the
Ramparts of Vannes were established as fortifications to protect the city during major crises.
The Britons arrive From the 5th to the 7th century, the remaining
Gauls were displaced or assimilated by waves of immigrant
Britons fleeing the
Saxon invasions of Britain. Under the
Breton name
Gwened (also derived from the Veneti), the town was the center of an independent principality or kingdom variously called
Bro-Wened ("Vannes") or
Bro-Ereg ("land of
Gwereg"), the latter for a prominent member of its dynasty, which claimed descent from
Caradog Strongarm. The
diocese of Vannes was erected in the 5th century. The Council of Vannes was held there in 461. The realm annexed
Cornouaille for a time in the early 6th century but was permanently joined with
Domnonia under its king and
Saint Judicaël around 635.
Breton War of Succession In 1342, Vannes was besieged four times between forces from both sides of the Breton War of Succession. The city's defending commander,
Olivier IV de Clisson, was captured by the English but finally released. The French eventually executed him since they suspected him of being a traitor since the ransom was unusually low.
14th–17th centuries Vannes was the capital of the
duchy of Brittany in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Duke Arthur II was entombed there, and
Duke John IV "the Conqueror" heavily fortified the city and the Ramparts. After 1553 it moved to Nantes and Rennes. It returned to Vannes from 1675 to 1690, causing a significant influx of wealthy residents, their servants, and their suppliers. The
Court of Auditors of Brittany was established in Vannes in the 13th century,
18th century In 1759, Vannes was used as the staging point for a
planned French invasion of Britain. A large army was assembled there, but it was never able to sail after the French naval defeat at the
Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759. In 1795, during the
French Revolution, French forces based in Vannes successfully repelled a planned British-Royalist
invasion through
Quiberon.
19th century The
Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1886. ==Geography==