ST. MALO , ST. SERVAN,Ille-et-Vilaine ,Brittany ,France,Antique Map

HISTORICAL MAP CHART

ST MALO, a seaport of western France, capital of an arrondissement in thedepartment of Ille-et-Vilaine, 51 m.N.N.W. of Rennes by rail. St Malo is situated on the English Channel on the right bank of the estuary of the Rance at its mouth. It is a garrison town surrounded by ramparts which include portions dating from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, but as a whole were rebuilt at the end of the 17th century according to Vaubans plans, and restored in the 19th century. The most important of the gates are that of St Vincent and the Grande Porte, defended by two massive 15th-century towers: The granite island on which St Malo stands communicates with the mainland on the northeast by a causeway known as the Sillon (furrow), 650 ft. long, and at one time only 46 ft. broad, though now three times that breadth. In the sea round about lie other granite rocks, which have been turned to account in the defences of the coast; on the islet of the Grand Bey is the tomb (1848) of Francois Auguste, vicomte de Chateaubriand, a native of the town. The rocks and beach are continually changing their appearance, owing to the violence of the tides; spring-tides sometimes rise 50 ft. above low-water level, and the sea sometimes washes over the ramparts. The harbour of St Malo lies south of the town in the creek separating it from the neighboring town of St Servan. Including the contiguous and connected basins belonging more especially to St Servan, it comprises an outer basin, a tidal harbour, two wet-docks and an inner reservoir, affording a total length of quayage of over 2 m. The wet-docks have a minimum depth of 13 to 15 ft. on sill, but the tidal harbour is dry at low water. The great bulk of trade is with England, the exports comprising large quantities of fruit, dairy-produce, early potatoes and other vegetables and slate. The chief imports are coal and timber. The London and South-Western railway maintains a regular service of steamers between Southampton and St Malo. The port carries on shipbuilding and equips a fleet for the Newfoundland cod-fisheries. The industries also include ironand copper-founding and the manufacture of portable forges and other iron goods, cement, rope and artificial manures. The town is the seat of a sub-prefect and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce. Communication between the quays of St Malo and St Servan is maintained by a travelling bridge. ST SERVAN, a town of western France, inthe department of Ille-et-Vilaine, on the right bank of the Rance, south of St Malo, from which it is separated by the Anse des Sablons, a creek 1m. wide . It is not enclosed by walls, and with its new houses, straight wide streets and numerous gardens forms a contrast to its neighbor. North of the town there is a wet-dock, 27 acres in extent, forming part of the harbour of St Malo. The creek on which it opens is dry at low water, but at high water is 30 to 40 ft. deep. The dock is used chiefly by coasting and fishing vessels, a fleet starting annually for the Newfoundland cod-fisheries. Two other ports on the Rance, south-west of the town at the foot of the tower of Solidor, are of small importance. This stronghold, erected towards the dose of the 14th century by John IV., duke of Brittany, for the purpose of contesting the claims to the temporal sovereignty of the town of Josselin de Rohan, bishop of St Malo, consists of three distinct towers formed into a triangle by loopholed and machicolated curtains. To the west St Servan terminates in a peninsula on which stands the cite, inhabited by work-people, and the fort de la cite ; near by is a modern chapel which has replaced the cathedral of St Peter of Aleth, the seat of a bishopric from the 6th to the 12th century. The parish church is modern (1742-1842). St Servan has a communal college. It carries on steam-sawing, boat-building, ropemaking and the manufacture of ships biscuits. The Cite occupies the site of the city of Aleth, which at the close of the Roman empire supplanted Corseul as the capital of the Curiosolites. Aleth was a bulwark of Druidism in those regions and was not Christianized till the 6th century, when St Malo became its first bishop. On the removal of the bishopric to St Malo Aleth declined and was almost destroyed by St Louis in 1235; the houses that remained standing became the nucleus of a new community, originating from St Malo, which placed itself under the patronage of St Servan, apostle of the Orkneys. It was not till the Revolution that St Servan became a separate commune from St Malo with a municipality and police of its own.

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side.