Bresse
Encyclopedia
Bresse is a former French province. It is located in the regions
of Rhône-Alpes
, Bourgogne
, and Franche-Comté
of eastern France
. The geographical term Bresse has two meanings: Bresse bourguignonne (or louhannaise), which is situated in the east of the department of Saône-et-Loire
, and Bresse, which is located in the department of Ain
. The corresponding adjective is bressan, and the inhabitants are Bressans.
Bresse extends from the Dombes River on the south to the Doubs River
on the north, and from the Saône
eastwards to the Jura mountains
, measuring some 60 miles in the former, and 20 miles in the latter direction. It is a plain varying from 600 to 800 feet above the sea, with few eminences and a slight inclination westwards. Heaths and coppice alternate with pastures and arable land; pools and marshes are numerous, especially in the north. Its chief rivers are the Veyle, the Reyssouze and the Seille, all tributaries of the Saône. The soil is a gravelly clay but moderately fertile, and cattle-raising is largely carried on. The region is, however, more especially celebrated for its table poultry.
, from whom it passed in 1272 to the house of Savoy
. It was not till the first half of the 15th century that the province, with Bourg as its capital, was founded as such. In 1601 it was ceded to France by the Treaty of Lyon
, after which it formed (together with the province of Bugey
/ Bugê) first a separate government and later part of the government of Burgundy.
Initially, Bâgé was the principal city of the province. But its location, close to the borders of France, encouraged the emergence of Bourg-en-Bresse
, which became the capital. The province was coveted by the King of France, who wanted to increase his territory. The flat nature of Bresse was difficult to defend. Finally the sovereigns of Savoy (Savouè) agreed to relocate to the Alpine part of the Duchy and to give up Bresse and Bugey in exchange for Château-Dauphin in Piedmont
.
s per year which are raised primarily outdoors by 330 stockbreeders, with a minimum of 10 square metres per bird. They are sold at an average of 10 euros per kilo. The chickens of Bresse, formerly ranging freely, were the first animals to have an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
. Bresse chickens are noted as the best for quality chicken for cooking.
The cheese
, Bleu de Bresse originates here.
(woodlands), resulting in independent individuals within the community, organized around the parish
and the commune. Social structures, then, are defined by a mixture of conservatism, attachment to ancestral values, and direct democratic participation in community life.
" founded by General Jourdan in 1798, who required that every man between 20 and 25 years could be called to national service. The people organized festivals before their departure. The ceremonies survive to the present, and are appreciated by the population, seeing them as a way of maintaining social bonds.
These festivals generally take place between January and March. The people gather in a large banquet during which traditional "rigodon" music is played by two musicians, on clarinet
and drum
. The banquet is entirely organized by 20 year old people, who make it a point of honor to personally invite each guest to visit their home. They are then given rosettes, in distinctive designs corresponding to their age.
The conscripts' festivals coincide with patron saints' days. Those are the occasions of the vogue, a weekend festival.
, a dialect of the Arpitan language, was the principal language of informal communication in the Bressan countryside until the 1970s. It is still spoken, though more rarely. (See the article on Arpitan
for several examples.)
Visit Bresse and Louhans, the true France
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...
, Bourgogne
Bourgogne
Burgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...
, and Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
of eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The geographical term Bresse has two meanings: Bresse bourguignonne (or louhannaise), which is situated in the east of the department of Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
, and Bresse, which is located in the department of Ain
Ain
Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...
. The corresponding adjective is bressan, and the inhabitants are Bressans.
Bresse extends from the Dombes River on the south to the Doubs River
Doubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
on the north, and from the Saône
Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
eastwards to the Jura mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
, measuring some 60 miles in the former, and 20 miles in the latter direction. It is a plain varying from 600 to 800 feet above the sea, with few eminences and a slight inclination westwards. Heaths and coppice alternate with pastures and arable land; pools and marshes are numerous, especially in the north. Its chief rivers are the Veyle, the Reyssouze and the Seille, all tributaries of the Saône. The soil is a gravelly clay but moderately fertile, and cattle-raising is largely carried on. The region is, however, more especially celebrated for its table poultry.
History
Bresse belonged in the Middle Ages to the lords of BâgéBâgé
Bâgé may refer to several communes in France:* Bâgé-la-Ville, in the Ain department* Bâgé-le-Châtel, in the Ain department...
, from whom it passed in 1272 to the house of Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
. It was not till the first half of the 15th century that the province, with Bourg as its capital, was founded as such. In 1601 it was ceded to France by the Treaty of Lyon
Treaty of Lyon
The Treaty of Lyon may refer to:* The Treaty of Lyon , in which Louis XII of France cedes Naples to Ferdinand II of Aragon* The Treaty of Lyon , in which Henry IV of France cedes Saluzzo to Savoy in exchange for Bresse, Bugey, Valromey, and Gex...
, after which it formed (together with the province of Bugey
Bugey
The Bugey is a historical region in the département of Ain , France. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the département...
/ Bugê) first a separate government and later part of the government of Burgundy.
Initially, Bâgé was the principal city of the province. But its location, close to the borders of France, encouraged the emergence of Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse . It is located north-northeast of Lyon.The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.-Geography:...
, which became the capital. The province was coveted by the King of France, who wanted to increase his territory. The flat nature of Bresse was difficult to defend. Finally the sovereigns of Savoy (Savouè) agreed to relocate to the Alpine part of the Duchy and to give up Bresse and Bugey in exchange for Château-Dauphin in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
.
Agriculture and economy
Bresse is noted for the 1,200,000 chickenChicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s per year which are raised primarily outdoors by 330 stockbreeders, with a minimum of 10 square metres per bird. They are sold at an average of 10 euros per kilo. The chickens of Bresse, formerly ranging freely, were the first animals to have an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
. Bresse chickens are noted as the best for quality chicken for cooking.
The cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, Bleu de Bresse originates here.
Sociological outline
A chiefly rural region, Bresse was historically organized around an agricultural economy. The countryside is bocageBocage
Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden...
(woodlands), resulting in independent individuals within the community, organized around the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
and the commune. Social structures, then, are defined by a mixture of conservatism, attachment to ancestral values, and direct democratic participation in community life.
Bressan folklore
The traditional festival costumes of Bresse are preserved by historical societies. They include, for the women, a wide hat, in the shape of plate, topped by a black cone. For men, they comprise a blue tunic, a long bonnet, long trousers and shoes.Conscripts
The "conscripts' festival" (la fête des conscrits) is a ceremony for young people, 20 years of age. It has its roots in the period of "conscriptionConscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
" founded by General Jourdan in 1798, who required that every man between 20 and 25 years could be called to national service. The people organized festivals before their departure. The ceremonies survive to the present, and are appreciated by the population, seeing them as a way of maintaining social bonds.
These festivals generally take place between January and March. The people gather in a large banquet during which traditional "rigodon" music is played by two musicians, on clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
. The banquet is entirely organized by 20 year old people, who make it a point of honor to personally invite each guest to visit their home. They are then given rosettes, in distinctive designs corresponding to their age.
The conscripts' festivals coincide with patron saints' days. Those are the occasions of the vogue, a weekend festival.
Dialect
BressanBressan
Bressan is a dialect of the Franco-Provençal language, which is spoken in and around Bresse in France....
, a dialect of the Arpitan language, was the principal language of informal communication in the Bressan countryside until the 1970s. It is still spoken, though more rarely. (See the article on Arpitan
Franco-Provençal language
Franco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I...
for several examples.)
Tourism
- The church of BrouBrouBrou may refer to:* Brou, Eure-et-Loir, a village and commune in France* Brou-sur-Chantereine, a village and commune in Seine-et-Marne, France* Brou people, a Khmer Loeu ethnic group in Cambodia-Also see:...
- SaracenSaracenSaracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
chimneys - Bressan farms
Visit Bresse and Louhans, the true France