VANNES (Breton Gwened a town of France, chef-lieu of the department of Morbihan and an episcopal see, is situated on a little stream, 10 miles from the Gulf of Morbihan and 84 north-west of Nantes on the railway to Brest. The narrow, steep, and crooked streets of the old town, which lie on a hill facing the south, are surrounded by fortifications of the 14th, 15th, and 17th centuries, pierced by four gates and flanked by nine towers and five bastions, connected by battlements. Some of the remains are Roman, and in the Constable’s Tower Olivier de Clisson was confined in 1387. The modern suburbs, with public buildings, barracks, convents, squares, walks, and the port surround the old town. The archaeological museum contains one of the richest collections of prehistoric remains in Europe. There are also a museum of natural history and a library (10,000 volumes). The cathedral of St Peter overlooks the old town; burnt by the Normans in the 10th century, it was rebuilt in the 13th, 15th, and 18th centuries. It has no architectural interest, but contains the relics and tomb of St Vincent Ferrer (q.v. ). The curious round Chapelle du Pardon was built in 1557 in the Italian style. Some interesting old houses, including that of St Vincent Ferrer and that of the parlement of Brittany, the rich private collections of Μ. de Limur, the huge barracks, and three large hospitals should also be mentioned. In 1882 thirty-five vessels (3480 tons) entered and seventy-four (7225 tons) left the port of Vannes, which is accessible to vessels of 150 tons; those of 800 tons can come to within 2 miles. The population in 1881 was 16,667 (commune 19,284), and had increased by 1886 to 18,127 (commune 20,036)....