Last modified: 2006-12-23 by ivan sache
Keywords: ille-et-vilaine | vern-sur-seiche | triangles: 3 (yellow) |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
Flag of Vern-sur-Seiche - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 27 February 2005
See also:
The municipality of Vern-sur-Seiche (8,200 inhabitants; 1,970 hectares) is located 5 km south of Rennes. The river Seiche is a tributary of the Vilaine, which waters Rennes.
Some toponymists claim that the name of Vern comes from the Celtic word
guern, meaning marsh; there were indeed marshes, today drained, near
the Bouillants. However, Vern-sur-Seiche is not located in the
Breton-speaking part of Brittany, and the name of the city is more
probably derived from verne, the ancient name of the alder (from
Gallic verno), today called aulne (from Latin alnus). Alders
were planted on wet lands, especially along the rivers in order to
strengthen their banks. Alder wood is of poor quality and was used to
make spindles, shuttles, pencils and ... wooden legs. There are more
than 150 French municipalities named after the verne (Verneuil,
Vernier...)
In 1919, the Municipal Council of Vern asked to change the name of the
municipality to Vern-sur-Seiche, which was allowed by a Decree on 20
April 1920.
Until the end of the Second World War, Vern was a rural, suburban
municipality. An oil refinery was built by the Antar company in 1965
in order to provide Brittany with fuel. When Elf absorbed Antar,
the company was restructured and the Vern refinery was closed in 1978.
Next year, the cheese dairy, set up in the Bouillants in 1906 and owned
by Bridel since 1969, also ceased its production. There were only 10
active companies in Vern at the end of the 1970s.
The municipality decided to revamp its business park and attracted
smaller companies. Today, Vern has 350 companies and shops, employing
4,000. Agriculture dramatically decreased, with only 27 farms left in
1999. There were still 65 farms in 1975.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 27 February 2005
The flag of Vern-sur-Seiche, as reported by Hervé Prat, is
white with the logotype of the municipality.
The logotype of Vern-sur-Seiche is made of three yellow triangles
outlined and shaded in green, placed vertically with increasing size
from the top to the bottom. The name of the municipality is written
horizontally, in green, below the triangles (Vern in big lower case
letters, SUR SEICHE below in smaller Capital letters).
Ivan Sache & Arnaud Leroy, 27 February 2005