Travel Guide Le Gâvre

The city, located on the ancient Roman road linking Nantes to Rennes, owes its name to the Celtic word "gavc'h" which means goat, roe deer. But it is the presence of the forest, property of the Dukes of Brittany, which gave birth to it. In 1225, Pierre de Dreux built a fortified castle and granted the inhabitants usage rights (grazing for cattle, collecting litter...) on part of the forest. The town, in the shade of its castle and on the edge of the forest, asserts its power as evidenced by its beautiful 17th century Benedictine house which belonged to a forest officer. It now houses the Maison de la Forêt, which can be visited. The castle disappeared, razed to the ground during the Revolution. The forest after having been attached to the royal domain at the time of the marriage of Anne of Brittany with Charles VIII became domanial after 1789. Its extent, its magnificent paths, the variety of its species (birch, hornbeam, beech ...) make it not only the largest forest in Brittany but also one of the most beautiful.