Vitré (French pronunciation: [vitʁe] ⓘ; Gallo: Vitræ, Breton: Gwitreg) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France.

"The good fortune to see a Gothic city entire, complete, homogeneous, a few of which still remain, Nuremberg in Bavaria and Vittoria in Spain, can readily form an idea; or even smaller specimens, provided that they are well preserved, Vitré in Brittany, Nordhausen in Prussia."

Victor Hugo in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Book third, Chapter 2, A bird's eye view of Paris, 1831The city is located on the slopes of the Vilaine river, along an east–west geographic depression which the national railway on the Paris-Rennes route follows.

The average altitude of Vitré is approximately 89 m. The highest point, 127 m, is found in the "Ménardières" zone, at Pierre and Marie Curie Street.

The winters are wet and mild on average, but occasionally, the annual minimum temperature can be largely negative with some severe frosts.

Summer thunderstorms can be very violent as that of 16 July 2003 where 76 mm of water per square meter were found, which caused flooding and significant damage due to hail and gusty winds.

in 1560, Vitré's population is estimated by Arthur de Borderie at 7,800 inhabitants, matching that of the towns of Vannes and Quimper.

A stone castle was built in 1070 by Robert Ier on the current site, on a rocky outcrop dominating the Vilaine's river valley.

Late in the century, in 1295, the town passed to Guy IX de Laval, on his marriage with the heiress, and afterwards successively belonged to the families of Rieux, Coligny and La Trémoille.

[7] During this period, the "Vieil Bourg" including the church of Nôtre-Dame, developed on the eastern side of Vitré.

Since the 13th century, Vitré has joined together all of the elements of the traditional medieval city: a fortified castle, religious buildings, churches, colleges, and suburbs.

It was decommissioned from a military post to become a comfortable residence for Jeanne of Laval-Châtillon and her son Anne de Montmorency.

These medieval districts are characterized by their sturdy frame construction and their sinuous and dark streets, as well as by a network of lanes.

They shielded pedestrians from bad weather, and they channeled rainwater into the central gutters, helping preserve the wooden facades.

Its peak came in the 16th century when the "Confrérie des Marchands d'Outre-Mer" - merchant venturers - sold the hemp produced locally throughout Europe.

The merchants built large private mansions with ornate Renaissance decorations that are still visible today with the city walls.

During the French Wars of Religion, at the end of the 16th century, the Protestant city was besieged for five months by the troops of the League under the command of the duke of Mercœur, governor of Brittany.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the family of Laval, who were barons of Vitré, petered out with the death of Guy XX in Hungary.

With 14,000 inhabitants in 1762, one of the largest cities of Brittany, Vitré begins are slow demographic decline until the interwar period with a population of 8,212 people in 1931.

In addition, the end of the 18th century was marked by the Chouannerie, the French Revolution and the beginning of a new and important period for the city, its role as a sub-prefecture.

The construction of the station was carried out in 1855 in the form of a small neo-Gothic manor house in the downtown area, just south of the closed city.

Vitré did not suffer massive destruction during the two World Wars, and preserved its historical inheritance, with the exception of Fougères, which underwent a terrible bombardment in June 1944, destroying a good part of it.

During "the thirty glorious years", Vitré experienced massive rural migration, like many other towns of France.