Some words of introduction

Today Brest is a fast-growing spacious city with above 320,000 people (January 2012), living within the urban limits.
Brest has gone through years of good times and tragedies, survived numerous wars and fires. It has passed through both World Wars. During all of that time Brest has been changing slowly but surely. At times throughout its history it has been inspired and influenced by other countries, been forced to rebuild by war and fire, and has expanded beyond all conceived limits. In the course of its 1000 year long history Brest has displayed several different urban types and these pages explore the streets of Brest in the search of its past and with an attempt to understand its life today.