Launch of Nominoë Memorial at Bain-sur-Oust, Brittany on May 26th

The Battle of Ballon took place on 22 November 845 when Breton forces led by Nominoë, Duke of Brittany defeated the Frankish army of  Charles Le Chauve (13 June 823 – 6 October 877) who was the King of West Francia and grandson of the Emperor Charlemagne. Nominoë (d. 7 March 851) was the first Duke and later King of Brittany from 846 to his death and is also known as Tad ar Vro ("father of the country").

The Nominoë Memorial, commemorating the Battle of Ballon, is to be inaugurated at the site of the battle in Bains-sur-Oust (Breton: Baen-Ballon) on Saturday, May 26. The battle, along with others that followed, defined the borders of the Celtic nation of Brittany. The memorial, created by Jean-Pierre Baudu, includes two circles of perforated aluminium that show an image of Nominoë and two discs in the centre of a Celtic circle of granite surrounding the memorial hill. 

The event on 26th May will start at 10am with a procession from Place Nominoë in the town centre to the site of the Battle of Ballon. Followed at 11am by the inauguration ceremony. Then from 11am there will be the opening of a medieval village with dance and chivalry shows. There will be a number of stalls and at 19.30, a fest-noz, which is free to enter takes place at the sports hall.