Penmarch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Commune of Penmarch |
||
| Penmarc'h | ||
| Location | ||
|
||
| Coordinates | ||
| Administration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | France | |
| Region | Bretagne | |
| Department | Finistère | |
| Arrondissement | Quimper | |
| Canton | Canton of Le Guilvinec | |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes du Pays Bigouden Sud | |
| Mayor | Jacqueline Lazard (2001-2008) |
|
| Statistics | ||
| Elevation | -1 m–23 m | |
| Land area¹ | 16.39 km² | |
| Population² (1999) |
5,889 | |
| - Density | 359/km² (1999) | |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| INSEE/Postal code | 29158/ 29760 | |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | ||
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | ||
 |
||
Penmarc'h or Penmarch (the apostrophe in the name is correct) is a village and commune of western France in the département of Finistère, 18 m. SW of Quimper by road.
Contents |
[edit] History
On the extremity of the peninsula on which it is situated are fortified remains of a town which was of considerable importance from the 14th to the 16th centuries and included, besides Penmarc'h, Saint-Guénolé and Kerity. It owed its prosperity to its cod-banks, the disappearance of which together with the discovery of the Newfoundland cod-banks and the pillage of the place by the bandit La Fontenelle in 1595 contributed to its decadence.
The church of St. Nouna, a Gothic building of the early 16th century at Penmarc'h, and the church of St. Guenole, an unfinished tower, and the church of Kerity are of interest. The coast is very dangerous. On the Point de Penmarc'h stands the Phare d'Eckmuhl, with a light visible for 60 miles. There are numerous megalithic monuments in the vicinity.
[edit] Demographics
Inhabitants of Penmarc'h are called Penmarchais.
As of the census of 1999, the town has a population of 5,889.
Pop. (1906), of the village, 387; of the commune, 5702. It is the most populated commune in Guilvinec.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- Official website (French)
- French Ministry of Culture list for Penmarc'h (French)
 |
This Finistère geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Penmarch is also home to the prominent 'Droguen' rock. 'Dorigen' the female protagonist in Chaucer's 'Franklin's Tale' has a name similar to this and this asserts any symbolism a rock may have for her character.
