Guingamp

Guingamp
Gwengamp

Guingamp's Town Hall

Coat of arms

Guingamp

Location within Brittany region

Guingamp

Coordinates: 48°33′48″N 3°09′00″W / 48.5633°N 3.15°WCoordinates: 48°33′48″N 3°09′00″W / 48.5633°N 3.15°W

Country

Guingamp

Guingamp

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

Philippe Le Goff

Area¹

3.41 km² (1.32 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

7,477

• Density

2,200/km² (5,700/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

22070 / 22200

Elevation

62–126 m (203–413 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Guingamp (French: [ɡɛ̃ˈɡɑ̃]; Breton: Gwengamp) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.

The Saint Loup festival

The Saint Loup festival – national competition of Brittany's dances and international festival – takes place every year around mid August. It always ends by the traditional dance : la Dérobée de Guingamp. The main guests are musicians from Asturias, Ireland, Galicia, Scotland, Wales, and other Celtic artists from all over the world. The Brittany's dance is omnipresent in other cultural manifestations and the cultural office also organizes a contemporary creative dance week.

Football

The city hosts a professional football team called En Avant de Guingamp that won the French Cup in the 2008–2009 season while it was still part of the 2nd league. The team has made its comeback in the 1st League (Ligue 1 in French) for the 2013–2014 season, the 1st league that it had left 9 years before. Guingamp won again the French Cup against Rennes (scoring 2–0) in 2013–2014 and is qualified for the UEFA Europa League 2014-15 rounds.

One interesting fact is that the club's stadium has a higher capacity than Guingamp's total population.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	5,177	—
1800	5,190	+0.3%
1806	4,973	−4.2%
1821	5,550	+11.6%
1831	6,100	+9.9%
1836	6,466	+6.0%
1841	6,796	+5.1%
1846	6,949	+2.3%
1851	6,718	−3.3%
1856	6,893	+2.6%
1861	7,350	+6.6%
1866	6,977	−5.1%
1872	7,045	+1.0%
1876	7,895	+12.1%
1881	8,404	+6.4%
1886	8,744	+4.0%
1891	9,196	+5.2%
1896	9,272	+0.8%
1901	9,252	−0.2%
1906	9,212	−0.4%
1911	9,385	+1.9%
1921	7,923	−15.6%
1926	8,575	+8.2%
1931	8,644	+0.8%
1936	8,663	+0.2%
1946	9,080	+4.8%
1954	8,117	−10.6%
1962	8,912	+9.8%
1968	9,232	+3.6%
1975	9,284	+0.6%
1982	8,507	−8.4%
1990	7,905	−7.1%
1999	8,008	+1.3%
2008	7,477	−6.6%

Inhabitants of Guingamp are called guingampais.

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 8 July 2008.

In 2008, 15.89% of primary school children attended bilingual schools.^[1]

Culture

The Breton dance festival of Saint-Loup is held every year in mid-August.

Then there is the annual 'pardon', which brings pilgrims to pay homage to the 'Black Virgin' in the Basilica of Notre Dame de Bon Secours.

Guingamp is home to the 2008-9 and 2013–14 Coupe de France holders En Avant de Guingamp, a football team in Ligue 1, the highest league in French football.

History

The town has, like many others in the region, a rich and interesting history. This is exemplified in the remains of Guingamp's three castles, razed to ground level by the order of Richelieu and now reduced to three towers.

Vincent de Bourbon, great grandson of Louis XIV, was Count of Guingamp from 1750 till his death in 1752.