Côtes-d'Armor
| Côtes-d'Armor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | |||
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Prefecture building of the Côtes-d'Armor department, in Saint-Brieuc | |||
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 Location of Côtes-d'Armor in France | |||
| Coordinates: 48°20′N 02°50′E / 48.333°N 2.833°ECoordinates: 48°20′N 02°50′E / 48.333°N 2.833°E | |||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Brittany | ||
| Prefecture | Saint-Brieuc | ||
| Subprefectures |
Dinan Guingamp Lannion | ||
| Government | |||
| • President of the General Council | Claudy Lebreton (PS) | ||
| Area1 | |||
| • Total | 6,878 km2 (2,656 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Total | 576,049 | ||
| • Rank | 43rd | ||
| • Density | 84/km2 (220/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Department number | 22 | ||
| Arrondissements | 4 | ||
| Cantons | 27 | ||
| Communes | 362 | ||
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |||
Côtes-d'Armor (French pronunciation: [kot.daʁ.mɔʁ]; Breton: Aodoù-an-Arvor), formerly named Côtes-du-Nord, is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.
History
Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to Côtes-d'Armor (ar mor meaning the sea in Breton and Côtes meaning coast in French). The name also has a historical connotation recalling the Roman province of Armorica.
The present department corresponds to most of historical Trégor, part of Cornouaille, and most of Saint-Brieuc.
Geography
Côtes-d'Armor is part of the current administrative region of Brittany and is surrounded by the departments of Finistère, Morbihan, and Ille-et-Vilaine, with the English Channel to the north.
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Costarmoricains.
Politics
The Côtes-d'Armor has usually been a left-wing holdout in a historically strongly clerical and right-wing Brittany, due to the department's more anti-clerical nature, especially in the inland area around Guingamp, a former Communist stronghold.
The President of the General Council is Claudy Lebreton of the Socialist Party.
| Party | seats | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Socialist Party | 33 |
| Union for a Popular Movement | 8 | |
| • | Miscellaneous Left | 4 |
| • | French Communist Party | 4 |
| Miscellaneous Right | 1 | |
| MoDem | 1 | |
Culture
The western part of the département is part of the traditionally Breton-speaking "Lower Brittany" (Breizh-Izel in Breton). The boundary runs from Plouha to Mûr-de-Bretagne. The Breton language has become an intense issue in many parts of Brittany, and many Breton-speakers advocate for bilingual schools. Gallo is also spoken in the east and is offered as a language in the schools and on the baccalaureat exams.
Gallery
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Statue of Bertrand du Guesclin in Dinan
Notable people
The English born poet Robert William Service (1874-1958) known as the "Bard of the Yukon" is buried in Lancieux.
See also
- Cantons of the Côtes-d'Armor department
- Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department
- Arrondissements of the Côtes-d'Armor department
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Côtes-d'Armor. |
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General Council website
- (English) Cotes-d'Armor at DMOZ
- (French) Tourist board website
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