Concarneau
Concarneau
Konk-Kerne | |
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show Location of Concarneau | |
Concarneau | |
Coordinates: 47°52′34″N 3°55′04″W / 47.8761°N 3.9178°WCoordinates: 47°52′34″N 3°55′04″W / 47.8761°N 3.9178°W | |
Country | France |
Region | Brittany |
Department | Finistère |
Arrondissement | Quimper |
Canton | Concarneau |
Intercommunality | CA Concarneau Cornouaille |
Government | |
• Mayor (2014–2020) | André Fidelin |
Area 1 | 41.08 km2 (15.86 sq mi) |
Population (Jan. 2018)[1] | 19,502 |
• Density | 470/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 29039 /29900 |
Elevation | 0–36 m (0–118 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Concarneau (Breton: Konk-Kerne, meaning Bay of Cornouaille) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.[2] Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt.
The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on a long island in the centre of the harbour. Historically, the old town was a centre of shipbuilding. The Ville Close is now devoted to tourism with many restaurants and shops aimed at tourists. However restraint has been shown in resisting the worst excesses of souvenir shops. Also in the Ville Close is the fishing museum. The Ville Close is connected to the town by a bridge and at the other end a ferry to the village of Lanriec on the other side of the harbour.
Events[]
In August the town holds the annual Fête des Filets Bleus (Festival of the blue nets). The festival, named after the traditional blue nets of Concarneau's fishing fleet, is a celebration of Breton and pan-Celtic culture. Such festivals can occur throughout Brittany but the Filets Bleus is one of the oldest and largest, attracting in excess of a thousand participants in traditional dress with many times that number of observers. In 2005, the 100th festival was celebrated.
Literature[]
Concarneau was the setting for Belgian mystery writer Georges Simenon's 1931 novel Le Chien jaune (The Yellow Dog), featuring his celebrated sleuth Maigret.
Economy[]
Fishing, particularly for tuna, has long been the primary economic activity in Concarneau. The is one of the last traditional canning factories in Concarneau. Concarneau is one of the biggest fishing ports in France. Since the 1980s, other industries have arisen, such as boat construction and summer tourism.
The Ville Close separates the working port from the yacht basin.
Population[]
Inhabitants of Concarneau are called in French Concarnois.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1793 | 3,908 | — |
1800 | 3,692 | −5.5% |
1806 | 3,818 | +3.4% |
1821 | 3,484 | −8.7% |
1831 | 4,031 | +15.7% |
1836 | 4,137 | +2.6% |
1841 | 4,396 | +6.3% |
1851 | 4,944 | +12.5% |
1856 | 5,021 | +1.6% |
1861 | 5,575 | +11.0% |
1866 | 6,633 | +19.0% |
1872 | 7,884 | +18.9% |
1876 | 8,508 | +7.9% |
1881 | 9,516 | +11.8% |
1886 | 9,659 | +1.5% |
1891 | 11,754 | +21.7% |
1896 | 12,875 | +9.5% |
1901 | 14,757 | +14.6% |
1906 | 15,869 | +7.5% |
1911 | 14,784 | −6.8% |
1921 | 12,943 | −12.5% |
1926 | 12,722 | −1.7% |
1931 | 12,559 | −1.3% |
1936 | 12,704 | +1.2% |
1946 | 13,369 | +5.2% |
1954 | 13,420 | +0.4% |
1962 | 15,907 | +18.5% |
1968 | 17,801 | +11.9% |
1975 | 18,759 | +5.4% |
1982 | 17,984 | −4.1% |
1990 | 18,630 | +3.6% |
1999 | 19,453 | +4.4% |
2008 | 20,096 | +3.3% |
Breton language[]
In 2008, 2.16% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools, where Breton language is taught alongside French.[3]
Sport[]
The football club US Concarneau is based in the town.
Personalities[]
- Michel Desjoyeaux, navigator
- Samantha (Sam) Davies, sailor
- Guy Cotten, founder of a clothes factory
- Stéphane Guivarc'h, French footballer, won the FIFA World Cup 1998 with the French national side
- Théophile Deyrolle and Alfred Guillou, founders of the Concarneau Art Colony.
- Valérie Hermann President of Ralph Lauren
International relations[]
Twinned towns:
- Bielefeld, Germany since 1969
- M'bour, Senegal since 1974
- Penzance, United Kingdom since 1982
Gallery[]
The medieval Ville Close
The medieval Ville Close
The commercial harbour
The yachting harbour
At dusk
The port
The yachting harbor
Château de Kériolet
Les Sables Blancs
The Ville Close
Duquesne
Concarneau's location in Finistère
See also[]
- Communes of the Finistère department
- Walled town of Concarneau
- Calypso (ship)
- Lionel Floch
- Fernand-Marie-Eugène Le Gout-Gérard
- Henri Alphonse Barnoin
- Henri Guinier
References[]
- ^ "Populations légales 2018". INSEE. 28 December 2020.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 823. .
- ^ (in French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Concarneau. |
- Official website (in French)
- Base Mérimée: Search for heritage in the commune, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- Concarneau
- Communes of Finistère
- Populated coastal places in Brittany
- Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast
- Seaside resorts in France