Île-aux-Moines (; ''Enizenac'h'' in

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

; the name means ''island of the monks'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...

department in the region of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in northwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is the largest island in the

Gulf of Morbihan The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the department of Morbihan in southern Brittany, France. Its English name is taken from the French version, ''le golfe du Morbihan'', though it would be more precisely called 'the Mo ...

. It is one of two island communes of the Gulf, the other being

Île-d'Arz Île-d'Arz (; br, An Arzh, ) is an archipelago of nine islands and a commune in the Morbihan department, Brittany, northwestern France, only to the southwest of Vannes. It is located in the Gulf of Morbihan. Île d'Arz and Île-aux-Moines ...

Geography

Île-aux-Moines lies in the

. It is by , with an area of 3.1 square kilometres. It is in the shape of a cross and nowhere on the island lies further than 450 metres from the water. Access from the mainland is possible from

Larmor-Baden __NOTOC__ Larmor-Baden () is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in northwestern France. The inhabitants of Larmor-Baden are called in French ''Larmoriens''. Île de Berder Île de Berder (French for "The Island of Berder") is a s ...

or Port-Blanc.

History

Île-aux-Moines has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, as attested by the dolmens and other relics. In 854, the then king of

Erispoe Erispoe (french: Erispoë; la, Herispoius, Herispogius, Respogius; died 2 or 12 November 857) was Duke of Brittany from 851 to his death. After the death of his father Nominoe, he led a successful military campaign against the Franks, culminating ...

, gave a donation to the Abbey of Saint-Conwoïon in

Redon Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments. It is situated at the junction of t ...

, created by his father

Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (french: Nominoë; br, Nevenoe; c. 800, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). ...

. This became storage space of the abbey. After the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

invasions of the 10th century. the island was handed back to the parish of

Arradon Arradon (; br, Aradon) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the Brittany region in northwestern France. Population The inhabitants of Arradon are known as ''Arradonnais''. Map See also *Communes of the Morbihan department The ...

. In 1453, it was given the status of parish. In 1792 it became a commune in its own right.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Île-aux-Moines are called ''Ilois''.

Monuments

There are many

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ic relics on the south side: * The

cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being an ...

of Kergonan, in the middle of the island, with a radius of more than 70 metres, is one of Europe's biggest. * The dolmen of Penhap, 5 kilometres from the main town, is the most well-conserved on the island. * Crucifices can be found at Trec'h, Brouel and Le Nioul, as well as on Kerno. *The St Michel Chapel