Bangor () 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

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 ...

region of north-western

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 one of the four communes on the island of Belle-Île. The inhabitants of Bangor are called ''Bangorins''.

Geography

Bangor is one of four communes on the island of

Belle Île Belle-Île, Belle-Île-en-Mer, or Belle Isle ( br, Ar Gerveur, ; br, label=Old Breton, Guedel) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peni ...

located on the south-west coast of the island. The island is some 14 km south of the Quiberon peninsula. Access to the commune is by the D190 road from

Le Palais Le Palais (; br, Porzh-Lae) is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. It is one of the four communes on the island of Belle Île. Inha ...

in the north and the D25 from

Locmaria Locmaria (; br, Lokmaria-ar-Gerveur) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. Locmaria is one of the four communes of Belle Île. Toponymy From the Breton ''loc'' which means hermitage (cf.: Locminé) and ...

in the east which continues to

Sauzon Sauzon (; br, Saozon) is a commune on the island of Belle Île in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Sauzon are called ''Sauzonnais''. Geography Sauzon is one of the four communes of Belle- ...

in the north-west. There is the small ''Aerodrome de Belle-Île'' in the north of the commune which hosts the ''Aeroclub de Belle-Ile en Mer''. Apart from the village there are many hamlets in the commune: * Bordenec'h * Bornor * Borsauz * Calestren * Cosquet * Domois * Donnant * Goélan * Le Grand Village * Kerguélen * Kerourdé * Kervarijon * Parlavan * Radenac * Tinéüé * Le Vazen Several offshore islands also belong to the commune as well as other unnamed islets: * Ile de Bangor * Roches de Bornor * Iles de Domois * Iles de Baguenères * Aiguilles Rocheuses The commune consists almost entirely of farmland.Google Maps
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Climate

The commune is exposed to strong winds.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Map

Toponymy

It is not known if the name comes from

Bangor Abbey Bangor Abbey was established by Saint Comgall in 558 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland and was famous for its learning and austere rule. It is not to be confused with the slightly older abbey in Wales on the site of Bangor Cathedral. Hist ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, one of the most famous abbeys in Western Christianity, from where it is known that monks like Columbanus came to evangelize in

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...

in the 6th century, or from the Monastery of Bangor-Fawr, founded in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

around 545 on the Menai Strait. The Breton name of the commune is ''Bangor''.

History

The commune of Bangor has been inhabited since prehistory as evidenced by the Pierre Sainte Anne

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

. Bangor has been the administrative centre of the island for 10 centuries. It was the name of a priory founded by

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks who came to colonize and populate the island starting in the 7th century. Colonization consisted of dividing the island into five parishes with Bangor occupying the middle Each parish was a small area given to residual families from the island or to colonists who were asked by the monks to come to Brittany. In the 9th century the island was devastated by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

and the priory was placed under the secular protection of the Counts of

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; br, Kernev, Kerne) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princ ...

(in Armorican Brittany). In 1029 the Count of

Alain Canhiart Alain Canhiart (died 1058) was the count of Cornouaille from 1020 to 1058. He was the son of Benoît de Cornouaille and the father of Hoël II, Duke of Brittany. His family name, ''Canhiart'', is understood to be derived from the old Breton Kann Y ...

entrusted the island to the recently founded Sainte-Croix de Quimperlé Abbey. As it was directly under the authority of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Belle-Ile benefited from immunity from being under the authority of both the bishopric of Vannes and the duchy of Brittany. The administration of the island was delegated to a provost of the abbey who had temporal power (the right of low, middle, and high justice which was performed sometimes at Belle-Ile and sometimes at

Quimperlé Quimperlé (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Geography Quimperlé is in the southeast of Finistère, 20 km to the west of Lorient and 44 km to the east of Quimper. Historically, it belo ...

). From 1408 the right was exercised only at Quimperlé. The Count of Cornouaille entrusted the island to the Benedictines of Redon Abbey who were able to take possession of it after long protests from the abbot of Quimperlé. The priory remained in the same spot as its predecessors (on the current location of the municipal campground of Bangor) and a fort was constructed at

which later became the capital of the island instead of Bangor. Belle-Île was governed by monks until the 16th century when incessant attacks by pirates forced them to relinquish their fiefdom to the king, or rather to the regent Catherine de' Medici, who gave the land in vassalage to the Gondi family – then owners of the

Pays de Retz The Pays de Retz (; br, Bro-Raez, link=no; ) is a historical subregion of France that currently forms part of the Loire-Atlantique department, but which previously formed part of the Duchy of Brittany. The area lies between the southern shore of ...

. The land, however, remained under the heavy hand of the regime until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. The Goulphar Lighthouse on the west coast of Bangor has been active since 1836. The semaphore of Talut was put into service in 1862.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors ; Mayors from 1935

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 999 inhabitants.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: * A

Tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

NE of the Aerodrome ( Prehistoric) * An old Radar Station at Port-Croton (20th century) * The Goulphar Lighthouse (1826) has one of the most powerful lights on the French coast. Built from 1826 to 1833, it was commissioned in 1835 and is a granite building 47 m high which rises to 84 m above the sea level. Its light beam flashes at intervals of 3 and 7 seconds. With the present optical system it is visible at 28 Nautical miles. * Fortified works (18th century) * The Pierre Sainte Anne

Menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

at Kervarijon ( Prehistoric) * A

at Kervarijon ( Prehistoric) * Houses (19th century) * The Town Hall (19th century) * A Bakery at Borsauz (18th century) * The Loge Agricultural Store room at Bordenec'h (19th century) * A Well at Radenac (19th century) * A Mill at Varrec (1858)

Religious heritage

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: * Monumental Crosses (19th-20th century) * The Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul (16th century) * A Presbytery (1790) * The Chapels of Saint-Guénolé, Saint-Thomas, and Saint-Armand (destroyed)

Bangor Picture Gallery

Bangor aiguilles de port coton 2014a.jpg, Aiguilles de Port-Coton Bangor semaphore du talut 2014a.jpg, Semaphore of Talut Bangor phare de Kervilahouen 2014a.jpg, The Goulphar Lighthouse Plage d'Herlin 02.JPG, Herlin Beach Port Kérel 01.jpg, Port Kerel Longères, Petit Cosquet, Belle-Île-en-Mer.jpg, A line of Houses Belle-Ile Aero-club Charles Robin.jpg, The Aero-club

Notable people linked to the commune

* John Russell, Australian painter, arrived at Belle-Île-en-Mer in 1883. He first stayed in a rented house in Envag before building a mansion called the "Château de l'anglais" (English Chateau) at Goulphar. *

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

lived in the village of Kervilahouen * Françoise Bangor, the first woman painter in Belle-Île, stayed in ''Envague''. She often came on holidays with her parents and succumbed to the beauty of the island. She continued to paint the rugged coastline, the villages, and to sketch the fishermen from 1935 to 1953.Françoise Oury, ''Bangor'', 1905~1983
* Henry Moret, painted ''Goulpher'' ;Paintings of Bangor Henry Moret Goulphar.jpg, Henry Moret: ''Goulpher'' (actually ''Goulphar'' in 1895 or 1896, Musée d'Orsay) Claude Monet Pyramides Port Coton.jpg,

: ''Les Aiguilles de Port-Coton'' (Eagles of Port Coton), 1886 Claude Monet - Grotte de Port-Domois.jpg,

: ''Grotte de Port-Domois'' (Port Domois Cave), 1886 Paysage à Port-Goulphar.jpg,

: ''Paysage à Port-Goulphar'' (Countryside at Port Goulphar), 1886