Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay 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 ...
'') 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
Finistère
Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090. department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
in north-western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Concarneau is bordered to the west by the
Baie de La Forêt Baie de La Forêt is a small bay on the south coast of Brittany, France. The bay is located between Beg Meil (Fouesnant) and Cabellou ( Concarneau).
Gallery
File:Baie de La Forêt.jpg, Baie de La Forêt
File:Concarneau SPOT 1147.jpg, Baie de La F ...
.
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, and its ramparts date from the 14th century.
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
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
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
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Early life and education ...
's
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
novel ''Le Chien jaune'' (''
The Yellow Dog''), featuring his celebrated sleuth
Maigret
Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...
.
Economy
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, particularly for
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...
, has long been the primary economic activity in Concarneau. The
Les Mouettes d'Arvor 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''.
Breton language
In 2008, 2.16% of primary-school children attended
bilingual schools
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
, where
Breton language
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...
is taught alongside French.
[ ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg'']
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>
Sport
The football club US Concarneau
US Concarneau (french: Union Sportive Concarnoise) is a French football club based in Concarneau (Finistère). It was founded in 1911. They play at the Stade Guy Piriou, named in honour of the former club president, which has a capacity of 7,000. ...
is based in the town.
Personalities
* Michel Desjoyeaux
Michel Desjoyeaux (born 16 July 1965 in Concarneau) is a French sailor, known for competing successfully in several long-distance single-handed races. He won the Vendée Globe race in 2000-01 and 2008–09, making him the only person to win t ...
, navigator
* Samantha (Sam) Davies, sailor
* Guy Cotten
Guy Cotten is a French outdoor clothing manufacturer founded in 1964.[Fiche Guy Cott ...](_blank)
, founder of a clothes factory
* Stéphane Guivarc'h
Stéphane Pierre Yves Guivarc'h (born 6 September 1970) is a French former professional footballer who played as striker. He featured in the France squad that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
His early career was spent in France with ...
, French footballer, won the FIFA World Cup 1998
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
with the French national side
* Théophile Deyrolle
Théophile-Louis Deyrolle (16 December 1844, Paris - 14 December 1923, Concarneau) was a French painter, illustrator and ceramicist.
Biography
He came from a family of entomologists and naturalists who owned a well-known taxidermy shop in Pa ...
and Alfred Guillou
Alfred Guillou (12 September 1844, Concarneau - 1926, Concarneau) was a French painter of Breton heritage.
Biography
His father was a fisherman and farmer who served as mayor of Concarneau for fifteen years. , founders of the Concarneau Art Colony.
* Valérie Hermann
Valérie Hermann is a French businesswoman. She is the managing director of the fashion and luxury division of EPI, a private investment fund based in Paris.
Early life
Valérie Hermann was born and raised in Concarneau. Her parents and older ...
President of Ralph Lauren
International relations
Twinned towns:
* Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
since 1969
* M'bour
M'Bour or Mbour ( ar, مبور; Wolof: ''Mbuur''), is a city in the Thiès Region of Senegal. It lies on the Petite Côte, approximately eighty kilometers south of Dakar. It is home to a population of nearly 233,000 (2013 census).
The city's m ...
, Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
since 1974
* Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
since 1982
Gallery
File:Ville Close de Concarneau (1.1).jpg, The medieval Ville Close
File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau1 tango7174.jpg, The medieval Ville Close
File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau2 tango7174.jpg, The commercial harbour
File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau3 tango7174.jpg, The yachting harbour
File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau4 tango7174.jpg, At dusk
File:Port de Concarneau.jpg, The port
File:Concarneau - Port de plaisance.jpg, The yachting harbor
File:Château de Kériolet (0).jpg, Château de Kériolet
File:La plage des Sables Blancs.jpg, Les Sables Blancs
File:La Ville Close.jpg, The Ville Close
File:Statue de Duquesne à Concarneau.jpg, Abraham Duquesne
Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet (2 February 1688) was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot. He was the son of a naval officer and theref ...
File:Localisation Concarneau dept29.png, Concarneau's location in Finistère
See also
*Communes of the Finistère department
The following is a list of the 277 communes of the Finistère department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2022):[Walled town of Concarneau
The Walled town of Concarneau is a walled town
The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls.
Africa
Algeria
* Algiers
* Ghardaïa
* Timimoun
Egypt
* Al-Fustat
* Cairo
* Damietta
See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortific ...]
* ''Calypso'' (ship)
*Lionel Floch
Lionel Floch was born in Quimper in 1895 and died in 1972. He was a French painter, engraver and designer.
Biography
The son of a naval officer he studied at the "Tour d'Auvergne" school in Quimper. Mobilized during the 1914-1918 war he then stud ...
* Fernand-Marie-Eugène Le Gout-Gérard
*Henri Alphonse Barnoin
Henri Alphonse Barnoin (7 July 1882 – 17 March 1940) was a French painter born in Paris in 1882.
Biography
Barnoin's father was an artist as were two of his uncles, and he studied art at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Although Barnoin ...
*Henri Guinier
Henri Guinier (20 November 1867, Paris - 10 October 1927, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French portrait and landscape painter.
Biography
Due to his father's pressure, he joined the "École des Arts et Métiers" (Arts and Sciences) of Châlons-sur-M ...
References
External links
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Communes of Finistère
Populated coastal places in Brittany
Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast
Seaside resorts in France