Pontivy (; ) is a
commune in the
Morbihan
The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...
department in
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river
Blavet and the
Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called ''Pontivyens'' in French.
Map
History
A
monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
called Ivy built a bridge nearby over the river
Blavet in the 7th century, and the town is named after him ("''pont-Ivi''" being the Breton for "Ivy's bridge"). From November 9, 1804, the name was changed to Napoléonville after
Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, under whom it had around 3,000 inhabitants. After his downfall, it was renamed Pontivy again, then later Bourbonville, and Napoléonville again after
Napoléon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
came to power.
Population
Economy
This is a largely agricultural town.
Breton language
The municipality launched a linguistic plan through
Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 8 August 2004. As part of that plan, all road signs in the town centre are bilingual.
In 2008, 11.34% of the children in the town attended the bilingual schools in primary education.
Sights
*The castle of
Rohan (with its
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
) (late XVe).
*The Notre-Dame-de-Joie basilica.
asilic
*The Saint Joseph church.
glise St. Josep
Events
*Every year the final round of
Kan ar Bobl, a
Breton music competition.
Twin towns
The town maintains twinning links with:
*
Tavistock, United Kingdom since 1958
*
Ouelessebougou,
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
since 1986
*
Wesseling, Germany since 1972
*
Napoléonville, United States since 1989
Climate
See also
*
Communes of the Morbihan department
The following is a list of the 249 Communes of France, communes of the Morbihan Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025):
*
Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer
Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer (born in Montreuil-sous-Bois on 1 September 1879; died in Paris in 1962) was a French sculptor.
Brief biography
His father was from Alsace. He studied at the Paris École des Beaux-Arts under Alexandre Falguière, Anto ...
Sculptor of Pontivy war memorial
References
External links
Official website
*
Mayors of Morbihan Association
Pontivy railway station and bus terminal
Communes of Morbihan
Subprefectures in France
{{Morbihan-geo-stub
