Roscoff (; br, Rosko) 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.

département 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 northwestern France. Roscoff is renowned for its picturesque architecture, labelled (small town of character) since 2009. Roscoff is also a traditional departure point for Onion Johnnies. After lobbying by local economic leaders headed by

Alexis Gourvennec Alexis Gourvennec (January 11, 1936, Henvic, Finistère - February 19, 2007) was a Breton pig farmer and economic leader who played a major role in the regeneration of Brittany, France, after World War II. In the early 1960s he was a leading militan ...

, the French government agreed in 1968 to provide a deep-water port at Roscoff. Existing ferry operators were reluctant to take on the relatively long Plymouth–Roscoff crossing so Gourvennec and colleagues founded

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, ...

. Since the early 1970s Roscoff has been developed as a ferry port for the transport of Breton agricultural produce and for motor tourism.

link Roscoff with both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Owing to the richness of

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

in the surrounding waters and the mild climate maintained by a sea current that varies only between , Roscoff is also a centre of post-cure, which gave rise to the concept of

thalassotherapy Thalassotherapy (from the Greek word ''thalassa'', meaning "sea") is the use of seawater as a form of therapy. Note: Thalasso therapy is a sub-definition under the listing for Thalasso. It also includes the systematic use of sea products and shore ...

in the latter half of the 19th century. A French doctor, Louis-Eugène Bagot, opened the Institut Marin in Roscoff in 1899, the first centre for thalassotherapy in Europe. Since then many important centres of thalassotherapy such as the Institut de Rockroum (originally Institut marin), the clinic Kerléna and a heliomarin hospital founded in 1900, the Perharidy Centre, can be found by the sea at Roscoff. The nearby

Île de Batz The Île de Batz ( br, Enez Vaz) is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Climate Île de Batz has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate class ...

, called 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 ...

, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

Sights

* Roscoff parish church Our Lady of ''Croaz Batz'' (''Notre Dame de Croaz Batz''): Renaissance and Gothic church from the 16th century * The house known as "that of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

" * The Station Biologique de Roscoff, a research laboratory in oceanography and marine biology * The

Jardin Exotique de Roscoff The Jardin Exotique de Roscoff (1.6 hectares) is a botanical garden located in Roscoff, Finistère, in the region of Brittany, France. It is open daily; an admission fee is charged. The garden was begun in 1986 when the département of Finistère p ...

Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 02.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 03.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 04.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 05.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 06.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 07.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 08.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 09.jpg Image:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 10.jpg * The

Onion Johnny Onion Johnnies ( cy, 'Sioni Winwns' or 'Sioni Nionod') were Breton farmers and agricultural labourers who travelled on bicycles selling distinctive pink onions door to door in Great Britain, and especially in Wales where they share linguistic s ...

museum

Population

Inhabitants of Roscoff are called in French ''Roscovites''.

Breton language

The municipality launched a language plan through

Ya d'ar brezhoneg (french: Oui au breton, en, Yes to Breton) is a campaign started in the 21st century by the ( en, Office of the Breton language) to promote and stimulate the use of the Breton language in daily life in Brittany, northwestern France. Breton is a ...

on 14 November 2008. In 2008 18.44% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>

Ferries

operate ferry services from Roscoff to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

daily from February to November with occasional Christmas sailings, to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

twice a week (Friday and Tuesday service).

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke as well as Dublin Po ...

used to operate a ferry service from Roscoff to Rosslare from May to September but now sail to Cherbourg instead.

Historic events

* In 1375 the harbour was destroyed by English forces under the

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The e ...

. It would later be rebuilt at its current location, Kroas Batz. * From 1522 to 1545–1550 the construction the Church of Our Lady of Kroas Batz (see ''Monuments'' above). * In 1548 the six-year-old

, having been betrothed to the Dauphin

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, disembarked at Roscoff en route from Scotland. * In 1790 Roscoff was raised to independent commune. Until then the town had effectively depended on

Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; br, Kastell-Paol) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian ...

. * The illustrator

Henry Gerbault Henri Gerbault, Henry Gerbault, or Jean Louis Armand Henri Gerbault (24 June 1863 - 19 October 1930) was a French illustrator, water color painter, and poster artist. He was born in Châtenay, Paris, France and was the nephew of the poet Su ...

and his wife moved to Roscoff in 1919 and lived there for the rest of their lives.

International relations

Roscoff is twinned with: *

Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...

, United Kingdom *

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

, France

Image gallery

File:Roscoff during high tide.jpg, Roscoff from the pie

File:Iledebatzblicknachroscoff.jpg, View of Roscoff from ''Île-de-Batz'' File:Low tide in Brittany.jpg, Boats at low tide in Roscoff File:Roscoff Harbour.JPG, Roscoff Harbour at low tide File:Roscoff from Bridge.JPG, Roscoff from Bridge to the ferry to ''Île-de-Batz'' at low tide File:Notre-Dame de Croaz Batz - 201.jpg, The Renaissance

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

(1576) of Roscoff parish church Our Lady of ''Croaz Batz'' File:PSroscoff-4157 tonemapped.jpg, The lighthouse File:PSroscoff-4201tonemapped.jpg, Sainte Barbe chapel File:PSroscoff-4215tonemapped.jpg File:Roscoff 2008 PD 74.JPG, ''Ar Vil'' from the sea File:Promenade dans Roscoff-001.JPG File:France Bretagne 29 Roscoff 01.jpg File:Promenade dans Roscoff-005.JPG File:Maison Dumas à Roscoff.JPG,

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

's house during the summer 1869.