Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan

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 in western France.

History

Prehistory and classical antiquity

Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presence of megalithic architecture. Ruins of Roman roads (linking Vannes to Quimper and

Port-Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's eco ...

to Carhaix) confirm Gallo-Roman presence.

Founding

In 1664,

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

founded the French East Indies Company. In June 1666, an

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * ...

of Louis XIV granted lands of

to the company, along with Faouédic on the other side of the

roadstead A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...

. One of its directors, Denis Langlois, bought lands at the confluence of the Scorff and the Blavet rivers, and built slipways. At first, it only served as a subsidiary of Port-Louis, where offices and warehouses were located. The following years, the operation was almost abandoned, but in 1675, during the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

, the French East Indies Company scrapped its base in Le Havre since it was too exposed during wartime, and transferred its infrastructures to l'Enclot, out of which Lorient grew. The company then erected a chapel, workshops, forges, and offices, leaving Port-Louis permanently. The city's name is derived from ''Le Soleil d'Orient'', the first ship constructed at the site, in 1669. Workers gave the site the name of the ship, which, by contraction, became simply ''L'Orient'' and finally ''Lorient''. The

French Royal Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

opened a base there in 1690, under the command of Colbert de Seignelay, who inherited

his father His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

's position as Secretary of State of the Navy. At the same time, privateers from Saint-Malo took shelter there. In 1700, the town grew out of l'Enclot following a law forcing people to leave the domain to move to the Faouédic heath. In 1702, there were about 6,000 inhabitants in Lorient, though activities slowed, and the town began to decline.

Growth under the Company of the Indies

The town experienced a period of growth when

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist *John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner *John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961), B ...

formed the Perpetual Company of the Indies by absorbing other chartered companies (including the French East India Company), and chose Lorient as its operations base. Despite the

economic bubble An economic bubble (also called a speculative bubble or a financial bubble) is a period when current asset prices greatly exceed their intrinsic valuation, being the valuation that the underlying long-term fundamentals justify. Bubbles can be c ...

caused by the Company in 1720, the city was still growing as it took part in the

Atlantic triangular slave trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset t ...

. From 1720 to 1790, 156 ships deported an estimated 43,000 slaves. In 1732, the Company decided to transfer its sales headquarters from

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

to Lorient, and asked architect

Jacques Gabriel Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

to raise new buildings out of

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled, ground, or other) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements. A ...

s to host these new activities, and to embellish the L'Enclos domain. Sales began in 1734, peaking up to 25 million ''

livres tournois The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

''. In 1769, the Company's monopoly ended with the scrapping of the company itself, under the influence of the physiocrats. Until the Company's closure, the city took advantage of its prosperity. In 1738, there were 14,000 inhabitants, or 20,000 considering the outlying villages of Kerentrech, Merville, La Perrière, Calvin, and Keryado, which are now neighbourhoods within the present-day city limits. In 1735, new streets were laid out and in 1738, it was granted city status. Further work was undertaken as the streets began to be paved, wharves and slipways were built along the Faouédic river, and thatched houses were replaced with stone buildings following 18th-century classical architecture style as it was the case for l'Enclos. In 1744, the city walls were erected, and proved quickly useful as Lorient was raided in September 1746. Following the demise of the Company, the city lost one-seventh of its population. In 1769, the city evolved into a full-scale naval base for the Royal Navy when the King bought out the Company's infrastructures for 17,500,000 ''

''. From 1775 on, the American Revolutionary War brought a surge in activity, as many

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

hailed from Lorient. When the war ended, transatlantic lines opened to the United States, and in 1785, a new commercial company started under Calonne's tutelage (then

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances (french: Contrôleur général des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''S ...

) with the same goal as the previous entities, i.e. conducting trade in India and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, with again Lorient standing as its operative base. The French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic wars put an end to trade for nearly two decades.

19th and early 20th centuries

Maritime activities slowed at the start of the 19th century. Activity at the shipyards and naval base reached a low that would last until the July Monarchy. During this period, the city was more of an administrative center. The first

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

opened in 1822, a lazaretto in 1823, and

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

in 1839. The city began to modernize in the second quarter of the century; in 1825, a roofed slipway and a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

were added to the shipyards. A sardine cannery opened the same year. The first gasworks was built in 1845. In the second half of the 19th century, the

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

allowed the ports to strengthen their output. The first

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

reached the city in 1865. In 1861, the original

was enlarged as a second one was dug out. The same year, the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

'' Couronne'' was built on a design directly inspired by the '' Gloire''

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

, though unlike her wooden-hull predecessors, she was entirely made of iron. She was followed in 1876 by the ironclad '' Redoutable'', the first ship in the world with a steel structure. In 1889, fishing expanded following the creation of the municipal fish market, and the arrival of steam-powered fishing trawlers in 1900. The Keroman fishing port construction started in 1920.

World War II

In 1941, the Germans, then occupying France, chose to establish a

U-boat base A submarine pen (''U-Boot-Bunker'' in German) is a type of submarine base that acts as a bunker to protect submarines from air attack. The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and ...

at Lorient. The

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

facilities quickly became targets of constant bombing from

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

air forces. The Germans decided to build a complex of bomb-proof submarine pens, their largest U-boat base, which would house the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

and the

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...

U-boat flotillas for the bulk of the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...

, then supreme commander of the U-boat Arm, moved his staff into the Kernevel villa, just across the water from Keroman, in Larmor-Plage. In 1943–1944, Lorient was nearly razed to the ground by Allied

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

, which failed to destroy the submarine pens despite 4,000 tons of bombs dropped. According to the book ''Steel Boats, Iron Hearts'' (by former crewman

Hans Goebeler Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

), after the Allies failed to damage the U-boat bunkers the bombing shifted to the city itself to deny the Germans workers and other resources. Before the bombings, thousands of leaflets were dropped on the population instructing the inhabitants to evacuate. Between 14 January 1943 and 17 February 1943, as many as 500 high-explosive

aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircraft. The use of aerial bombs is termed aerial bombing. ...

s and more than 60,000

incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...

were dropped on Lorient. After the Normandy landings in June 1944 and the subsequent breakout, Lorient was surrounded by Allied troops on 12 August 1944. Its usefulness as a naval base gone, Lorient was left in a state of siege, surrounded by the French Forces of the West, supported by a US Infantry Division. On 10 May 1945, the German garrison surrendered, two days after the official final unconditional surrender of Germany. In 1949, the city of Lorient was awarded the Legion of Honour and the ''

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 The ''Croix de Guerre 1939–1945'' (English: War Cross 1939–1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the ''Croix de Guerre'' created on 26 September 1939 to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis forces at any ti ...

''.

Reconstruction

In April 1945, the Reconstruction Ministry advocated the use of temporary wooden shacks. These shelters were shipped as a kit to be built on site. In 1948, there were 28 settlements under the city's authority, and 20 more in the urban area, distributed among the neighboring towns of Ploemeur,

Lanester Lanester (; br, Lannarstêr) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany, in north-western France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Lorient, across the river Scorff to the east. Demographics Inhabitants of Lanester are called ' ...

, Hennebont and

Quéven Quéven (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. History During World War I, Quéven lost one hundred and one of its children. 85% of the town was destroyed in World War II. In January 1945, the cit ...

. Each of these neighbourhoods could hold up to 280 houses. This temporary housing would stand from 10 to 40 years depending on the location. The last shack in the largest settlement, Soye, was torn down in 1991. Today, only a few buildings dating to the 18th century still stand.

Geography

Location

Lorient is located on the south coast of Brittany, where the rivers Scorff and Blavet join to form the

roadstead of Lorient The roadstead of Lorient (, ) is a roadstead located to the west of Morbihan in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, France. Geography The harbor of Lorient constitutes the mouths of the rivers Blavet, Scorff and the Ter in the Atlantic ...

, before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean. The river Ter used to flow into the estuary to the south of the city, however, a dam was constructed in 1967, stopping the flow. The city is south-west of Paris, south-west of

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

and north-west of

. The city comprises different neighbourhoods: * Bois du Château * Keryado * Saint-Armel * Kerentrech * Le Gaillec * Le Manio * Kerdual * Kervénanec * Lanveur * Keroman * Kergroise * Carnel * Kerfichant * Kerolay * Kerguestenen * Le Mir * La Perrière * La Ville Neuve * La Ville en Bois * Kermélo * Le Ter * Kerlin * Merville * La Nouvelle Ville * Le « bout du monde » * Saint-Maudé * Frébault-Polygone * Quehélio * Kervaric * Keryvalant * La Fontaine des Anglais * Kerforn * Le petit et le grand Batteur * Le Kreisker * Kerguillet * Le Parco * Soye Adjacent towns:

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Lorient experiences an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(Cfb), with mild winters and cool to warm summers. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. Frost is rare in winter, as are days over during summer.

Population

In 2017, Lorient had a population of 57,149. In 2017, its intercommunality Lorient Agglomération had 203,309 inhabitants. Lorient is the most populous commune in Morbihan '' département'', although the '' préfecture'' is the slightly smaller commune of Vannes. Inhabitants of Lorient are called ''Lorientais''. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Lorient proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Lorient absorbed the former commune of Keryado in 1947.

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 25 January 2007. In 2008, 2.71% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.

Economy

Ports

Lorient is commonly referred to as ''La ville aux cinq ports'' ("the city of five ports"): military, fishing, commercial, passengers and yachting. In 2010, the sector represented 9,600 direct jobs for a total 12,000 jobs (with indirect jobs accounted for), or 12% of local employment. * Keroman fishing port ( fr): In 2010, with a catch of 27,000 tons, it was second only to Boulogne-sur-Mer regarding catch tonnage among French fishing ports, but first considering the cash value. It accounts for 3,000 jobs (including 700 fishermen) and 130 fishing vessels. * Kergroise cargo port : With 2.6 million tons of cargo per year (including oil, cattle fodder, sand, containers), it ranks first in Brittany. * Marinas : mooring berths are dispatched on Lorient (370), Kernevel (1,000),

(450),

Gâvres Gâvres (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. French Navy Minister Hyde de Neuville chose this place as a military testing area in 1829 for heavy marine ordnance.See the governmental directions of Jun ...

(57) and

Guidel Guidel (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Guidel are called in French ''Guidélois''. Population Cemetery The communal cemetery, containing 108 tombs from the World War II, has bee ...

(102). Additionally, there is an long dock dedicated to offshore competitive sailing (''Pôle course au large''), recently built within the former submarine base. * Passenger ships : each year, more 457,500 passengers set sail to the nearby islands of Groix and Belle-Île-en-Mer. * Military : though no longer a French Navy base, new warships are still built at DCNS, docking temporarily on wharves along the Scorff river. Citadelle de Port-Louis (12) - Port et rade de Lorient

Citadelle de Port-Louis (12) - Port et rade de Lorient

Industry

From its founding, shipbuilding has always been of great importance to the city. DCNS continues the legacy of the formerly state-owned

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

s (colloquially known as ''l'Arsenal'') that began operation in 1690. It still builds warships, mainly

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s. There is also a substantial industrial base in Keroman to support the fishing fleet.

Transport

Lorient South Brittany Airport Lorient South Brittany Airport or ''Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud'' , also known as Lorient-Lann-Bihoué Airport, is the airport serving the city of Lorient. It is situated 5 kilometre, km west-northwest of Lorient, a ''Communes of the Morbiha ...

is situated just west of the city at Lann Bihoue. It operates charter flights and regular flights to Toulouse. It used to operate direct flights to Paris and Lyon all year long and other city such as London and Porto in the Summer. The

Gare de Lorient Lorient is a railway station in Lorient, Brittany, France. The station was opened on 26 September 1862 is located on the Savenay–Landerneau railway. Today, the station is served by TGV (high speed), Intercités (long distance) and TER (local) s ...

is the railway station, offering connections to Quimper, Nantes, Rennes, Paris (less than three hours by TGV) and several regional destinations.

Education

Schools in Lorient belong to the Academy of

Tertiary

* CPGE at ''Dupuy-de-Lôme'' and ''Saint Joseph-La salle''

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

s. * '' Université de Bretagne Sud''. * '' Institut universitaire de technologie de Lorient'' * ''

École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Bretagne Sud École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région ...

'' * ''École supérieure d'art''. * ''École nationale de musique et de danse''.

Military

Active units based near Lorient: * Naval Commandos (''Commando Marine''): the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

of the French Navy. Accordingly, it is one of the most selective units among the

French armed forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

, equivalent in their mission and affiliation to Navy SEALs or British Special Boat Service. Five out of the six existing naval commandos are based in

, just across the Scorff river from Lorient. The Naval Fusilier & Commando Training School is also based here. *

Lann-Bihoué Lorient South Brittany Airport or ''Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud'' , also known as Lorient-Lann-Bihoué Airport, is the airport serving the city of Lorient. It is situated 5 km west-northwest of Lorient, a ''commune'' of the Morbihan ''dépa ...

Naval Aviation Base: Five squadrons ("'' flottilles''") are based in Ploemeur. Their tasks include airborne early warning, maritime patrol and air-sea rescue.

Lorient Submarine Base

Lorient was the location of an extensive

submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...

, built by the Germans in World War II and used subsequently by the French Navy. Head of the U-Boat Arm

decided to construct the base on 28 June 1940. Between November 1940 and January 1942 a number of gigantic reinforced concrete structures were built. including three on the Keroman peninsula. They are called K1, K2 and K3. In 1944 work began on a fourth structure. The base was capable of sheltering thirty submarines. Lorient was damaged by Allied bombing raids but the naval base survived the war. Following the German surrender the base was used by the French Navy, named for

Jacques Stosskopf Jacques Stosskopf (27 November 1898 – 1 September 1944) held the post of deputy director of naval construction at the German-held Lorient U-boat arsenal, but was a member of the French Resistance and war hero killed by the Nazis. Military care ...

, a hero of the French Resistance who had worked there. The base was decommissioned in 1995 and turned over to civilian use.

Culture

Events

Each year in August since 1970, Lorient hosts the Festival interceltique, bringing together artists from all the Celtic world ( Brittany, Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland, Wales,

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, Asturias,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Acadia and Isle of Man). Each year, a Celtic nation is chosen as honored guest. It is one of the biggest festivals in Europe by attendance (800,000 people for the 40th edition)

Media

Lorient is home to TébéSud (formerly TyTélé), a local TV channel covering Morbihan through DTT.

Religion

Catholic churches are among the main religious landmarks of Lorient. While the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was built in 1850 in a revivalist neo-Gothic style, the church of Saint Joan of Arc was built in a neo-Roman style in the 1930s by French architect Jean Desbois and a few years later in 1955, and the modernist church of Notre-Dame-de-Victoire is the highest point of Lorient with its 4-meter-high concrete bell tower though the population never really accepted this new style. Major Catholic festivals such as Christmas, Carnaval, Easter and the ''Pardon'' are celebrated as major feasts of the city.

Sports

Football

The most popular club in Lorient is FC Lorient, which currently play in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

, after winning

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

in 2020. They are nicknamed '' les Merlus''. They play their home fixtures at

Stade du Moustoir The Stade du Moustoir - Yves Allainmat, known as the Stade du Moustoir, is a multi-use stadium in Lorient, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Lorient. The stadium can hold up to 18,110 with the ...

Christian Gourcuff Christian Jean Gourcuff (born 5 April 1955) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who was most recently the manager of Ligue 1 club FC Nantes, Nantes. Club career During his ...

has managed the team for over 20 years (aggregate years).

Sailing

The converted

has been home port to several skippers and their sailing teams: * Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore), *

Pascal Bidégorry Pascal Bidegorry (born 15 January 1968, in Bayonne) is a French sailor. Life He has raced across the Atlantic Ocean over 30 times and has set records in many classes. He has won the Solitaire du Figaro and the Transat Jacques Vabre; apart from ...

(Banque Populaire), * Franck Cammas (Groupama), winner of the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race * Samantha Davies (Roxy), * Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve), * Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac), * Yann Elies (Generali), * Alain Gautier (Foncia), * Sébastien Josse (British Telecom), * Marc Thiercelin (DCNS) Lorient was also a staging port during the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race, as well as the starting point of ''la Solitaire du Figaro'' (2009 edition).

Eric Tabarly The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

built three out of his six ''Pen Duick'' boats in Lorient.

Notable ''Lorientais''

Arts and literature

* Marie-Léontine Bordes-Pène (1858–1924), pianist *

Charles Delioux Jean-Charles Delioux (de) Savignac (17 April 1825 – 12 November 1915) was a French composer, a pupil of Halévy and potentially Chopin, who was quite popular in the Paris salons of the nineteenth century. Life Charles Delioux was born in the B ...

(1825–1915), composer and pianist *

Marie Dorval Marie Dorval (6 January 1798, Lorient, Morbihan – 20 May 1849) was a French actress in the Romantic style. Early life and first marriage Marie Thomase Amélie Delauney was born on 6 January 1798 to Marie Bourdais, who was sixteen yea ...

(1798–1849), actress *

Irène Frain Irène Frain (née Le Pohon; 22 May 1950, Lorient, Morbihan) is a French novelist, journalist, and historian. She is a founding member of the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society. Biography Irene Frain was born into a very close but destit ...

(b. 1950), writer *

Ernest Hello Ernest Hello (4 November 182814 July 1885) was a French Roman Catholic writer, who produced books and articles on philosophy, theology, and literature. Life Born at Lorient, in Brittany, he was the son of a lawyer who held posts of great impor ...

(1828-1885), writer *

Viktor Lazlo The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...

(b. 1960), singer *

Rita Strohl Rita Strohl (born Aimée Marie Marguerite Mercédès Larousse La Villette) (8 July 1865 – 27 March 1941) was a French composer and pianist. Musical career Born in Lorient (Morbihan), Rita Strohl was a gifted student and entered the Paris Conser ...

(1865–1941), pianist and composer *

Jacques Vaché Jacques Vaché Jacques Vaché (7 September 1895 – 6 January 1919) was a friend of André Breton, the founder of surrealism. Vaché was one of the chief inspirations behind the Surrealist movement. As Breton said: :"''En littérature, je me suis ...

(1895–1919), writer and artist

Sailors

* Jean-Baptiste Bompard (1757–1842), took part in the American Revolutionary War as a privateer, later rose to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

. * François Joseph Bouvet (1753–1832), vice admiral and maritime prefect *

Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769–1832) was a French Navy sailor and an adventurer who played an important role in Vietnam in the 19th century. He served the Nguyễn dynasty from 1794 to 1819, and 1821 to 1826,Tran, p. 206. and took the Vietna ...

(1769–1832), sailor, French consul in Cochinchina *

Pierre-François Forissier Pierre-François Forissier (born 29 December 1951, in Lorient) is a notable French Admiral Submariner and former Chief of Staff of the French Navy, a post which he took up, on February 4, 2008 and left on September 12, 2011. Biography After st ...

, b. 1951, admiral, Chief of Staff of the French Navy (2008–2011) * Raymond Rallier du Baty (1881–1978), explorer of the

Kerguelen islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a large ...

Politics

* Henri Dupuy de Lôme (1816–1885),

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

, chief designer of the ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'', ''

La Gloire The French ironclad ''Gloire'' (, "Glory") was the first ocean-going ironclad, launched in 1859. It was developed after the Crimean War,The Battle of Sinop at the start of the war convinced the world's naval powers that wooden warships could n ...

'' and ''

Gymnote ''Gymnote'' was one of the world's first all-electric submarines and the first functional submarine equipped with torpedoes. Launched on 24 September 1888, she was developed in France following early experiments by Henri Dupuy de Lôme, and, a ...

'', which were breakthroughs in naval technology, also designed airships,

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

representing Morbihan, member of the Academy of Sciences,

senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

. * Pierre-Paul Guieysse (1841–1914), Morbihan deputy, Minister of the Colonies. * Jean-Yves Le Drian, b. 1947, former mayor of Lorient, former Morbihan deputy, former Minister of Defence, former Secretary of State. * Jules Simon (1814–1896),

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

President of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...

, senator for life, member of ''l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

''.

Sports

Georges Eo Georges Eo (born 7 November 1948 in Lorient) is a French football manager and former midfielder. He was assistant manager of Nantes from 1987 to 2005, during which time the club won two Ligue 1 titles. He became the club's full manager in 2006, bu ...

, b. 1948, former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager *

, b. 1955, former manager of FC Lorient * Yoann Gourcuff, b. 1986, son of the former, international midfielder, currently plays for Stade Rennais F.C. *

Ronan Le Crom Ronan Le Crom (born 13 July 1974) is a French former professional football goalkeeper. Career Le Crom began his career at AJ Auxerre, joining the senior squad in 1991. He played only three matches for the club, one in each of his final three se ...

, b. 1974, goalkeeper *

Jérémy Morel Jérémy Morel (born 2 April 1984) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Montagnarde. Born in France, he opted to represent the Madagascar national team internationally. Club career Lorient Born in Lorient, Morel made h ...

, b. 1984, left-back for

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

Illan Meslier Illan Stéphane Meslier (born 2 March 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leeds United. Early life Illan Stéphane Meslier was born on 2 March 2000 in Lorient, Brittany. Club career Lorien ...

, b. 2000, goalkeeper for Leeds United

Sciences

Pierre Fatou Pierre Joseph Louis Fatou (28 February 1878 – 9 August 1929) was a French mathematician and astronomer. He is known for major contributions to several branches of analysis. The Fatou lemma and the Fatou set are named after him. Biography P ...

(1878–1929), mathematician and astronomer *

Nicole Le Douarin Nicole Marthe Le Douarin (born 20 August 1930) is a developmental biologist known for her studies of chimeras, which have led to critical insights regarding higher animal nervous and immune systems. Le Douarin invented an embryo manipulation ...

, b. 1930, biologist

Others

* Jacques Andrieux (1917–2005), WWII fighter ace and Compagnon de la Libération. * Élisabeth Le Port (1919-1943) WWII French Resistance member. *

(1898–1944), naval engineer, '' résistant''. Mistaken for being a traitor, in 1946 the submarine base was renamed "Base Ingénieur Général Stosskopf" in his honour.

International relations

Lorient is twinned with: * Galway, Ireland * Vigo, Spain * Wirral, England, United Kingdom * Ventspils, Latvia *

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

, Germany * České Budějovice, Czech Republic *

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

, Turkey

References

;Notes

External links

Official website
(in French)
Ville de Lorient et Festival Interceltique Images

Festival Interceltique de Lorient
*
See pictures on Antonio Mucherino's web site

Tourism office
(in French) {{Authority control Subprefectures in France German Navy submarine bases Communes of Morbihan Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast

History

Prehistory and classical antiquity

Founding

Growth under the Company of the Indies

19th and early 20th centuries

World War II

Reconstruction

Geography

Location

Climate

Population

Breton language

Economy

Ports

Industry

Transport

Education

Tertiary

Military

Lorient Submarine Base

Culture

Events

Media

Religion

Sports

Football

Sailing

Notable ''Lorientais''

Arts and literature

Sailors

Politics

Sports

Sciences

Others

International relations

See also

References

External links