Lorient (; ) is a town (''

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 ...

'') and

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

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 of

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 ...

in 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 ...

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 Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

(linking

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...

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 e ...

Carhaix Carhaix-Plouguer (; br, Karaez-Plougêr ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France.Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

presence.

Founding

In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded the

French East Indies Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...

. In June 1666, an ordinance of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

granted lands of

to the company, along with Faouédic on the other side of the roadstead. One of its directors, Denis Langlois, bought lands at the confluence of the

Scorff The Scorff (; br, Skorf) River flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast in Lorient. The Scorff rises north of Langoëlan, in the Morbihan department, and flows through the towns of Guémené-sur-Scorff and ...

and the

Blavet The Blavet (; br, Blavezh) river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. It is long. The river is canalised for most of its length, forming one of the links in the Brittany canal system. It con ...

rivers, and built

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

s. 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

scrapped its base in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

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 opened a base there in 1690, under the command of Colbert de Seignelay, who inherited his father's position as Secretary of State of the Navy. At the same time,

privateer 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 ...

s from

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

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) ...

formed the Perpetual Company of the Indies by absorbing other

chartered companies A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights (often exclusive rights) by royal charter (or similar instrument of government) for the purpose of trade, exploration, and/or coloni ...

(including the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...

), and chose Lorient as its operations base. Despite the economic bubble caused by the Company in 1720, the city was still growing as it took part in the Atlantic triangular slave trade. From 1720 to 1790, 156 ships deported an estimated 43,000 slaves. In 1732, the Company decided to transfer its sales headquarters from Nantes 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 stones 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 Physiocracy (; from the Greek for "government of nature") is an economic theory developed by a group of 18th-century Age of Enlightenment French economists who believed that the wealth of nations derived solely from the value of "land agricultur ...

. 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 Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

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 A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

when the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

bought out the Company's infrastructures for 17,500,000 ''

''. From 1775 on, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

brought a surge in activity, as many privateers hailed from Lorient. When the war ended, transatlantic lines opened to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, 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 ('' ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and China, with again Lorient standing as its operative base. 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 ...

and the subsequent

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

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 The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

. During this period, the city was more of an administrative center. The first secondary school opened in 1822, a

lazaretto A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings ...

in 1823, and barracks 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 "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

opened the same year. The first

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

was built in 1845. In the second half of the 19th century, the steam engine allowed the ports to strengthen their output. The first locomotive reached the city in 1865. In 1861, the original

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

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

s in 1900. The Keroman fishing port construction started in 1920.

World War II

In 1941, the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, then occupying France, chose to establish a U-boat base at Lorient. The submarine facilities quickly became targets of constant bombing from Allied air forces. The Germans decided to build a complex of bomb-proof

submarine pen 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 ...

s, 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 re ...

U-boat flotillas for the bulk of the Battle of the Atlantic. Karl Dönitz, then supreme commander of the U-boat Arm, moved his staff into the Kernevel villa, just across the water from Keroman, in

Larmor-Plage Larmor-Plage (; br, An Arvor) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. History Larmor-Plage was created as a new commune in 1925. Before that, it came within the administrative area of the town of Ploemeur ...

. In 1943–1944, Lorient was nearly razed to the ground by Allied bombing, though failing 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 tse 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 bombs 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 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

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 American Army. 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 The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and the '' Croix de guerre 1939–1945''.

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 An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

, distributed among the neighboring towns of

Ploemeur Ploemeur (; br, Plañvour), sometimes written instead as Plœmeur, is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France. It is a western suburb of Lorient. Population The inhabitants are called the ''Ploeme ...

, Lanester,

Hennebont Hennebont (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France. Geography Hennebont is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the River Blavet, which divides it into two parts: the ''Ville Close'' ...

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

, where the rivers

and

join to form the

roadstead of Lorient The roadstead of Lorient (, ) is a roadstead located to the west of Morbihan in Brittany, France. Geography The harbor of Lorient constitutes the mouths of the rivers Blavet, Scorff and the Ter in the Atlantic Ocean. It has several port facil ...

( fr), before discharging into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The river Ter used to flow into the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

to the south of the city, however, a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

was constructed in 1967, stopping the flow. The city is south-west of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, south-west of Rennes and north-west of Nantes. 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 The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Lorient experiences an oceanic climate (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 The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equiv ...

Lorient Agglomération Communauté d'agglomération Lorient Agglomération is the '' communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Lorient. It is located in the Morbihan department, in the Brittany region, northwestern France. It wa ...

had 203,309 inhabitants. Lorient is the most populous

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'', although the ''

préfecture In France, a prefecture (french: préfecture) may be: * the ''chef-lieu de département'', the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the ''chef-lieu de région'', the commune in which the administration of a region is ...

'' is the slightly smaller commune of

. 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 (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 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 Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

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 A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ship ...

: 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 be ...

(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 Groix (; br, Enez Groe) is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Groix lies a few kilometres off the coast of Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix. There are ...

and Belle-Île-en-Mer. * Military : though no longer a

French 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 ...

base, new

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s are still built at DCNS, docking temporarily on

wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

along the

river.

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

Industry

From its founding,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

has always been of great importance to the city. DCNS continues the legacy of the formerly state-owned shipyards (colloquially known as ''l'Arsenal'') that began operation in 1690. It still builds warships, mainly frigates. 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 km west-northwest of Lorient, a ''commune'' of the Morbihan ''dépa ...

is situated just west of the city at Lann Bihoue, and it has direct flights to

. There are also direct flights to London and Porto in the Summer. The Gare de Lorient 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 Rennes.

Tertiary

* CPGE at ''Dupuy-de-Lôme'' and ''Saint Joseph-La salle'' lycées. * '' Université de Bretagne Sud''. * '' Institut universitaire de technologie de Lorient'' * '' École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Bretagne Sud'' * ''École supérieure d'art''. * ''École nationale de musique et de danse''.

Military

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

. Accordingly, it is one of the most selective units among the French armed forces, equivalent in their mission and affiliation to

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...

or British

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...

. Five out of the six existing naval commandos are based in Lanester, just across the

river from Lorient. The Naval Fusilier & Commando Training School is also based here. * Lann-Bihoué Naval Aviation Base: Five squadrons ("'' flottilles''") are based in

. Their tasks include

airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

and

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people ...

Lorient Submarine Base

Lorient was the location of an extensive submarine base, built by

the Germans "The Germans" (named on some releases as "Fire Drill") is the sixth episode of the BBC sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. In the episode, while suffering the effects of concussion, Basil Fawlty repeatedly offends some German guests. Despite warning ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and used subsequently by the

. Head of the U-Boat Arm Karl Dönitz 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, a hero of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

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 (

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 ...

, Galicia,

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

, Australia,

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...

and

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

). Each year, a Celtic nation is chosen as honored guest. It is one of the biggest festival 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 Jean Desbois was a French architect who rose to fame during the 20th century and left significant landmarks in France and in Cambodia such as the Central Market in Phnom Penh. He was a member of the French Society of Architects (''Société des A ...

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 Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in we ...

, which currently play in Ligue 1, after winning Ligue 2 in 2020. They are nicknamed '' les Merlus''. They play their home fixtures at Stade du Moustoir. Christian Gourcuff has managed the team for over 20 years (aggregate years).

Sailing

The converted submarine base has been home port to several skippers and their sailing teams: *Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore), * Pascal Bidégorry (Banque Populaire), *

Franck Cammas Franck Cammas (born 22 December 1972 in Aix-en-Provence) is a French yachtsman. He has lived in Brittany since his victory in the Challenge Espoir Crédit Agricole in 1994. After completing a two-year maths course for the ‘Grandes écoles’, ...

(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 The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and . The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateu ...

'' (2009 edition). Eric Tabarly built three out of his six ''Pen Duick'' boats in Lorient.

Notable ''Lorientais''

Arts and literature

Marie-Léontine Bordes-Pène Marie-Léontine Bordes-Pène (Léontine-Marie Pène) was a notable French pianist, who premiered major works by César Franck, Vincent d'Indy and others. She married a brother of the composer Charles Bordes, and was known by the surname Bordes-Pè ...

(1858–1924), pianist * Charles Delioux (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 (b. 1950), writer * Ernest Hello (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), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(b. 1960), singer * Rita Strohl (1865–1941), pianist and composer * Jacques Vaché (1895–1919), writer and artist

Sailors

* Jean-Baptiste Bompard (1757–1842), took part in the

as a

, later rose to the rank of admiral. *

François Joseph Bouvet François Joseph Bouvet (1753–1832) was a French admiral. Early life Son of René Joseph Bouvet de Précourt, a captain in the service of the French East India Company and of the French Royal Navy under Suffren, François Joseph Bouvet went ...

(1753–1832), vice admiral and

maritime prefect A maritime prefect (French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...

* Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769–1832), sailor, French

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

* Pierre-François Forissier, b. 1951, admiral,

Chief of Staff of the French Navy The Chief of the Naval Staff (French: Chef d’état-major de la Marine, acronym: CEMM) is a French general officer, adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff for the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces for preparing ...

(2008–2011) *

Raymond Rallier du Baty Raymond Rallier du Baty (30 August 1881 – 7 May 1978) was a French sailor and explorer, from Lorient in Brittany, who carried out surveys of the subantarctic Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean in the early 20th century. Rallier du ...

(1881–1978),

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

of the Kerguelen islands.

Politics

Henri Dupuy de Lôme Stanislas Charles Henri Dupuy de Lôme (; 15 October 18161 February 1885) was a French naval architect. He was the son of a naval officer and was born in Ploemeur near Lorient, Brittany, in western France. He was educated at the École Polytechn ...

(1816–1885),

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role ...

, 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'' 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, ...

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

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

s, deputy representing

, member of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

, senator for life. *

Pierre-Paul Guieysse Pierre-Paul Guieysse, (May 11, 1841 – May 19, 1914) was a French Socialist politician. He was Minister of the Colonies in the French Cabinet headed by Léon Bourgeois between 1895 and 1896. Life He was born in Lorient, Brittany, of a Protestan ...

(1841–1914), Morbihan deputy, Minister of the Colonies. *

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022) and as Minister of Defence under Presi ...

, b. 1947, former mayor of Lorient, former Morbihan deputy, current

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Jules Simon Jules François Simon (; 31 December 1814 – 8 June 1896) was a French statesman and philosopher, and one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans in the Third French Republic. Biography Simon was born at Lorient. His father was a linen-dra ...

(1814–1896), philosopher,

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''.

Sports

Georges Eo Georges Eo (born 7 November 1948 in Lorient) is a French football manager and former midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and ...

, b. 1948, former football player and manager * Christian Gourcuff, b. 1955, former manager of

Yoann Gourcuff Yoann Miguel Gourcuff (born 11 July 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. He could also be utilized as a withdrawn striker, and was described as a "playmaker of real quality" who "is an a ...

, b. 1986, son of the former,

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

midfielder, currently plays for

Stade Rennais F.C. Stade Rennais Football Club (), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais FC, Stade Rennais, Rennes, or simply SRFC, is a French professional football club based in Rennes, Brittany. They compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and pla ...

* Ronan Le Crom, b. 1974, goalkeeper * Jérémy Morel, b. 1984, left-back for Olympique de Marseille * Illan Meslier, b. 2000, goalkeeper for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

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, b. 1930, biologist

Others

Jacques Andrieux Jacques Andrieux (15 August 1917 – 21 January 2005) was a French fighter ace of the Second World War credited with 6 aerial victories. Early life Jacques Andrieux was the son of a military doctor, who was deported to Germany as a ''Résistant ...

(1917–2005), WWII fighter ace and

Compagnon de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour) ...

. * Jacques Stosskopf (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 Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, Ireland *

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

, Spain * Wirral, England, United Kingdom *

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

, Latvia * Ludwigshafen, Germany *

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

, Czech Republic * Denizli, 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