commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
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 coastli ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
in north-western France. Inhabitants of Melrand are called in French ''Melrandais''.
Population
Melrand's population peaked at 3,712 in 1921 and déclined at 1,521 in2019. This represents a 59.0% decrease in total population since the peak census figure.
Geography
The village centre is located southwest of
Pontivy
Pontivy (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called ''Pontivyens'' in French.
Map
History
...
and northeast of
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
. Historically, the village belongs to the
Vannetais
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 ...
. 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 ...
river forms the eastern border of the commune. The Sarre river, a tributary of the Blavet river, flows through Melrand.
In 2008, 31.4% of children in the commune attended schools taught in Breton and French for their primary education. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg'' ''Enseignement bilingue''
History
In September 1592, the Spanish mercenaries in the service of the Duke of Mercœur plundered all the neighboring parishes of Guémené, including Melrand.