Penmarch (, ) is a commune in the

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

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 o ...

, northwestern

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 ar ...

.Commune de Penmarch (29158)
INSEE It lies 18 km south-west of

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 T ...

by road.

Geography

Penmarch is the southwest-most township of Pays Bigouden, at the southern end of the Bay of Audierne. It is part of the

canton of Pont-l'Abbé The canton of Pont-l'Abbé is an administrative division of the Finistère department, northwestern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Pont-l'Abbé. It consis ...

, and of the

arrondissement of Quimper The arrondissement of Quimper ( br, arondisamant Kemper) is an arrondissement of France in the Finistère department, Brittany. It has 84 communes. Its population is 322,740 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondisse ...

. The territory of the town (16.39 km²) is particularly flat; its altitude ranges from -1 to 23 m

amsl Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The c ...

. There are many marshy lagoons, some of which have been drained and filled, especially in St. Guénolé to save space or habitat for the installation of local handicrafts. The municipality consists of four villages: * Penmarch-Bourg, formerly known as the Tréoultré; * Saint-Guénolé (main fishing port); * Kerity (fishing port side moving towards the hosting of the craft); * Saint-Pierre (port for very small craft). Many islands or reefs of very variable dimensions punctuate the coast of Penmarch; the most important are the Étocs islets south of Kerity, and the island of Saint-Nonna west of Saint-Pierre. The port of Saint-Guénolé has a pass opening due west, thought to be dangerous in rough weather. It is protected by two granite peninsulas: Krugen in the South, and Conq in the northwest. Krugen is connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus. Conq is connected to the shore by an artificial embankment itself protected by concrete blocks to better break the flood wave. The rocky granite coast (called "savage coast" in Saint-Guénolé) is interspersed with several beaches: * North, the beach of Pors Carn-which extends to the tip of the torch (joint Plomeur); * West, the beach of Joy; * South, the beach Steir Kerity which begins at and continues through Guilvinec.

Climate

Penmarch has a climate bordering between

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Csb'') and

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places *Oceanic, British Columbia Oceanic is an unincorporated set ...

(''Cfb''). It is heavily moderated by 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#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

and the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the Uni ...

influence, resulting in cool summers and very mild winters for the latitude as seasonal differences are low.

History

Exterior of Église Saint-Nonna de Penmarc'h (26)

On the extremity of the peninsula on which Penmarc'h is situated are the fortified remains of a town which was of considerable importance from the 14th to the 16th centuries and included, besides Penmarc'h, Saint-Guénolé and Kerity. It owed its prosperity to its

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not c ...

banks, the disappearance of which together with the discovery of the

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

cod banks and the pillage of the place by the

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

La Fontenelle in 1595, contributed to its decline. The church of

Saint Nouna In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...

, a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

building of the early 16th century at Penmarc'h, and the church of St. Guénolé, an unfinished tower, and the church of Kerity are of interest. The coast is known to be very dangerous for sailors. On the

Pointe de Penmarc'h Point Penmarc'h, often spelled Point Penmarch, or in French Pointe de Penmarc'h, is the extremity of a small peninsula in Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France,''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 915 ...

stands the

Phare d'Eckmühl The Phare d'Eckmühl, also known as Point Penmarc'h Light or Saint-Pierre Light, is an active lighthouse in Penmarc'h, Finistère department, Brittany, France. At a height of it is one of the tallest lighthouses in the world. It is located ...

, with a light visible for . There are numerous

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

monuments in the vicinity.

Population

Inhabitants of Penmarch are called in French ''Penmarchais''.

Sights

Penmarch is home to the ' Droguen' rock.

Literary references

Dorigen, the female protagonist in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''

The Franklin's Tale "The Franklin's Tale" ( enm, The Frankeleyns Tale) is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It focuses on issues of providence, truth, generosity and ''gentillesse'' in human relationships. Synopsis A medieval franklin was fr ...

'', has a name similar to the local rock, which may symbolise her obduracy..

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Communes of Finistère Finistère communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Populated coastal places in France