Locronan (; ) is a commune in the

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.department of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in north-western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Locronan is a member of the ("The most beautiful villages of France") association.

Toponymy

The village's name means the "hermitage of Ronan", from the Breton ''lok'' (" hermitage") of Saint Ronan. It was previously known as ''Saint-René-du-Bois''. Saint Ronan, greatly venerated in Brittany, was a 6th-century Irish

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who came to the region to teach the people. As his association with Locronan is close, some of his

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

are kept in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

church.

History

Locronan is a small town built at the foot of a hill. It was granted town status in 1505 by

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...

, who went there on a pilgrimage. Since the 15th century,

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

has naturally grown in the area (see Hemp in France). It was cultivated and processed in a hemp industry in the town at the time, and it was widely used. The town was quite prosperous. Its hemp was exported internationally, as it was used for rigging the ships, both commercial and military, that operated from Brittany's many ports. The Saint Ronan church was built in this period, as well as the small chapel of Penity.

Population

Inhabitants of Locronan are called in French ''Locronanais''.

Breton language

The municipality launched a plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 23 November 2007 to revive the

Breton language Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...

Events

Troménie is a pilgrimage festival that includes a large procession, whose participants carry the banners of participating parishes. Held every six years between the second and third Sundays in July, the Grande Troménie is a pilgrimage of about 12 km, traversing the wider sacred area around Locronan. In the intervening five years, the Petite Troménie is held on the second Sunday in July. It is based in the town and church of Locronan. These are among the major '' pardons'' or ceremonies of the traditional Breton festal calendar.

Popular culture

Locronan has been used as a setting in films: *'' Tess'' (1979), directed by

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

*'' A Very Long Engagement'', directed by

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Jean-Pierre Jeunet (; born 3 September 1953) is a French film director and screenwriter. His films combine fantasy, realism, and science fiction to create idealized realities or to give relevance to mundane situations. Jeunet debuted as a direc ...

*'' Chouans!'', directed by

Philippe de Broca Philippe Claude Alex de Broca de Ferrussac (; 15 March 1933 – 26 November 2004) was a French film director. He directed 30 full-length feature films, including the highly successful ''That Man from Rio (''L'Homme de Rio'')'', ''Le Magnifique, ...

Locronan is the hometown of the character Ted's mother in Catriona Ward's novel, ''The Last House on Needless Street''.Ward, Catriona. ''The Last House on Needless Street''. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2021

Gallery

Image:Locronan Deposition.JPG, A notable image of the Deposition of Christ in the church at Locronan. Image:St Ronan Banner.JPG, The banner of St Ronan. Image:St Ronan Relics.JPG, Reliquary holding relics of St Ronan at Locronan. File:Bretagne Finistere Locronan2 tango7174.jpg, Tomb of St Ronan. Image:Locronan Pulpit1.JPG, Scenes from the life of St Ronan on the

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

at Locronan parish church. Image:Locronan Pulpit2.JPG, More scenes from the life of St Ronan on the pulpit. Image:St Corentin Banner.jpg, The banner of St

Corentin of Quimper Corentin of Quimper (Corentinus; in Breton, ''Kaourintin'') (d. 460 AD) is a Breton saint. He was the first bishop of Quimper. Corentin was a hermit at Plomodiern and was regarded as one of the seven founding saints of Brittany. He is the pat ...

at Locronan. File:Bretagne Finistere Locronan3 tango7174.jpg, Altar of the

Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

References

External links

Official site

Official site of the Office de Tourisme

Gallery of Images on Treakearth
* {{authority control Communes of Finistère Plus Beaux Villages de France