Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') 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 ...

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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 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 country ...

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 the ...

. 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 * ...

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

granted lands of Port-Louis 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 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 Pon ...

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

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 All ...

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 (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 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. 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 ove ...

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. ...

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 g ...

''. 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 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 Fr ...

when the

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

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 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 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, 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 List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

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 Fre ...

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 ...

. 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

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 were added to the shipyards. A sardine

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 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 ...

allowed the ports to strengthen their output. The first

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the 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, railcar or power car; the ...

reached the city in 1865. In 1861, the original drydock was enlarged as a second one was dug out. The same year, the

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

'' 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 differently ...

, 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

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...

, 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 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 an ...

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 air forces. The Germans decided to build a complex of bomb-proof submarine pens, their largest U-boat base, which would house the 2nd and the 10th 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 Allies of World War II, ...

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 fo ...

, 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 ...

, 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), 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 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 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

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 The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. 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 Napoleo ...

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 ...

''.

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, 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 c ...

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

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, 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 departme ...

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 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, nota ...

, 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 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 ...

had 203,309 inhabitants. Lorient is the most populous commune in

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'' 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 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 Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Department ...

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), Port-Louis (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 ...

(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 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 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 bef ...

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 ...

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 an ...

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 km west-northwest of Lorient, a '' commune'' of the Morbihan ''dép ...

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

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 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 equi ...

of the

. 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. France ...

, 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 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 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 ...

, 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and used subsequently by the

. 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, 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 counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

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 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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

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

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 Europ ...

). 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 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. ...

, after winning

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to 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 making up the Ligue ...

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 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 (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 (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 sho ...

(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 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 Vietnam ...

(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 exon ...

* Pierre-François Forissier, 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 lar ...

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 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 no ...

'' 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 ...

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, Spain, ...

representing

, 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 B ...

. * Pierre-Paul Guieysse (1841–1914), Morbihan deputy, Minister of the Colonies. * Jean-Yves Le Drian, b. 1947, former mayor of Lorient, former Morbihan deputy, current Minister of Defence * 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, senator for life, member of ''l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

''.

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, ...

, 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 ...

player and manager * Christian Gourcuff, 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, b. 1974, goalkeeper * Jérémy Morel, 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 p ...

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 ...

(1878–1929), mathematician and astronomer * Nicole Le Douarin, b. 1930, biologist

Others

* Jacques Andrieux (1917–2005), WWII fighter ace and Compagnon de la Libération. * 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 status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, 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, 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 ...

, 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