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, region 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 ...
, northwestern
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 ...
.
Geography
Quimperlé is in the southeast of Finistère, 20 km to the west 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 ...
and 44 km to the east of
Quimper
Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France.
Administration
Quimper is the ...
. Historically, it belongs to
Cornouaille
Cornouaille (; , ) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall ...
. The town is situated at the confluence of the Isole and Ellé rivers that combine to form the Laïta river, hence its name: confluent (kemper-) of the Ellé (-le). A fourth smaller river, the Dourdu (black water in Breton), joins the Laïta downstream.
Quimperlé station
Quimperlé is a railway station in Quimperlé, Brittany, France. The station was opened on 7 September 1863, and is located on the Savenay–Landerneau railway. Today, the station is served by TGV (high speed), Intercités (long distance) and TE ...
has rail connections to Quimper, Lorient, Vannes and Rennes.
The city is traditionally divided in two parts, the High Town and the Lower Town. The Lower Town, in the valley, is the historical centre, and developed around the Saint-Colomban church (of which only the front wall remains) and the abbey of Sainte Croix (Holy Cross). It covers the land between the Ellé and Isole rivers as well as the banks of the Laïta, an area that is sometimes flooded.
The more modern High Town, in the plain above the valley, centres around the Saint-Michel church and its market square. Seen from the Lower Town, its "mountain" topped with the Saint-Michel church has earned Quimperlé the nickname of " Mount Saint Michel on land"
The town also developed, less importantly, on the East side of the valley, facing the Saint Michel mountain. This area is called Bourgneuf, a common name for recent neighbourhoods.
095 Quimperlé.jpg, Confluence of the Isole and Ellé rivers in Quimperlé.
Map
Population
Inhabitants of Quimperlé are called in French ''Quimperlois''.
History
It seems that the area was first inhabited by
Neanderthal
Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
s, since remains of
Mousterian
The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an Industry (archaeology), archaeological industry of Lithic technology, stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and with the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and We ...
-style stone tools have been found in the forest between Quimperlé and
Clohars-Carnoët
Clohars-Carnoët (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. The beach resort of Le Pouldu, with the beaches of Bellangenet and Kerrou, is located in the town.
Geography
The commune has two small harbour ...
. A few
dolmen
A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
s were erected in Quimperlé itself, although there is no trace of an actual settlement in the prehistoric times.
A first settlement was built in the Middle Ages, called Villa Anaurot, after a 5th-century British prince, but it is thought to have been destroyed by the Normans in 868.
A new town called Quimperlé grew around the abbey of Sainte Croix, which was founded in the 12th century. The Romanesque basilica from the abbey can still be seen. The church of St Michel was built in the 14th and 15th centuries and its impressive tower dominates the town from its hilltop position.
Breton language
*The municipality launched a linguistic plan concerning 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 ...
through
Ya d'ar brezhoneg
(, ) is a campaign started in the 21st century by the () to promote and stimulate the use of the Breton language in daily life in Brittany, northwestern France. Breton is a Brythonic Celtic language which has fallen out of general use since the ...
on 18 December 2008.
*In 2008, 3.17% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg'' ''Enseignement bilingue'' /ref>
Gallery
Old houses
File:Maison du 16ème siècle.jpg, Old house called Ty Coz in place Saint Michel
File:Quimperlé maison archers.JPG, Timbered house called Maison des archers
File:568 Quimperlé.jpg, Timbered house in Street Dom Maurice
See also
*
Communes of the Finistère department
The following is a list of the 277 Communes of France, communes of the Finistère Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025):
*Entry on sculptor
Jean Joncourt
Jean Joncourt was a French sculptor born in Irvillac in 1869 and who died in 1937. He is well known for his work on war memorials.
Biography
Jean Joncourt was born in Irvillac on 31 December 1869. There is no record of his having received any ac ...
who lived in Quimperlé
*
List of works of the two Folgoët ateliers
The work of the atelier "Le grand atelier ducal du Folgoët"—one of the two main workshops, with the other being the "atelier cornouaillais du Maître de Tronoën", that emerged during the veritable "golden age" of carving in stone in 15th-centur ...
*
Henri Alphonse Barnoin
Henri Alphonse Barnoin (7 July 1882 – 17 March 1940) was a French painter born in Paris in 1882.
Biography
Barnoin's father was an artist as were two of his uncles, and he studied art at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Although Barnoin ...
*
Chapelle de Lothéa
The Chapelle de Lothéa is a Roman Catholic religious building in Quimperlé, France. Founded nearly ten centuries ago, it is one of the oldest monuments in Quimperlé, albeit a modest one. At one time, it was the seat of the largest parish in th ...