Morbihan

Morbihan
Morbihan
—  Department  —

Coat of arms
Location of Morbihan in France
Coordinates: 47°50′N 02°50′E / 47.833°N 2.833°E / 47.833; 2.833Coordinates: 47°50′N 02°50′E / 47.833°N 2.833°E / 47.833; 2.833
Country France
Region Brittany
Prefecture Vannes
Subprefectures Lorient
Pontivy
Government
 – President of the General Council Joseph-François Kergueris
Area1
 – Total 6,823 km2 (2,634.4 sq mi)
Population (2007)
 – Total 702,487
 – Rank 32nd
 – Density 103/km2 (266.7/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 56
Arrondissements 3
Cantons 42
Communes 261
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Morbihan (French pronunciation: [mɔʁbi.ɑ̃]; Breton: Mor-Bihan) is a department in 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 coastline.

Contents

History

Morbihan is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from a part of the Duchy of Brittany. It is the only French department which has no French name; Morbihan is in Breton. It is also the only department in France which has kept its original name.

Geography

Morbihan is part of the current region of Brittany and is surrounded by the departments of Finistère, Côtes-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Loire-Atlantique, and the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest.

The Gulf of Morbihan has many islands: 365 according to legend, but, in reality, between 30 and 40, according to how they are counted. There are also many islets which are too small to be built on. Of these islands, all but two are private: l'Île aux Moines and l'Île D'Arz. The others are privately owned, some by movie stars or fashion designers.

In the department of Morbihan, but outside the Gulf, there are four inhabited islands:

  • Meaban, just outside the Port du Crouesty is an ornithological reserve and it is forbidden to alight there.

Culture

The Breton language is an important issue, with many advocating bilingual education.

Art

The painter Raymond Wintz (1884–1956) depicted locations around the Gulf of Morbihan.

Tourism

See also

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Morbihan — Region Bretagne …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Morbihan — Departamento de Francia …   Wikipedia Español

  • Morbihan —   [mɔrbi ã], Name von geographischen Objekten:    1) Morbihan, Département in Westfrankreich, in der Bretagne, 6 823 km2, 644 000 Einwohner; Verwaltungssitz ist Vannes.    2) Golfe du Morbihan [gɔlf dy ], Bucht an der Südküste der Bretagne im… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Morbihan — (spr. Morbihang), 1) Meerbusen des Atlantischen Oceans an der nördlichen Westküste von Frankreich, 4 Stunden lang, 11/2 Stunde breit; umschließt mehre Inseln, nimmt einige Flüsse, z.B. den Auray, auf, ist mit der Stadt Vannes durch einen Kanal… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Morbihan [1] — Morbihan (spr. morbi āng, kelt., »kleines Meer«), Meerbusen des Atlantischen Ozeans an der Westküste von Frankreich, der erst in historischer Zeit durch Sinken der Küste entstanden zu sein scheint, 20 km lang, im Innern 12 km, am Ausgang 1 km… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Morbihan [2] — Morbihan (spr. morbi āng), Departement im nordwestlichen Frankreich, nach einem Meerbusen des Atlantischen Ozeans (s. oben) benannt, aus einem Teile der Niederbretagne gebildet, grenzt südlich an den Atlantischen Ozean, westlich an das Depart.… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Morbihan — (spr. biáng), franz. Departement in der Bretagne, am Meerbusen M., 7093 qkm, (1901) 563.468 E.; Hauptstadt Vannes …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Morbihan — Morbihan, französ. Depart., Theil der ehemaligen Bretagne. 124 QM. groß mit 478000 E., die von Ackerbau, Viehzucht und Fischerei leben. Hauptstadt ist Vannes …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Morbihan — dép. franç.; 6 763 km²; 619 838 hab.; ch. l. Vannes (48 454 hab.). V. Bretagne (Rég.) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Morbihan — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Morbihan (homonymie). Morbihan …   Wikipédia en Français

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