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Commune of Lorient |
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| An Oriant | ||
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| Yachting harbour in Lorient | ||
| Location | ||
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| Coordinates | ||
| Administration | ||
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| Country | France | |
| Region | Bretagne | |
| Department | Morbihan (sous-préfecture) | |
| Arrondissement | Lorient | |
| Canton | Chief town of 3 cantons | |
| Intercommunality | Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Lorient | |
| Mayor | Norbert Métairie (2001-2008) |
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| Statistics | ||
| Elevation | 0 m–46 m | |
| Land area¹ | 17. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Morbihan (Mor-Bihan is a department in the northwest of France named after the Morbihan ( small sea in Breton) the enclosed sea that is the Subprefectures (sous-préfectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The arrondissement of Lorient is an arrondissement of France located in the Morbihan département, in the Bretagne The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 48 km² | |
| Population² (1999) |
59,189 | |
| - Density | 3,386/km² (1999) | |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| Postal code | 56100 | |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open | ||
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. C D E | ||
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Lorient, or L'Orient, (Breton: An Oriant) is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan département, of Brittany. The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo Morbihan (Mor-Bihan is a department in the northwest of France named after the Morbihan ( small sea in Breton) the enclosed sea that is the In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into
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Demographics
Inhabitants of Lorient are called Lorientais.
Population: city: 61,844; urban area: 186,144. Lorient is the most populous commune in Morbihan, although the préfecture (capital) resides in the slightly smaller commune of Vannes. Vannes (Gwened is a town and commune located in the Morbihan département, in Brittany, in the west of France.
History
At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Port-Louis (Porzh-Loeiz is a French commune located in the Morbihan département, in the Bretagne région They later built additional warehouses across the bay in 1628, at the location which became known as L'Orient (the Orient in French). French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Later, the French East India Company, founded in 1664 and chartered by King Louis XIV, established shipyards there, thus giving an impetus to the development of the city. The French East India Company ( French: La Compagnie française des Indes orientales or Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships These can be Yachts military
In attempts to destroy German Submarine pens and their supply lines, most of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II (see section below). See also Submarine base A submarine pen is a Bunker to protect Submarines or U-boats from bombing Allied bombing refers mostly to Strategic bombing during World War II, as conducted by the Allies of World War II. Thus, today's Lorient reflects an architectural style of the 1950s.
Geography
Lorient is located on the south coast of Brittany on the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers Blavet and Scorff enter the Atlantic Ocean at Lorient. For the French Flautist, see Michel Blavet The Blavet River flows from central Brittany and enters the
Industry
Lorient has a major fishing port, Port de Pêche (Breton: Porzh Pesketa), at Keroman and the docks area at Kergroise handle large cargo and passenger ships. The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany
Tourism plays an important part in the cities' economy and there are several large yachting marinas around the bay. For other uses of this word see Marina (disambiguation. A marina is a sheltered Harbor where Boats and Yachts The annual Festival Interceltique de Lorient was founded in Lorient in 1971 and attracts large numbers of tourists to the area every summer. The Festival Interceltique de Lorient (fr or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant (br was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971
Lorient was a former base of the French Navy but these links have now disappeared. The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm However, many important former naval buildings remain around the quayside.
Lorient South Brittany Airport is situated 10 minutes drive to the west of the city at Lann Bihou, and has direct flights to several destinations. Lorient South Brittany Airport or Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud, also known as Lorient-Lann-Bihoué Airport, is the Airport serving the city of
Keroman Submarine Base
Lorient housed a German submarine base during World War II; although the city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing raids, the base survived through to the end of the war. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including As they could not destroy the base itself, the Allies decided to bomb the city, in order to cut supply lines to the U-boats. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers Without fuel, provisions or water, it became impossible for these submarines to return to the Atlantic. Between the 14 of January 1943 and the 17 of February 1943, as many as 500 explosive bombs and more than 60,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on the city. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are Bombs designed to start Fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as Napalm, Thermite Lorient was almost completely destroyed, with nearly 90% of the city flattened, thousands of French civilians were killed.
Today the former submarine base of Keroman is open to the public and can be visited year-round. During the tour the submarine pens of block K3 can be seen. The roof area (3. 40m to 7m thick) can be accessed, as well as a former anti aircraft defence tower high on top of the base. The tower affords an excellent view of the harbour and of the former headquarters of the German Commander Karl Dönitz across the bay at Larmor-Plage. Karl Dönitz (ˈdøːnɪts) (16 September 1891 &ndash 24 December 1980 was a German naval Commander who served
Miscellaneous
- Lorient was the birthplace of Jules Simon (1814-1896), statesman and philosopher. Jules François Simon (27 December 1814 - 8 June 1896 was a French statesman and Philosopher, and one of the leader of the Opportunist Republicans
- Lorient is the home of a major Celtic music festival, the Festival Interceltique de Lorient. Celtic music is a term utilised by artists record companies music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of Musical genres that evolved out of the Folk The Festival Interceltique de Lorient (fr or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant (br was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971
- Lorient is the home of FC Lorient Bretagne Sud whose stadium, Stade du Moustoir, is in the city centre. FC Lorient Bretagne Sud is a French football club based in Lorient, Brittany. 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
- In the 2006 Tour de France, Lorient hosted the end of Stage 8. The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23 2006
- In Medal of Honor: Frontline, a level takes place in Lorient. Medal of Honor Frontline is the 4th installment of Electronic Arts ' popular Medal of Honor series
Twin towns
Galway, Ireland
Vigo, Spain
Wirral, United Kingdom
Ventspils, Latvia
Ludwigshafen, Germany
České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Denizli, Turkey
See also
- Mississippi Company
- Unterseeboot 74
- FC Lorient
- Festival Interceltique de Lorient
- Arrondissement of Lorient
- Communes of the Morbihan department
External links
- Official website (in French)
- Festival Interceltique de Lorient
- French Ministry of Culture list for Lorient (French)