Audierne

Audierne
Gwaien

Audierne harbour

Coat of arms
Audierne

Coordinates: 48°01′30″N 4°32′26″W / 48.025°N 4.5406°W / 48.025; -4.5406Coordinates: 48°01′30″N 4°32′26″W / 48.025°N 4.5406°W / 48.025; -4.5406
Country France
Region Brittany
Department Finistère
Arrondissement Quimper
Canton Douarnenez
Intercommunality Cap-Sizun
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Joseph Évenat
Area1 18.37 km2 (7.09 sq mi)
Population (2013)2 3,752
 • Density 200/km2 (530/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 29003 / 29770
Website www.audierne.fr

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Audierne (Breton: Gwaien) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Esquibien merged into Audierne.[1]

The town lies on a peninsula at the mouth of the Goyen river and for centuries was a fishing village, with a wide sandy beach. Visitors can take a boat from Audierne's port of Esquibien to the Île de Sein.

The harbour, formerly important to the local fishing industry, is now essentially a yacht port. Remaining of the fishery is an oyster farm, in which the delicacy can be bought. Along the harbour stretches the town's main shopping area with its cafés, bars and restaurants, crêperies, boutiques, estate agents and holiday agencies, the town hall, the tourism office, and the regional bus stop. On Saturday mornings there is a farmers' market, which serves as a meeting place for natives and tourists alike.

History

The battle of Audierne Bay, which took place on 23 August 1944, was an engagement between German and Allied naval flotillas. Three Allied warships, which had already established control off the coast of Brittany and were lurking off Audierne south of the invested fortress of Brest, intercepted and sank eight German vessels of an armed convoy. This was the conclusion of Operation Kinetic, which was an allied operation aimed at intercepting shipping and hindering German forces besieged at Brest.

International relations

Audierne is twinned with Penryn in the United Kingdom and Hattingen in Germany.

Population

Inhabitants of Audierne are called Audiernais.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ Arrêté préfectoral 16 October 2015 (French)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Audierne.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.