Pontivy

Pontivy Pondi
The Château des Rohan in Pontivy
Coat of arms
Pontivy
Location within Brittany region  Pontivy
Coordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W / 48.0692°N 2.9614°WCoordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W / 48.0692°N 2.9614°W
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Morbihan
Arrondissement	Pontivy
Canton	Pontivy
Intercommunality	Pontivy Communauté
Government
• Mayor (2008—2014)	Jean-Pierre Le Roch
Area^1	24.85 km^2 (9.59 sq mi)
Population (1999)^2	13,508
• Density	540/km^2 (1,400/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	56178 / 56300
Elevation	48–192 m (157–630 ft) (avg. 60 m or 200 ft)
^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.

Pontivy (French pronunciation: ​[pɔ̃tivi]; Breton: Pondi) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest.

History

A monk called Ivy built a bridge nearby over the river Blavet in the 7th century, and the town is named after him ("pont-Ivi" being the Breton for "Ivy's bridge").^[1] From November 9, 1804, the name was changed to Napoléonville after Napoléon Bonaparte, under whom it had around 3,000 inhabitants. After his downfall, it was renamed Pontivy again, then later Bourbonville, and Napoléonville again after Napoléon III came to power.

Economy

This is a largely agricultural town.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Pontivy are called Pontivyens.

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 8 August 2004. As part of that plan, all road signs in the town centre are bilingual.^[2]

In 2008, 11.34% of the children in the town attended the bilingual schools in primary education.^[3]

Sights

• The castle of Rohan (with its moat) (late XVe).
• The Notre-Dame-de-Joie basilica. [Basilica:
• The Saint Joseph church. [Eglise St. Joseph:

Events

• Every year the final round of Kan ar Bobl, a Breton music competition.

Twin towns

The town maintains twinning links with:

• Tavistock, United Kingdom since 1958
• Ouelessebougou, Mali since 1986
• Wesseling, Germany since 1972
• Napoléonville, USA since 1989

See also

• Communes of the Morbihan department
• Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer Sculptor of Pontivy war memorial

References

• Mayors of Morbihan Association (French)
• INSEE commune file

1. Commune de Pontivy: Etude Normative des Toponymes . http://www.pontivy.fr/pontivy/public/Le_saviez-vous/pontivy-toponymie.pdf
2. (French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Des plaques de rue bilingues à Pontivy
3. (French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue

External links

• Official website (French)
• French Ministry of Culture list for Pontivy (French)
• Map of Pontivy on Michelin (English)