Pontivy

Pontivy
Pondi
Subprefecture and commune
The Château des Rohan in Pontivy
The Château des Rohan in Pontivy
Coat of arms of Pontivy
Coat of arms
Location of Pontivy
Pontivy is located in France
Pontivy
Pontivy
Pontivy is located in Brittany
Pontivy
Pontivy
Coordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W
Country France
Region Brittany
Department Morbihan
Arrondissement Pontivy
Canton Pontivy
Intercommunality Pontivy Communauté
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Christine Le Strat
Area
1
 24.85 km2 (9.59 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)
15,092
 • Density 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
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.

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. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called Pontivyens in French.

Map

Topographic map

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"). 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.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1968 11,412 —    
1975 12,578 +1.40%
1982 12,675 +0.11%
1990 13,140 +0.45%
1999 13,508 +0.31%
2007 13,648 +0.13%
2012 13,973 +0.47%
2017 14,606 +0.89%
Source: INSEE

Economy

This is a largely agricultural town.

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.

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

Sights

  • The castle of Rohan (with its moat) (late XVe).
  • The Notre-Dame-de-Joie basilica. [Basilica:[1]
  • The Saint Joseph church. [Eglise St. Joseph:[2]

Events

Twin towns

The town maintains twinning links with:

See also