Pontivy
Encyclopedia
Pontivy 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
.
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.
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.
since 1958 Ouelessebougou
, Mali
since 1986 Wesseling
, Germany
since 1972 Napoléonville
, USA since 1989
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Morbihan
Morbihan
Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
department in Brittany in north-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet
Blavet
The Blavet river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. The river is canalized for most of its length and is navigable for smaller craft. It is part of Brittany's canal system and became more important when the western half of that system got cut...
and the Canal de Nantes à Brest
Canal de Nantes à Brest
The Nantes-Brest canal is a French canal which links the two cities of Nantes and Brest through inland Brittany. It was built during the 19th century and its total length is 385 km with 238 locks from coast to coast...
.
History
A monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
called Ivy built a bridge nearby over the river Blavet
Blavet
The Blavet river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. The river is canalized for most of its length and is navigable for smaller craft. It is part of Brittany's canal system and became more important when the western half of that system got cut...
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.
Breton language
The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhonegYa d'ar brezhoneg
Ya d'ar brezhoneg is a campaign launched by the Ofis ar Brezhoneg in order to stimulate the use of the Breton language in daily life in Brittany, western France. In the first phase, started on 5 October 2001, civil society was targeted. Over 560 enterprises and organisations have signed the...
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 RohanRohan (family)The House of Rohan is a family of viscounts, later dukes and princes, coming from the locality of Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and said to trace back to the legendary Conan Meriadoc. Through the Porhoët, the Rohan are related to the Dukes of Brittany, with...
(with its moatMoatA moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
) (late XVe). - The Notre-Dame-de-Joie basilica. [Basilica:http://catholique-vannes.cef.fr/site2/images/clip_image002_008.jpg
- The Saint Joseph church. [Eglise St. Joseph:http://www.lescorff.com/Pontivy3.jpg
Events
- Every year the final round of Kan ar BoblKan ar BoblKan ar Bobl is a Breton music competition created in 1973, that takes place in Lorient as part of the Festival Interceltique de Lorient...
, a Breton musicMusic of BrittanySince the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard-binou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched out into numerous sub-genres...
competition.
Twin towns
The town maintains twinning links with: Tavistock, United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
since 1958 Ouelessebougou
Ouelessebougou
Ouelessebougou is a town and commune in the Cercle of Kati in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 34,030....
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
since 1986 Wesseling
Wesseling
Wesseling is an industrial German city on the Rhine bordering Cologne city on the south. Wesseling originates from the Latin „Wasliacum“ which means "Villlage of Waslica" The story that Wesselig originates from "changing of the rope"...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
since 1972 Napoléonville
Napoleonville, Louisiana
Napoleonville is a village in and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 686 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, USA since 1989