Pontivy

Pontivy
Pondi

The Château des Rohan in Pontivy

Coat of arms
Pontivy

Coordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W / 48.0692°N 2.9614°W / 48.0692; -2.9614Coordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W / 48.0692°N 2.9614°W / 48.0692; -2.9614
Country France
Region Brittany
Department Morbihan
Arrondissement Pontivy
Canton Pontivy
Intercommunality Pontivy Communauté
Government
 • Mayor (2008—2014) Jean-Pierre Le Roch
Area1 24.85 km2 (9.59 sq mi)
Population (1999)2 13,508
 • Density 540/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
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

Events

Twin towns

The town maintains twinning links with:

See also

References

  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
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