Pontivy

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.

Pontivy

Pondi
Subprefecture and commune
The Château des Rohan in Pontivy
Coat of arms
Location of Pontivy
Pontivy
Pontivy
Coordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W
CountryFrance
RegionBrittany
DepartmentMorbihan
ArrondissementPontivy
CantonPontivy
IntercommunalityPontivy Communauté
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Christine Le Strat[1]
Area
1
24.85 km2 (9.59 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[2]
14,606
 • Density590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
56178 /56300
Elevation48–192 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.

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").[3] 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.[4]

In 2008, 11.34% of the children in the town attended the bilingual schools in primary education.[5]

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

Twin towns

The town maintains twinning links with:

See also

References
  1. "Maires du Morbihan" (PDF). Préfecture du Morbihan. 7 July 2020.
  2. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. Commune de Pontivy: Etude Normative des Toponymes . "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-08-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. (in French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Des plaques de rue bilingues à Pontivy
  5. (in French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue


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