MORBIHAN

'Morbihan' ('Mor-Bihan' in Breton) is a department in the northwest of France named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.

Contents

History

Geography

Culture

Tourism

See also

External links

History

Morbihan is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany.

Geography

Morbihan is part of the current region of Bretagne and is surrounded by the departments of Finistère, Côte-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Loire-Atlantique, and the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest.
The Gulf of Morbihan has many islands: 365 according to legend, but, in reality, between 30 and 40, according to how they are counted. There are also many islets which are too small to be built. Of these islands, all but two are private: l'Île aux Moines and l'Île D'Arz. The others are privately owned, some by movie stars or fashion designers.
In the department of Morbihan, but outside the Gulf, there are four inhabited islands:

★ Belle Île

★ Groix

★ Houat

★ Hoëdic

★ Meaban, just outside the Port du Crouesty is an ornithological reserve and it is forbidden to alight there.

Culture

The Breton language is an important issue, with many advocating bilingual education.

Tourism

The megalithic alignments of Carnac are situated in Morbihan.

See also

★ Cantons of the Morbihan department

★ Communes of the Morbihan department

★ Arrondissements of the Morbihan department

External links

★ Prefecture website

★ General council website

★ Keltia Adventure-acheology

★ Cultural Heritage

★ Tourism website

★ Hiking in Morbihan