Quimper
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Template:FRdot Quimper (Kemper in Breton) is a commune of northwestern France. Population (1999): 67,127. Its inhabitants are called quimpérois.
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Administration
Quimper is the préfecture (capital) of the Finistère département.
Geography
The name Quimper comes from the Breton kemper, which means confluent, because the city has been built on the confluence of the Steir, the Odet and the Jet rivers.
History
The city was first named Quimper-Corentin (Saint Corentin was its first bishop), then has been renamed Montagne sur Odet during the French Revolution and is now just Quimper. It is also known as the capital of the Cornouaille.
Main Monuments
Here are some points of interest:
- the roman catholic Saint-Corentin cathedral
- some lovely churches (Locmaria, Saint-Mathieu, Kerfeunteun, Ergue-Armel...)
- an old downtown with fortifications and houses from middle-age
- Musée des Beaux-Arts (near the cathédrale)
- Cornouaille Festival: traditional danse (last week of July)
- Faience museum
Famous citizens
Quimper was the birthplace of:
- Élie Catherine Fréron (1719-1776), critic and controversialist
- René Laënnec (1781-1826), physician, inventor of the stethoscope
- Max Jacob (1876-1944), poet, painter, writer and critic
- Philippe Poupon, sailor
Miscellaneous
Quimper is twinned with:
See also
External Link
- Municipal website (http://www.mairie-quimper.fr)
- Visiting Quimper (http://france-for-visitors.com/brittany/quimper/index.html) - In Englishde:Quimper