Finistère

For other uses, see Finisterre (disambiguation).

Finistère (/ˌfɪnɪˈstɛər/; French: [finistɛʁ] ^ⓘ; Breton: Penn-ar-Bed [ˌpɛnarˈbeːt]) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.^[3]

Finistère Penn-ar-Bed (Breton)
Department
Prefecture building of the Finistère department, in Quimper
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Finistère in France
Coordinates: 48°15′N 04°00′W
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Prefecture	Quimper
Subprefectures	Brest Châteaulin Morlaix
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Maël de Calan[1] (DVD)
Area 1
• Total	6,733 km2 (2,600 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	927,912
• Rank	24th
• Density	140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-29
Department number	29
Largest city	Brest
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	27
Communes	277
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

History

Historical regions of Brittany

The present department consists of the historical region of Léon and parts of Cornouaille and Trégor, both parts of pre-revolutionary Brittany.

The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth. In England, a similar area is called Land's End. The Breton name for Finistère, Penn ar Bed, translates as "Head/End of the World" and is similar to the Cornish name for Land's End, Pedn an Wlas (Head/End of the country), and also Penfro (English: Pembroke) in Wales (pen = end, bro = country). Finistère is not to be confused with Fisterra in Galicia, Spain, which shares the same etymology.

The area of the department was part of the Province of Brittany before 1790.

Geography

The largest population centre in Finistère is Brest. Other large towns in the department include Quimper (the capital), Concarneau, Morlaix, Carhaix, Quimperlé and Douarnenez. Finistère includes the island of Ushant (Eusa in Breton, Ouessant in French).

Finistère is the westernmost department of Metropolitan France and can also claim to be the "most coastal" department in Metropolitan France. Of its 277 communes, 117 are located on the coast. Its total coastline of approximately 1,250 km (776.71 mi) accounts for almost a quarter of the entire Brittany coast-line.

Map of Finistère

The abers, rugged fjord-like inlets on the north coast, are a notable feature of the landscape.

The westernmost point of continental France, known as the Pointe de Corsen, extends from the northwestern tip of Finistère. About 40 kilometres to the south (as the crow flies) is the slightly less westerly, but rugged and isolated, headland of Pointe du Raz.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Brest; the prefecture Quimper is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants:^[3]

Commune	Population (2019)
Brest	139,926
Quimper	63,283
Concarneau	19,816
Landerneau	15,918
Guipavas	15,050

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1801 439,046 —     1821 483,095 +0.48% 1831 524,396 +0.82% 1841 576,068 +0.94% 1851 617,710 +0.70% 1861 627,304 +0.15% 1876 666,106 +0.40% 1881 681,564 +0.46% 1891 727,012 +0.65% 1901 773,014 +0.62% 1921 752,514 −0.13% 1936 757,000 +0.04%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1946 724,735 −0.43% 1954 727,847 +0.05% 1962 749,558 +0.37% 1968 769,000 +0.43% 1975 804,088 +0.64% 1982 829,865 +0.45% 1990 838,366 +0.13% 1999 852,273 +0.18% 2006 879,497 +0.45% 2011 899,870 +0.46% 2016 908,249 +0.19%
source:[4][5]

Economy

Agriculture, fisheries, food processing and various related industries occupy an important place in Finistère's economy.

The military presence in Finistère (Île Longue nuclear submarine base and the Naval Air base of Lanvéoc-Poulmic), as well as military-related industries, such as the Brest headquarters of DCNS, employ a significant number of the département's population.

The port of Roscoff links Brittany by ferry with Ireland and Great Britain.

Politics

See also: Departmental Council of Finistère

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency		Member[6]	Party
	Finistère's 1st constituency	Annaïg Le Meur	La République En Marche!
	Finistère's 2nd constituency	Jean-Charles Larsonneur	La République En Marche!
	Finistère's 3rd constituency	Didier Le Gac	La République En Marche!
	Finistère's 4th constituency	Sandrine Le Feur	La République En Marche!
	Finistère's 5th constituency	Graziella Melchior	La République En Marche!
	Finistère's 6th constituency	Mélanie Thomin	Parti Socialiste
	Finistère's 7th constituency	Liliane Tanguy	La République En Marche!
	Finistère's 8th constituency	Erwan Balanant	Mouvement démocrate

Culture

Finistère is the area where Breton survives most strongly as a spoken language. Breton-speaking schools are called Diwan, Divyezh and Dihun.

The Festival de Cornouaille, which takes place in Quimper, is a celebration of Breton music and traditions. One of the highlights of summer in Finistère is the "Festival des Vieilles Charrues" held in Carhaix-Plouguer. Major international stars attract tens of thousands of spectators.^[7]

The painter Raymond Wintz (1884–1956) featured many locations around Finistère.

Roland Doré was a sculptor who executed many of the calvaries in Finistère.

Tourism

• 
  Quimper
• 
  Granite rocks in Ouessant
• 
  Pontusval lighthouse near Brignogan-Plages
• 
  Calvary in Saint-Jean-Trolimon
• 
  Locronan
• 
  Concarneau
• 
  Pointe du Chateau, Plougrescant
• 
  Pointe de Pen-Hir

See also

• Cantons of the Finistère department
• Communes of the Finistère department
• Arrondissements of the Finistère department
• Ys
• Calvary at Saint-Herbot near Plonévez-du-Faou and the Chapelle Saint-Herbot.
• Notre Dame de Roscudon Church