Quimper - Definition and Overview

Quimper (Kemper in Breton) is a commune of northwestern France. Population (1999): 67,127. Its inhabitants are called quimpérois.

Administration

Quimper is the préfecture (capital) of the Finistère département.

History

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. 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:

• Saint-Corentin cathedral
• some 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

See also

• Ys

External Link

• Municipal website (http://www.mairie-quimper.fr)