Quimper Quimper Website Meta Language Category="Communes of Finistère"[image]

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

Administration

Quimper is the Préfecture (capital) of the Finistère Département.

Geography

The name Quimper comes from the Breton kemper "confluent" because the city was 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 was renamed Montagne sur Odet during the French Revolution and is now simply Quimper. It is also known as the capital of Cornouaille.

Main Monuments

[image] Here are some points of interest:

the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint-Corentin
some lovely churches (Locmaria, Saint-Mathieu, Kerfeunteun, Ergue-Armel...)
an old downtown with mediaeval fortifications and houses
Musée des Beaux-Arts (near the cathedral)
Cornouaille Festival: traditional dance (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:

External link

Municipal website
Visiting Quimper - In English