Pontivy

Pontivy (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃tivi]; Breton: Pondi) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called Pontivyens in French.

Pontivy Pondi
Subprefecture and commune
The Château des Rohan in Pontivy
Coat of arms
Location of Pontivy
Pontivy Pontivy
Coordinates: 48°04′09″N 2°57′41″W
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Morbihan
Arrondissement	Pontivy
Canton	Pontivy
Intercommunality	Pontivy Communauté
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christine Le Strat
Area 1	24.85 km2 (9.59 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	14,774
• Density	590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	56178 /56300
Elevation	48–192 m (157–630 ft) (avg. 60 m or 200 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Map

Topographic map

History

A monk called Ivy built a bridge nearby over the river Blavet in the 7th century, and the town is named after him ("pont-Ivi" being the Breton for "Ivy's bridge"). From November 9, 1804, the name was changed to Napoléonville after Napoléon Bonaparte, under whom it had around 3,000 inhabitants. After his downfall, it was renamed Pontivy again, then later Bourbonville, and Napoléonville again after Napoléon III came to power.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	11,412	—
1975	12,578	+1.40%
1982	12,675	+0.11%
1990	13,140	+0.45%
1999	13,508	+0.31%
2007	13,648	+0.13%
2012	13,973	+0.47%
2017	14,606	+0.89%
Source: INSEE

Economy

This is a largely agricultural town.

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 8 August 2004. As part of that plan, all road signs in the town centre are bilingual.

In 2008, 11.34% of the children in the town attended the bilingual schools in primary education.

Sights

• The castle of Rohan (with its moat) (late XVe).
• The Notre-Dame-de-Joie basilica. [Basilica:[1]
• The Saint Joseph church. [Eglise St. Joseph:[2]

Events

• Every year the final round of Kan ar Bobl, a Breton music competition.

Twin towns

The town maintains twinning links with:

• Tavistock, United Kingdom since 1958
• Ouelessebougou, Mali since 1986
• Wesseling, Germany since 1972
• Napoléonville, United States since 1989

See also

• Communes of the Morbihan department
• Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer Sculptor of Pontivy war memorial

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Base Mérimée: Search for heritage in the commune, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
• Mayors of Morbihan Association Archived 15 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• Pontivy railway station and bus terminal (in French)