Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor (French pronunciation: [kot daʁmɔʁ]; Breton: Aodoù-an-Arvor), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord, is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.
Côtes-d'Armor | |
---|---|
The departmental council and prefectural building in Saint-Brieuc | |
Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Côtes-d'Armor in France | |
Coordinates: 48°20′N 02°50′W | |
Country | France |
Region | Brittany |
Prefecture | Saint-Brieuc |
Subprefectures | Dinan Guingamp Lannion |
Government | |
• President of the departmental council | Alain Cadec (LR) |
Area | |
• Total | 6,878 km2 (2,656 sq mi) |
Population (2016) | |
• Total | 598,953 |
• Rank | 43rd |
• Density | 87/km2 (230/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 22 |
Arrondissements | 4 |
Cantons | 27 |
Communes | 348 |
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
History
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1801 | 504,303 | — |
1821 | 552,424 | +0.46% |
1831 | 598,872 | +0.81% |
1841 | 607,572 | +0.14% |
1851 | 632,613 | +0.40% |
1861 | 628,676 | −0.06% |
1876 | 630,957 | +0.02% |
1881 | 627,585 | −0.11% |
1891 | 618,652 | −0.14% |
1901 | 609,349 | −0.15% |
1921 | 557,824 | −0.44% |
1936 | 532,000 | −0.32% |
1946 | 526,955 | −0.10% |
1954 | 503,178 | −0.58% |
1962 | 501,923 | −0.03% |
1968 | 506,000 | +0.13% |
1975 | 525,556 | +0.54% |
1982 | 538,860 | +0.36% |
1990 | 538,443 | −0.01% |
1999 | 542,398 | +0.08% |
2006 | 569,498 | +0.70% |
2016 | 598,953 | +0.51% |
source:[1] |
Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created on 4 March 1790 following the French Revolution. It was made up from the near entirety of the ancient Pays de Saint-Brieuc, most of historical Trégor, the eastern half of Cornouaille, and the north-western part of the former diocese of Saint-Malo.
In 1990 the name was changed to Côtes-d'Armor: the French word côtes means "coasts" and ar mor is "the sea" in Breton. The name also recalls that of the Roman province of Armorica ("the coastal region").
Geography
Côtes-d'Armor is part of the current administrative region of Brittany and is bounded by the departments of Ille-et-Vilaine to the east, Morbihan to the south, and Finistère to the west, and by the English Channel to the north.
Demonym
The inhabitants of the department are known in French as Costarmoricains.
Politics
Côtes-d'Armor's long tradition of anti-clericalism, especially in the interior around Guingamp (a former Communist stronghold), has often led to the department's being seen as an area of left-wing exceptionalism in an otherwise strongly clerical and right-wing Brittany. The current president of the departmental council, Alain Cadec, is nevertheless a member of the centre-right party, Les Républicains.
Party groupings | seats | |
---|---|---|
Centre et droite républicaine | 32 | |
Socialiste et républicain | 15 | |
Communiste et républicain | 5 | |
non-party | 2 | |
Current National Assembly Representatives
Culture
The western part of the département is part of the traditionally Breton-speaking "Lower Brittany" (Breizh-Izel in Breton). The boundary runs from Plouha to Mûr-de-Bretagne. The Breton language has become an intense issue in many parts of Brittany, and many Breton-speakers advocate for bilingual schools. Gallo is also spoken in the east and is offered as a language in the schools and on the baccalaureat exams.
Gallery
- Castel Meur house in Plougrescant
- Statue of Bertrand du Guesclin in Dinan
Notable people
- Anne Beaumanoir (b. 1923), one of the Righteous Among the Nations, was born in Guildo.
- English-born poet Robert William Service (1874–1958), known as the "Bard of the Yukon", is buried in Lancieux.
See also
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Côtes-d'Armor. |
- (in French) Prefecture website
- (in French) General Council website
- (in English) Cotes-d'Armor at Curlie
- (in French) Tourist board website