Morbihan

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Morbihan

Department

Prefecture building of the Morbihan department, in Vannes

Coat of arms
 Location of Morbihan in France

Coordinates: 4750N 0250WCoordinates: 4750N 0250W

Country France

Region Brittany

Prefecture Vannes

Subprefectures Lorient
Pontivy

Government

President of the General Council Franois Goulard

Area1

Total 6,823 km2(2,634 sq mi)

Population (2013)

Total 737,778

Rank 31st

Density 110/km2(280/sq mi)

Time zone CET (UTC+1)

Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Department number 56

Arrondissements 3

Cantons 21

Communes 253

^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers
larger than 1 km2
 Morbihan (French pronunciation: [mbi.]; Breton: Mor-Bihan, Breton pronunciation: [morbin]) is
a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (small
sea in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline. It is noted for its Carnac
stones, which predate and are more extensive than the Stonehenge monument that is more familiar
to English speakers.

Contents
[hide]

1History
2Geography
3Art and culture
4Governance
5Tourism
6See also
7References
8External links

History[edit]
Morbihan is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4,
1790. It was created from a part of the Duchy of Brittany.

Geography[edit]
Morbihan is part of the current region of Brittany and is surrounded by the departments
of Finistre, Ctes-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Loire-Atlantique, and the Atlantic Ocean on the
southwest.
The Gulf of Morbihan has many islands: 365 according to legend, but, in reality, between 30 and 40,
depending on how they are counted. There are also many islets which are too small to be built on.
Of these islands, all but two are private: l'le-aux-Moines and l'le-d'Arz. The others are privately
owned, some by movie stars or fashion designers.
In the department of Morbihan, but outside the Gulf, there are four inhabited islands:

Belle le
Groix
Houat
Hodic
Meaban, just outside the Port du Crouesty is an ornithological reserve and it is forbidden to
alight there.
The largest towns in Morbihan are Vannes and Lorient.

Art and culture[edit]

The Breton language is an important issue, with many advocating bilingual education.
The painter Raymond Wintz (18841956) depicted locations around the Gulf of Morbihan.

Governance[edit]
As of 2014, the prfet of Morbihan is Jean-Franois Savy, previously head of the Prefectures
of Ardennes and of Hautes-Alpes.[1]

Tourism[edit]
The Carnac stones, megalithic alignments of Carnac are situated in Morbihan.
Tourism office of Auray