Lesneven

Lesneven
The church of Saint-Michel, in Lesneven The church of Saint-Michel, in Lesneven
Coat of arms of Lesneven Coat of arms
Lesneven
Location within Brittany region Lesneven
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Finistère
Arrondissement	Brest
Canton	Lesneven
Intercommunality	Pays de Lesneven et de la Côte des Légendes
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Claudie Balcon
Area1	10.27 km2 (3.97 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	6,794
• Density	660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	29124 / 29260
Elevation	14–79 m (46–259 ft)
Website	http://www.lesneven.bzh
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Lesneven (Breton: Lesneven) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.

It lies 24 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of Brest, about 12 km (7 miles) from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau.

History

Lesneven has its origins in the immigration from southwest Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, and the name (Les-an-Even) means "court of Even" in Common Brittonic (Llys-Ifan in Welsh) after an alleged military leader of that period. Lesneven was the castle-town controlling Léon during the Middle Ages. The castle is now gone, but many buildings of the 15th-18th centuries are still to be found in the centre. The Museum of Léon is here. The town now functions as a market and service centre for the surrounding rural district.

Population

Inhabitants of Lesneven are called of in French Lesneviens.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	3,200	—
1800	1,860	−41.9%
1806	2,178	+17.1%
1821	2,314	+6.2%
1831	2,404	+3.9%
1836	2,664	+10.8%
1841	2,832	+6.3%
1846	2,847	+0.5%
1851	2,847	+0.0%
1856	2,663	−6.5%
1861	2,662	−0.0%
1866	2,759	+3.6%
1872	2,978	+7.9%
1876	2,905	−2.5%
1881	2,950	+1.5%
1886	3,028	+2.6%
1891	3,284	+8.5%
1896	3,488	+6.2%
1901	3,496	+0.2%
1906	3,375	−3.5%
1911	3,776	+11.9%
1921	3,899	+3.3%
1926	3,969	+1.8%
1931	4,111	+3.6%
1936	4,300	+4.6%
1946	4,825	+12.2%
1954	5,181	+7.4%
1962	5,071	−2.1%
1968	5,626	+10.9%
1975	6,083	+8.1%
1982	6,145	+1.0%
1990	6,250	+1.7%
1999	6,347	+1.6%
2008	6,794	+7.0%

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg 18 July 2007.

In 2008, 19.08% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Lesneven is twinned with:

• Kežmarok, Slovakia (friendship pact)
• Carmarthen, Wales
• As Pontes de García Rodríguez, Spain.

See also

• Kernouës
• Communes of the Finistère department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Official website (French)
• Kernouës Near Lesneven, the small town of Kernouës
• French Ministry of Culture list for Lesneven (French)