In 1664,Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded theFrench East Indies Company.[3] In June 1666, anordinance ofLouis XIV granted lands ofPort-Louis to the company, along with Faouédic on the other side of theroadstead. One of its directors, Denis Langlois, bought lands at the confluence of theScorff and theBlavet rivers, and builtslipways. At first, it only served as a subsidiary of Port-Louis, where offices and warehouses were located.[4] The following years, the operation was almost abandoned, but in 1675, during theFranco-Dutch War, theFrench East Indies Company scrapped its base inLe Havre since it was too exposed during wartime, and transferred its infrastructures to l'Enclot, out of which Lorient grew. The company then erected a chapel, workshops, forges, and offices, leaving Port-Louis permanently.[5]
The city's name is derived fromLe Soleil d'Orient, the first ship constructed at the site, in 1669. Workers gave the site the name of the ship, which, by contraction, became simplyL'Orient and finallyLorient.[6]
TheFrench Royal Navy opened a base there in 1690, under the command ofColbert de Seignelay, who inheritedhis father's position asSecretary of State of the Navy. At the same time,privateers fromSaint-Malo took shelter there.[5] In 1700, the town grew out of l'Enclot following a law forcing people to leave the domain to move to the Faouédic heath. In 1702, there were about 6,000 inhabitants in Lorient, though activities slowed, and the town began to decline.[7]
The town experienced a period of growth whenJohn Law formed thePerpetual Company of the Indies by absorbing otherchartered companies (including theFrench East India Company), and chose Lorient as its operations base. Despite theeconomic bubble caused by the Company in 1720, the city was still growing[8] as it took part in theAtlantic triangular slave trade. From 1720 to 1790, 156 ships deported an estimated 43,000 slaves.[9] In 1732, the Company decided to transfer its sales headquarters fromNantes to Lorient, and asked architectJacques Gabriel to raise new buildings out ofdimension stones to host these new activities, and to embellish the L'Enclos domain.[8] Sales began in 1734, peaking up to 25 millionlivres tournois.[10] In 1769, the Company's monopoly ended with the scrapping of the company itself, under the influence of thephysiocrats.[11]
Until the Company's closure, the city took advantage of its prosperity. In 1738, there were 14,000 inhabitants, or 20,000 considering the outlying villages of Kerentrech, Merville, La Perrière, Calvin, and Keryado, which are now neighbourhoods within the present-day city limits. In 1735, new streets were laid out and in 1738, it was granted city status. Further work was undertaken as the streets began to be paved, wharves and slipways were built along the Faouédic river, andthatched houses were replaced with stone buildings following 18th-century classical architecture style as it was the case for l'Enclos.[10] In 1744, the city walls were erected, and proved quickly useful asLorient was raided in September 1746.[12] Following the demise of the Company, the city lost one-seventh of its population.[13]
The Harbor at Lorient, 1869 painting byBerthe Morisot.Cours de la Bôve (1907)
Maritime activities slowed at the start of the 19th century. Activity at the shipyards and naval base reached a low that would last until theJuly Monarchy. During this period, the city was more of an administrative center.[15] The firstsecondary school opened in 1822, alazaretto in 1823, andbarracks in 1839.[16]
The city began to modernize in the second quarter of the century; in 1825, a roofed slipway and adrydock were added to the shipyards.[15] Asardinecannery[17] opened the same year. The firstgasworks was built in 1845.[18]
In the second half of the 19th century, thesteam engine allowed the ports to strengthen their output.[16] The firstlocomotive reached the city in 1865.[17] In 1861, the originaldrydock was enlarged as a second one was dug out. The same year, theironcladCouronne was built on a design directly inspired by theGloireclass, though unlike her wooden-hull predecessors, she was entirely made of iron. She was followed in 1876 by the ironcladRedoutable, the first ship in the world with a steel structure.
In 1943–1944, Lorient was nearly razed to the ground by Alliedbombing, which failed to destroy the submarine pens despite 4,000 tons of bombs dropped.[19] According to the bookSteel Boats, Iron Hearts (by formerU-505 crewmanHans Goebeler), after the Allies failed to damage the U-boat bunkers the bombing shifted to the city itself to deny the Germans workers and other resources. Before the bombings, thousands of leaflets were dropped on the population instructing the inhabitants to evacuate.[20] Between 14 January 1943 and 17 February 1943, as many as 500 high-explosiveaerial bombs and more than 60,000incendiary bombs were dropped on Lorient.
In April 1945, the Reconstruction Ministry advocated the use of temporary wooden shacks. These shelters were shipped as a kit to be built on site. In 1948, there were 28 settlements under the city's authority, and 20 more in theurban area, distributed among the neighboring towns ofPloemeur,Lanester,Hennebont andQuéven. Each of these neighbourhoods could hold up to 280 houses. A newHôtel de Ville (city hall) was completed in 1960.[21]
This temporary housing would stand from 10 to 40 years depending on the location. The last shack in the largest settlement, Soye, was torn down in 1991. Today, only a few buildings dating to the 18th century still stand.
Lorient is located on the south coast ofBrittany, where the riversScorff andBlavet join to form theroadstead of Lorient, before discharging into theAtlantic Ocean. The river Ter used to flow into theestuary to the south of the city, however, adam was constructed in 1967, stopping the flow. The city is 503 kilometres (313 mi) south-west ofParis, 153 kilometres (95 mi) south-west ofRennes and 158 kilometres (98 mi) north-west ofNantes.
Under theKöppen climate classification, Lorient experiences anoceanic climate (Cfb), with mild winters and cool to warm summers. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. Frost is rare in winter, as are days over 30 °C (86 °F) during summer.
Climate data for Lorient (Lann-Bihoué Airport) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1952–present
The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Lorient proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Lorient absorbed the former commune of Keryado in 1947.[27]
Lorient is commonly referred to asLa ville aux cinq ports ("the city of five ports"): military, fishing, commercial, passengers and yachting.[29] In 2010, the sector represented 9,600 direct jobs for a total 12,000 jobs (with indirect jobs accounted for), or 12% of local employment.[30]
Keroman fishing port (fr): In 2010, with a catch of 27,000 tons, it was second only toBoulogne-sur-Mer regarding catch tonnage among French fishing ports, but first considering the cash value.[31] It accounts for 3,000 jobs (including 700 fishermen) and 130 fishing vessels.
Kergroise cargo port : With 2.6 million tons of cargo per year (including oil, cattle fodder, sand, containers), it ranks first in Brittany.[32]
Marinas : mooring berths are situated on Lorient (370), Kernevel (1,000),Port-Louis (450),Gâvres (57) andGuidel (102).[33] Additionally, there is an 800 metres (2,600 ft) long dock dedicated to offshore competitive sailing (Pôle course au large), recently built within theformer submarine base.
Passenger ships : each year, more 457,500 passengers set sail to the nearby islands ofGroix andBelle-Île-en-Mer.
From its founding,shipbuilding has always been of great importance to the city.DCNS continues the legacy of the formerly state-ownedshipyards (colloquially known asl'Arsenal) that began operation in 1690. It still builds warships, mainlyfrigates. There is also a substantial industrial base in Keroman to support the fishing fleet.
Lorient South Brittany Airport is situated just west of the city at Lann Bihoue. It operates charter flights and regular flights to Toulouse. It used to operate direct flights toParis andLyon all year long and other city such as London and Porto in the Summer.
TheGare de Lorient is the railway station, offering connections to Quimper, Nantes, Rennes, Paris (less than three hours by TGV) and several regional destinations.
Lorient was the location of an extensivesubmarine base, built bythe Germans inWorld War II and used subsequently by theFrench Navy.Head of the U-Boat ArmKarl Dönitz decided to construct the base on 28 June 1940. Between November 1940 and January 1942 a number of gigantic reinforced concrete structures were built. including three on the Keroman peninsula. They are called K1, K2 and K3. In 1944 work began on a fourth structure. The base was capable of sheltering thirty submarines. Lorient was damaged by Allied bombing raids but the naval base survived the war.
Following the German surrender the base was used by the French Navy, named forJacques Stosskopf, a hero of theFrench Resistance who had worked there. The base was decommissioned in 1995 and turned over to civilian use. It is now a museum.
Catholic churches are among the main religious landmarks of Lorient. While theChurch of Our Lady of the Assumption was built in 1850 in a revivalist neo-Gothic style, the church of Saint Joan of Arc was built in a neo-Roman style in the 1930s by French architectJean Desbois and a few years later in 1955, and the modernist church ofNotre-Dame-de-Victoire is the highest point of Lorient with its 4-meter-high concrete bell tower though the population never really accepted this new style.[39] Major Catholic festivals such as Christmas, Carnaval, Easter and thePardon are celebrated as major feasts of the city.
Jacques Stosskopf (1898–1944), naval engineer,résistant. Mistaken for being a traitor, in 1946 the submarine base was renamed "Base Ingénieur Général Stosskopf" in his honour.
^Chaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1):66–87.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^Chaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 67.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 68.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^Chaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 69.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 70.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 71.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 73.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^Chaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 72.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 74.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^Chaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 75.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 76.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 77.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 80.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
^abChaumeil, Louis (1939). "Abrégé d'histoire de Lorient de la fondation (1666) à nos jours (1939)".Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest (in French).46 (1): 79.doi:10.3406/abpo.1939.1788.
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