Plouescat

Plouescat
Ploueskad
The sea shore near Plouescat
Location of Plouescat
Plouescat
Plouescat
Coordinates: 48°39′28″N 4°10′24″W / 48.6578°N 4.1733°W / 48.6578; -4.1733
CountryFrance
RegionBrittany
DepartmentFinistère
ArrondissementMorlaix
CantonSaint-Pol-de-Léon
IntercommunalityHaut-Léon Communauté
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Eric Le Bour[1]
Area
1
14.79 km2 (5.71 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
3,554
 • Density240.3/km2 (622.4/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
29185 /29430
Elevation0–56 m (0–184 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Plouescat (French pronunciation: [pluɛskat]; Breton: Ploueskad) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. It is a seaside resort, complete with a casino and a large camping and caravanning site, adjacent to its extensive beach of fine, powdery sand. The region is largely agricultural, specialising in artichokes, onions, cauliflowers and potatoes.

Geography

Plouescat (Ploueskad), capital of the canton, is part of the district of Morlaix. It is a town in northern Finistère (Penn-ar-Bed), located on the edge of the English Channel, in the country of Léon, on the "Côte des Sables", on the edge of the "Côte des Légendes".

It is separated from Plounévez-Lochrist (Gwinevez) by the Keralle, a small coastal river which rises in Saint-Vougay and flows into the Baie du Kernic, in Pont-Christ en Plouescat; to the east, the town borders Cléder.

The communal finage forms, at least in its western part, a peninsula limited to the north by the English Channel and by Anse du Kernite the south; its western peak lies at Porz Meur.

Population

Inhabitants of Plouescat are called in French Plouescatais.

Breton language

In 2008, 17.02% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools.[5]

Sights

In the centre of the village is Les Halles - a remarkable timber-framed market hall dating from the early 15th Century which has been classified by the French Ministry of Culture as a Monument historique since 1915.[6]

The route of a former railway line provided the foundation for a new road, called Le boulevard de l'Europe, which by-passes Plouescat on its southern side.

  • Gallic Stelae : The stelae are the work of Celtic tribes dating from the second Iron Age (between 450 BC and the beginning of the Christian era). Two types of stelae can be distinguished: low, ovoid stelae like the one from Gorré Bloué, and tall stelae, more numerous in Plouescat, which are generally columnar with 4 to 16 facets.
  • Gallo-Roman Baths : The baths at Gorré Bloué, built around the 4th century AD, are among them. The building originally measured 15 m by 13 m and had 9 rooms, each with a specific function (central open-air room, tepidarium, hot and cold rooms, boiler room, etc.).

International relations

Plouescat is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 9 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
  3. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Plouescat, EHESS (in French).
  4. ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  5. ^ (in French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue
  6. ^ Base Mérimée: IA00006409, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)