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Locmariaquer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commune of Locmariaquer Menhir in Locmariaquer |
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| Location | |
| Longitude | 02°56'39" W |
| Latitude | 47°34'12" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Bretagne |
| Department | Morbihan |
| Arrondissement | Lorient |
| Canton | Auray |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes des Trois Rivières |
| Mayor | Michel Jeannot (? - 2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 0 m–19 m (avg. 16 m) |
| Land area¹ | 1.99 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
1,367 |
| - Density (1999) | 687/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 56116/ 56740 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Locmariaquer is a village and commune of western France, on the western shore of the Gulf of Morbihan, in the département of Morbihan, 8.5 miles south of Auray by road.
Contents |
Roman remains are to be seen, but the place owes its celebrity to the megalithic monuments in the vicinity, some of which are among the largest extant.
The menhir of Men-er-Hoeck (fairy stone), generally known as le grand menhir brisé (the great broken menhir) was broken into four pieces by an earthquake in 1722. It previously measured about 22 metres (67 ft.) in height, and from 3-4 metres (9 to 13 ft.) in thickness, weighing 347 tonnes. [1]It is thought to be the heaviest object ever moved by humans without powered machinery.
Certain stones in Locmariaquer have a connection with the Carnac Stones, either by having been transported from there, or possibly forming one larger astronomical structure. This latter theory is heavily disputed, however.
Locmariaquer has a small port, and oyster culture is carried on close to it.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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