Saint-Pol-de-Léon Kastell-Paol |
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The Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral and Chapel
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Coordinates: 48°41′10″N 3°59′06″W / 48.6861°N 3.985°WCoordinates: 48°41′10″N 3°59′06″W / 48.6861°N 3.985°W | ||
Country | France | |
Region | Brittany | |
Department | Finistère | |
Arrondissement | Morlaix | |
Canton | Saint-Pol-de-Léon | |
Intercommunality | Pays Léonard | |
Government | ||
• Mayor (2014–2020) | Nicolas Floch | |
Area1 | 23.43 km2 (9.05 sq mi) | |
Population (2008)2 | 7,038 | |
• Density | 300/km2 (780/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 29259 / 29250 | |
Elevation | 0–57 m (0–187 ft) | |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Saint-Pol-de-Léon (Breton: Kastell-Paol) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast.
It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th century. It has kept a unique architecture, such as Notre-Dame du Kreisker Chapel, an 80 m high chapel, which is the highest in Brittany. It was also the scene of a battle during the Breton War of Succession, where the Montfortists and their English allies defeated an army led by Charles of Blois.
It is the largest vegetable producer and farmers market in Brittany responsible for 90% of French artichoke production and exports tens of thousands of vegetables to the whole of Europe every year.
Inhabitants of Saint-Pol-de-Léon are called Saintpolitains.
The city takes its present name of one of the legendary founder saints of Brittany : Saint Paul Aurelian. The Latin name given to the entire region is now the Leon ("Pays Léonard"). It was long the seat of a bishop, now merged into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Quimper. The city later became a sort of religious capital.