Île-Molène
Île-Molène Molenez |
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region | Brittany | |
Department | Finistère | |
Arrondissement | Brest | |
Canton | Saint-Renan | |
Community association | Pays d'Iroise | |
Coordinates | 48 ° 24 ′ N , 4 ° 57 ′ W | |
height | 0-26 m | |
surface | 0.75 km 2 | |
Residents | 141 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 188 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 29259 | |
INSEE code | 29084 | |
Website | http://www.molene.fr/ | |
View of Île Molène |
Île-Molène ( Breton: Molenez; French île de Molène ) is a French commune with 141 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Finistère department in the Arrondissement of Brest . The municipality consists of the small island of Molène and a few small neighboring islands off the Breton coast in the Atlantic , in the sea area of the Iroise . The municipality of Île-Molène joined the Pays d'Iroise municipal association in 1994 .
geography
The island is located off the west coast of Brittany about 35 kilometers west of the city of Brest . The much larger island of Ouessant is located a good eight kilometers to the northwest.
Like practically all Breton islands, Molène is made of granite and reaches a height of 26 meters. The island has an oval shape with a length of almost 1000 meters and a maximum width of 850 meters. The area is 75 hectares . Large parts of the island are now built with the houses of the only island town.
The sea area around the island with its numerous smaller and uninhabited neighboring islands and around Ouessant has been a sea biosphere reserve designated by UNESCO since 1988 .
prehistory
Paul Du Châtellier (1833–1911) recorded a dense population of chamber tombs on the islands of the archipelago, including the Ledenez Vian Kemenez dolmen .
population
The population on Molène is decreasing. While 596 people lived on the island in 1962, there were 330 in 1982 and 211 in 2009.
1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2017 |
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596 | 527 | 397 | 330 | 277 | 264 | 217 | 141 |
economy
Agriculture no longer plays a role on the small island; numerous inhabitants live from fishing, seafaring or work on the mainland. Tourism is becoming more and more important.
traffic
The island is regularly approached by ferries that run between Brest or the ferry port Le Conquet on the mainland and the island of Ouessant.
Culinary specialties
A culinary specialty on the island is a sausage that is smoked over seaweed .
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes du Finistère. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 1998, ISBN 2-84234-039-6 , pp. 1428-1430.
Individual evidence
- ^ Official website of the Pays d'Iroise (French) Retrieved November 22, 2009