Iroise

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 48 ° 15 ′ 31 ″  N , 5 ° 3 ′ 13 ″  W.

Relief Map: France
marker
Iroise
Magnify-clip.png
France
Location of the Iroise in the west of the Finistère department

The Iroise [ iˈʀwaz ], also Iroise Sea (French: Mer d'Iroise ) or today seldom Iroise Passage or Iroise Transit (French: Passage de l'Iroise), is a French sea area off the Atlantic coast of Brittany around Brest . It stretches from Sein Island in the south to Ouessant Island in the north, where it borders the exit of the English Channel .

After the area, a union of 20 Breton municipalities was named in 1992 to form the community association ( Communauté de communes du Pays d'Iroise ).

origin of the name

The origin of the name of the Iroise is unknown, but it is still relatively young. On a map of the English Channel from 1692, which according to the inscription was drawn for the French Navy, the area between the Chaussée de Sein in the west of the Sein Island and the Pierres Noirs (French: black stones; shoals in the south of the islands around the Molène Island, in front of the Pointe Saint-Mathieu headland ) known as Passage de l'Iroise . In 1705 a passage de Lyroise (in French synonymous with passage de l'iroise ) was named on a nautical map of the General Government of Brittany ; In 1770 a map of the Breton coasts indicated a passage de l'Iroise . The appearance of the name coincides with the time when the royal military was stationed in Brest: in 1631 Cardinal Richelieu made Brest a military port , which was expanded into a fortress by Vauban in 1683 . The temporal correspondence suggests a military name. In the years that followed, the Iroise was mostly referred to as a passage or simply as an Iroise without an addition . The word also spread beyond French, for example the expression Passage d'Iroise is also used in the English language for the sea area in 1841 . The name mer d'Iroise appeared late and especially in scientific publications and in the 1970s when exploring oil deposits; today, however, it is also used in everyday language.

There are three theories about the original meaning of the name Iroise : Jourdan de la Passardière explained the word in 1878 as the feminine form of irois (French: Irish); the theory suggests, however, that the passage between Ouessant and Sein would have been used by Irish seafarers, who played no particular meaning when the name was created. In 1999, the scientist Bernard Tanguy ( Center national de la recherche scientifique , Center de Recherche Bretonne et Celtique at the University of Brest) proposed a derivation from Breton hir (long) and gwaz (brook) via hirwaz - in the sense of a passage or natural waterway . However, the Breton term is used very rarely even by Breton speakers for the Iroise, and the original spread of the word Iroise seems to concentrate on the mainland around and especially in Brest. Finally, a third explanation leads Iroise back to the old French word ire (anger), from which Iroise would mean “the angry”; this theory is very popular in the Iroise area, but has few supporters among linguists .

Navigation in the Iroise

Deep sea tug Abeille Bourbon on standby

The area is characterized by strong tidal currents and several cliff-rich sections. In the south, between the Cape Pointe du Raz and the Sein Island, lies the notorious Raz de Sein passage ; In the west of the Sein Island is the Chaussée de Sein , an area rich in cliffs. In the northern Iroise, between Ouessant and the mainland, several, mostly uninhabited islands extend around the Molène island. The Chenal du Four waterway runs between the Molène and the mainland, and the Fromveur passage between Molène and Ouessant ; In the Passage de Fromveur the tidal currents reach almost seven knots (approx. 13 km / h) at spring tides , in some places even up to eight and nine knots. However, larger ships are no longer permitted in the two waterways and have to take a route around Ouessant.

Due to the partly narrow waterways, the many cliffs and the tidal currents, there are many, partly relatively well-known lighthouses and other sea marks in the Iroise . These include La Vieille and Ar Men to the south and the Jument lighthouse and Le Four to the north . In addition, an 80-meter-long deep-sea tug (formerly the Abeille Flandre , since 2005 the Abeille Bourbon ) is on standby on the Iroise in order to tow damaged ships free in emergencies before they get stranded on rocks. In bad weather, the tugboat, which is otherwise stationed in Brest, anchors in the Stiff Bay of Ouessant in order to save the hours it would take to leave the Bay of Brest in an emergency. Smaller ships belonging to the French Sea Rescue Society ( Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer, or SNSM for short ) are also moored in all ports .

use

The Iroise is still used today as an important waterway, especially for the approach to Brest in the east of the sea area. In addition, it serves as a fishing ground and in part, especially around the Molène island, as a cultivation area for algae, which are used for the chemical and food industries ( gelling agents ). The lake area is also used for tourism, especially for water sports and, near the beaches, for swimming.

ecology

Due to the strong currents, the water of the Iroise is very rich in oxygen and therefore allows a great variety of flora and fauna . The sea bass is particularly native to the Iroise, as well as two schools of dolphins , one of which is mostly around the Molène island, the other around Sein. There are also around sixty dog seals around Molène ; the island forms the southernmost habitat of the animal species.

In 1988 the Iroise was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO . In 2007 the Iroise Marine Nature Park was founded, which extends from Ouessant to the Sein Island and in the east to the Bay of Douarnenez - an area totaling 3,500 km².

The islands are now part of the Armorique Regional Nature Park .

Individual evidence

  1. Map of the English Channel from 1692 in the Collections Online of the British National Maritime Museum ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed April 14, 2007) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nmm.ac.uk
  2. a b c L'origine du nom , on the Mer d'Iroise website . Mission pour un parc marin of the French government ( Memento of the original dated November 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (French; accessed April 5, 2007)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.parc-marin-iroise.gouv.fr
  3. and as night was fast closing in, and the wind becoming variable, the Admiral determined not to attempt the narrow and dangerous passage he had fixed on, but to steer for the open entrance in front of the harbor, the Passage d'Iroise. Edward Osler (1841; revised new edition 1854). The Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth. Electronic copy of March 5, 2006 on the Gutenberg project (accessed April 22, 2007)
  4. Agence des aires marines protégées: Parc naturel marin d'Iroise. Retrieved October 19, 2015 (French, Official Marine Park website).

Web links