Pointe you Raz
The Pointe du Raz (Bret. Beg ar Raz ) is a rocky cape that forms the end of Cap Sizun and is located in the west of the commune of Plogoff in the Finistère department in Brittany . The jagged cliff, which juts out into the sea with a height difference of 72 meters, is one of the most characteristic pointes of the Breton coast. It is a tourist attraction of great international fame. The over-frequenting by tourists has required strict environmental protection measures in order to restore the vegetation, which mainly consists of heather.
These measures were completed in 1996-2000 as part of a program funded by the state and some companies to make the site a Grand site de France .
Eight kilometers to the west is the Île de Sein , which is separated from the Pointe du Raz by a strait crossed by powerful currents, the Raz de Sein (the word raz in Breton means a particularly violent ocean current). Two lighthouses, now uninhabited, are on two islets: the Phare de la Vieille and the Phare de Tévennec . A statue of the Notre-Dame des naufragés (Mother of God of the castaways) and a signal are at the end of the plateau.
There are numerous legends surrounding the Pointe du Raz area. The Hell of Plogoff , a tunnel that has been dug by the sea in the Cape is said to be the place the drowned returned to whose groans can be heard.
A tourist center and car park have been built some distance away and are connected to the Pointe by a shuttle bus.
The European long-distance path E5 connects the Pointe du Raz with Venice for over 3050 km . The GR 34, which runs along all the Breton coasts from Mont-Saint-Michel to Lorient , also passes the Pointe.
Pointe du Raz - view of offshore islands and lighthouse
Surf at the Pointe du Raz
Origin of name
In Breton, the term raz describes a rapid ocean current. It is originally a Viking word that came to France during the Normandy invasion. It has the same origin as the German word rasen .
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 2 ′ 25.4 " N , 4 ° 44 ′ 26.8" W.