Penmarc'h
PENMARC'H, a village of western France in the department of Finistere, 18 m. S.W. of Quimper by road. Pop. (1906), of the village, 387; of the commune, 5702. On the extremity of the peninsula on which it is situated are fortified remains of a town which was of considerable importance from the 14th to the 16th centuries and included, besides Penmarc'h, St Guenole and Kerity. It owed its prosperity to its cod-banks, the disappearance of which together with the discovery of the Newfoundland cod-banks and the pillage of the place by the bandit La Fontenelle in 1595 contributed to its decadence. The church of St Nouna, a Gothic building of the early 16th century at Penmarc'h, and the church of St Guenole, an unfinished tower of the 15th century and the church of Kerity (isth century) are of interest. The coast is very dangerous. On the Point de Penmarc 'h stands the Phare d'Eckmuhl, with a light visible for 60 miles. There are numerous megalithic monuments in the vicinity.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
