Ploermel
PLOERMEL, a town of western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Morbihan, 36 m. N.N.E. of Vannes by rail. Pop. (1906), town, 2492; commune, 5424. The Renaissance church of St Armel (16th century) is remarkable for the delicate carving of the north facade and for fine stained glass. It also possesses statues of John II. and John III., dukes of Brittany, which were transferred to the church from their tomb in an ancient Carmelite monastery founded in 1273 and destroyed by the Protestants in 1592 and again at the Revolution. The lower ecclesiastical seminary has an apartment in which the Estates of Brittany held several meetings. Remains of ramparts of the 15th century and some houses of the 16th century are also of interest. Farm-implements are manufactured, slate quarries are worked in the neighbourhood, and there is trade in cattle, wool, hemp, cloth, etc. Ploermel (Plou Armel, people of Armel) owes its name to Armel, a hermit who lived in the district in the 6th century.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
