Lesneven

French commune
nomcommune=Lesneven
native_name=Lesneven


x=17
y=77
lat_long=coord|48|34|20|N|4|18|53|W|region:FR_type:city
insee=29124
cp=29260
région=Bretagne
département=Finistère
arrondissement=Brest
canton=Lesneven
maire=Jean-Yves Le Goff
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Pays de Lesneven et de la Côte des Légendes
alt mini=14
alt maxi=79 m
km²=10.27
sans=6348
date-sans=1999
dens=618
date-dens=1999|

Lesneven ( _br. Lesneven) is a commune in Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.

It lies 24 km northeast of Brest, about 12 km from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau.

History

Lesneven has its origins in the immigration from south-west England in the 5th and 6th centuries, and the name (Les-an-Even) means "court of Even" (or "Llys-Ifan" in Welsh) after an alleged military leader of that period [ [http://lesneven.cotedeslegendes.fr/ Cotes des Legendes] ] . Lesneven was the castle-town controlling Léon during the middle ages. The castle is now gone, but many buildings of the 15th-18th centuries are still to be found in the centre. The Museum of Léon is here. The town now functions as a market and service centre for the surrounding rural district.

Twin towns

Lesneven is twinned with the towns of Carmarthen in Wales and As Pontes in Galicia, Spain.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Lesneven are called "Lesneviens".

ee also

*Kernouës
*Communes of the Finistère department

References

External links

* [http://www.ville-lesneven.fr/ Lesneven Website] fr icon
* Kernouës Near Lesneven, the small town of Kernouës
* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/merimee_fr?ACTION=CHERCHER&FIELD_98=INSEE&VALUE_98=29124 French Ministry of Culture list for Lesneven] fr icon