Roscoff

French commune
nomcommune=Roscoff
native_name=Rosko


caption=View of Roscoff from Île-de-Batz


x=23
y=73
lat_long=coord|48|43|38|N|3|59|04|W|region:FR_type:city
région=Bretagne
département=Finistère
arrondissement=Morlaix
canton=Saint-Pol-de-Léon
insee=29239
cp=29680
maire=Joseph Seité
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Pays Léonard
alt moy=6 m
alt mini=0
alt maxi=58 m
hectares=619
km²=6.19
sans=3550
date-sans=1999
dens=574
date-dens=1999

Roscoff (Breton: "Rosko") is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.

The nearby Île-de-Batz, called "Enez Vaz" in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour.

After lobbying by local economic leaders headed by Alexis Gourvennec, the French Government agreed in 1968 to provide a deep water port at Roscoff. Existing ferry operators were reluctant to take on the relatively long Plymouth/Roscoff crossing, so Gourvennec and colleagues founded Brittany Ferries.

Since the early 1970s, Roscoff has been developed as a ferry port for the transport of Breton agricultural produce, and for car-based tourism. Brittany Ferries' links with the United Kingdom and Ireland provide a boost to the local economy. In the late 1990s people from the South West (of England) began to travel to Roscoff from Plymouth in order to stay for one or two days and import French wines at much cheaper prices than in England.

Roscoff is also a traditional departure point for Onion Johnnies.

Monuments

* Notre-Dame de Croaz Batz (church)
* The house known as "that of Mary, Queen of Scots"
* The aquarium and the Station biologique de Roscoff, a research laboratory in oceanography and marine biology.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Roscoff are called "Roscovites".

As of the census of 1999, the town has a population of formatnum:3,550.

Historic events

* In 1375, the harbour was destroyed by the Earl of Arundel. It would later be rebuilt at its current location, at Kroas Batz.
* From 1522 to 1545–1550, construction the Church of Our Lady of Kroas Batz (see "Monuments" above).
* In 1548, the six-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, having been betrothed to the Dauphin François, disembarks at Roscoff.
* In 1790, Roscoff was raised to independent commune. Until this time, the town had effectively depended on Saint-Pol-de-Léon.

Twin towns

Roscoff is twinned with the small North Devon (England) town of Great Torrington.

External links

* [http://www.roscoff.fr/ The commune's website]
* [http://www.roscoff-tourisme.com/ Tourism office]
* [http://www.roscoff-quotidien.eu/menudyn.html Daily life in Roscoff]
* [http://www.jardinexotiqueroscoff.com/ Jardin exotique de Roscoff (Roscoff exotic garden)] fr icon
* [http://www4.culture.fr/patrimoines/patrimoine_architectural_et_mobilier/sribzh/main.xsp?execute=parsed_query&query=com:|Roscoff|&tri=region&tri=dpt&tri=com&tri=adrstri&tri=lieu&tri=edif&tri=tico Cultural Heritage] fr icon
* [http://www.aquacamp.fr The Perharidy point diving centre's official website]
* [http://beaulien-peinture.chez.tiscali.fr/ Bernard Beaulien Painter] fr icon
* [http://trippingdiary.blogspot.com/2005/12/france-roscoff.html Tripping diary] en icon
* [http://www.sb-roscoff.fr Station Biologique de Roscoff] en icon, fr icon
* [http://www.brittanyferries.com/ Brittany Ferries] en icon, fr icon, de icon, es icon