Cancale
Encyclopedia
Cancale is a commune
in the Ille-et-Vilaine
department in Brittany in north-western France
. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan
.
At the 1999 census
, its population was 5,203. In 2006, the population was 5,285.
. It is a picturesque fishing village popular with visitors, many of whom are drawn by its reputation as the "oyster
capital" of Brittany. Though a small town, it is well served by a large number of restaurants, many specialising in seafood. When not eating one can sit and watch the bustle of this busy little town with many stalls selling crustaceans of all types.
There is a pleasant coastal path which permits a circular walk from the town to the Pointe du Grouin
with views across the bay towards Mont Saint Michel.
Eugène Feyen painted Cancale and the inhabitants with the oyster-picking Cancalaises for several decades around 1865–1908. Vincent van Gogh wrote that "Eugène Feyen is one of the few painters who pictures intimate modern life as it is really, and does not turn it into fashion plates".
had his oyster
s brought to Versailles
from Cancale. Centuries later, the farming of oysters is still a major activity in the port and there are oyster beds covering about 7.3 square kilometres easily seen from the pier at the harbour. These beds harvest about 25,000 tons of oysters each year.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country.- History :Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in Brittany in north-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan
Jeanne Jugan
Saint Jeanne Jugan , also known as Sister Mary of the Cross was born in Cancale in Brittany, France, the sixth of the eight children of Joseph and Marie Jugan. Her father died when she was very young and her mother raised this large family alone. When Jeanne was 16, she took a job as the kitchen...
.
Demographics
Inhabitants of Cancale are called Cancalais.At the 1999 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, its population was 5,203. In 2006, the population was 5,285.
Tourism
Cancale lies along the coast to the east of Saint-MaloSaint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
. It is a picturesque fishing village popular with visitors, many of whom are drawn by its reputation as the "oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
capital" of Brittany. Though a small town, it is well served by a large number of restaurants, many specialising in seafood. When not eating one can sit and watch the bustle of this busy little town with many stalls selling crustaceans of all types.
There is a pleasant coastal path which permits a circular walk from the town to the Pointe du Grouin
Pointe du Grouin
The rocky finger of the Pointe du Grouin points out and protects the entrance into the bay of Mont Saint Michel.On this headland, a Grande Randonnée runs around hugging the cliff face and there is a circular walk starting out from Cancale....
with views across the bay towards Mont Saint Michel.
Eugène Feyen painted Cancale and the inhabitants with the oyster-picking Cancalaises for several decades around 1865–1908. Vincent van Gogh wrote that "Eugène Feyen is one of the few painters who pictures intimate modern life as it is really, and does not turn it into fashion plates".
Oysters
History has it that Louis XIVLouis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
had his oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s brought to Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
from Cancale. Centuries later, the farming of oysters is still a major activity in the port and there are oyster beds covering about 7.3 square kilometres easily seen from the pier at the harbour. These beds harvest about 25,000 tons of oysters each year.
See also
- Communes of the Ille-et-Vilaine department
- Auguste Feyen-Perrin
- Jacques-Eugène FeyenJacques-Eugene FeyenJacques-Eugène Feyen was a French painter.-Career:The elder brother of painter Auguste Feyen-Perrin, Jacques-Eugène enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and studied under Paul Delaroche...
External links
- Official website
- Cancale Information and images
- Cultural Heritage