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Crozon (Municipality, Finistère, France)

Kraon

by Arnaud Leroy

Presentation of Crozon
Municipal flag of Crozon
Proposal of flag for the paeninsula of Crozon

See also:

Presentation of Crozon

Crozon (7,881 permanent inhabitants, 30,000 in summer; 8,032 ha) is the main municipality of the presqu'île de Crozon, a cross-shaped paeninsula in western Brittany. Western Brittany end with three points, from North to South, Léon, Crozon, and Cornouaille. Crozon is the most indented of the three points, with high sandstone cliffs separared by sandy schistosous beaches.

The village of Crozon is located in the middle of the peaninsula but the municipality territory encompasses a big proportion of the paeninsula (including the southern arm of the cross), making of Crozon the fourth largest municipality in France by its area. The municipality includes 155 villages and hamlets, 60 kms of coasts and 12 kms of beaches, the most famous of them being the cove of Morgat, located 3 km south of the village of Crozon.

Crozon (Breton, Craon, Kraon or Kraozon) was known in 1162 as Crahaudon. This name comes from the Celtic roots cravo, a stony place and dunon, a fortified place (see also Verdun, Châteaudun, Dun, Lyon [Lugdunum], Dinan, Dinard...) Therefore, the name of Crozon has nothing to do with a cross (Breton, Kroazh), as it could have been expected from the shape of the paeninsula.
The parish church of Crozon keeps a beautiful altarpiece from the XVIIth century. The altarpiece is made of 24 sculpted and painted wooden panels, relating the crucifixion of 10,000 soldiers converted to Christianism on mount Ararat under Roman Emperor Hadrian.
The great actor and theater director Louis Jouvet (1887-1951) was born in Crozon.
Every summer, the world music festival called Festival du Bout du Monde (End of the World's Festival) takes place in Crozon.

The resort of Morgat was launched in the beginning of the XXth century by Armand Peugeot, who built there hotels for the holidays of the executives of his company. Morgat is known for its beach and its marine caves, especially the Chambre du Diable (Devil's Room) and the (Altar's Cave).
A scenic coastal path (formerly a customers' path) going on the cliffs links Morgat to the cap de la Chèvre (Goat's cape), the end of the southern arm of the "cross" of Crozon, and goes further on the western side of the arm of the "cross" to the pointe de Dinan via the beach of la Palud. The château de Dinan is a huge rock linked to the mainland by a narrow natural arch.

Source: Municipal website

Ivan Sache, 1 November 2004

Municipal flag of Crozon

The municipal flag of Crozon, as photographied there by Hervé Prat, is white with the municipal coat of arms in the middle.

The municipal coat of arms of Crozon is yellow with a red border, a black lion on the yellow field and three red lozenges with a yellow border in the red border. According to the municipal website of Crozon, it is based on the seal of the county of Crozon, dated 1525.
The motto, written in Gothical black letters on a yellow scroll placed under the shield says (in Breton): Etre daou vor, which means "Between two seas". It recalls the geographical location of Crozon, the two seas being the harbour of Brest (rade de Brest) in the north and the bay of Douarnenez (baie de Douarnenez) in the south.

According to Froger and Pressensé's Armorial du Finistère, the municipal arms of Crozon were adopted in 1977. They show the lion of Léon and the mascles of the familiy of Rohan, the former owner of the Viscounty of Léon. The coat of arms shown on the municipal flag is erroneous: the lion of should be morné, that is without claws and teeth.

Ivan Sache, 1 November 2004

Proposal of flag for the paeninsula of Crozon

by Ivan Sache

A proposal of flag for the paeninsula of Crozon made by Bernard Le Brun is shown by Philippe Rault in his book on the Breton flags [rau98].

The flag is blue with a green decentered cross bordered yellow. In canton, a yellow symbol is made of an ermine spot and a voided lozenge.

The decentered cross recalls the geography of the paeninsula. The green colour stands for the Parc Naturel Régional d'Armorique, to which belongs the paeninsula. The PNR d'Armorique includes the islands of Ushant, Molène, Sein and the other uninhabited neighbouring islands, the paeninsula of Crozon and the Monts d'Arrée. The blue colour stands for the sea and the yellow colour for the beaches. The symbol represents Brittany (ermine spot) and the Rohan family (lozenges / mascles), once the local rulers.

Ivan Sache, 3 November 2004