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Ushant (Municipality, Finistère, France)

Ouessant

by Ivan Sache

Presentation of the municipality
Description of the flag

See also:

Presentation of the municipality

The small island of Ushant (ca. 15 sq. km, maximum dimensions 7 x 4 km, maximum elevation 60 m a.s.l.) is the westernmost part of metropolitan (European) France. The island is served by the ships of the Penn-ar-Bed company (1 hr of sailing from Brest or Le Conquet). There is also a small airport on the island, served from Brest-Guipavas airport.

Ushant (capital city, Lampaul) constitutes a municipality of the departement of Finistère. Its 1,300 inhabitants lived in the past mostly from sheep breeding and vegetable cultivation. Most of them are now working in continental Brittany or at sea as fishers or sailors.

Ushant was incorporated to the Parc naturel régional d'Armorique in 1969 in order to protect its natural resources and traditional habitat. The waters around the island are among the most dangerous in Europe due to the conjonction of cliffs, storms and high traffic, and several shipwrecks occurred there.

Ivan Sache, 10 June 2000

Description of the flag

The flag of Ushant is the banner of arms of the Heusaff family, the former lords of the island. The flag is quartered red in the first and fourth quarters, and the second and third quarters are an horizontally divided yellow-black-yellow triband.

Source: P. Rault. Les drapeaux bretons de 1188 a nos jours [rau98]

Ivan Sache, 10 June 2000