LORIENT, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Morbihan, and of one of the five maritime prefectures of France, a military port and fortified place, stands on the right bank of the Scorff, at its confluence with the Blavet, in 47° 45' N. lat. and 3° 31' W. long., on the railway line from Nantes to Brest, at a distance of 117 miles from the former and 111 from the latter. The town, which is modern and regularly built, contains no buildings of special architectural or antiquarian interest; it derives all its importance from its naval establishments lining the right bank of the river, which include sail-making works, cooperages, and shops for all kinds of ship carpentry. The rope-work forms a parallelogram more than 1000 feet in length by 100 broad. The foundries, fitting shops, and smiths’ shops are on an equally extensive scale, the forges numbering eighty-four. Of the graving docks the largest is 509 feet in length, about 98 in breadth, and more than 26 feet in depth below low-water mark. The Prée, an area of 40 acres reclaimed from the sea, contains boatbuilding yards, steam saw-mills, and wood stores; a floating bridge 900 feet long connects it with the shipbuilding establishments of Caudan, which occupy the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Scorff and the Blavet. Apart from its naval constructions, in which Lorient holds the first rank in France, it has an important place in the manufacture of marine artillery. Private industry is also engaged in engine making. The trade in fresh fish and sardines within the arrondissement reaches an annual value of 35 millions of francs. South from the town, also on the Scorff, is the harbour, which comprises a dry dock and a wet dock, measuring about 1650 feet by 200. The roadstead, formed by the estuary of ...the Blavet, is accessible to vessels of the largest size; the entrance, 3 or 4 miles south from Lorient, which is defended by numerous forts, is marked on the east by the peninsula of Gâvre (an artillery practising ground) and the fortified town of Port Louis; on the west are the fort of Loqueltas, and, higher up, the battery of Kernevel. In the middle of the channel is the granite rock of St Michel, occupied by a powder magazine. Opposite it, on the right bank of the Blavet, is the mouth of the river Ter, with fish and oyster breeding establishments, from which 10 millions of oysters are annually obtained. Above Lorient on the Scorff, here spanned by a suspension bridge, is Kerantrech, a pretty village surrounded by numerous country houses. The population of Lorient in 1876 was 35,165, including C360 of the military and official class.
Lorient has taken the place of Bort Louis as the port of the Blavet. The latter stands on the site of an ancient hamlet which was fortified during the wars of the League and handed over by Mcrcceur to the Spaniards. After the treaty of Vervins it was restored to France, and it received its name of Port Louis under Richelieu. Some Breton merchants trading with the Indies had established themselves first at Port Louis, but in 1628 they built their warehouses on the other bank. The Compagnie des Indes, created in 1664, took possession of these, giving them the name of Lorient. In 1745 the company, then at the acme of its prosperity, owned thirty-five ships of the largest class and many others of considerable size. The failure of the attempt of the English under Lestock against Lorient is still commemorated by the inhabitants by an annual procession on the first Sunday of October. The decadence of the company dates from 1753. In 1782 the town was acquired by purchase by Louis XVI., on the bankruptcy of its former owners, the Rohan-Guéméné family.
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