QUIMPER, or Quimper-Corentin, a town of France, formerly the capital of the county of Cornouailles, and now the chief town of the department of Finistère, is situated 158 miles north-west of Nantes and 68 miles southeast of Brest on the railway between those towns. The delightful valley in which it lies is surrounded by high hills and traversed by the Steir and the Odet, which, meeting above the town, form a navigable channel for vessels of 150 tons during the rest of their journey to the sea (11 miles). With its communal population of 15,288, Quimper ranks in Finistère next to Brest and Morlaix. The only articles in which it has any considerable trade are fish and marine manures; and in 1882 the total movement of the port was 31 vessels (2976 tons) entering and 36 vessels (3352 tons) clearing. The real interest of the town lies in its old churches and its historic associations. Of the old town-walls a few portions are still preserved in the terrace of the episcopal palace and in the neighbourhood of the college. Quimper is the seat of a bishop belonging to the province of Rennes. The cathedral, dedicated to the patron ,saint St Corentin and erected between 1239 and 1515, has a fine façade, the pediment of which is crowned by an equestrian statue of King Grallon, and adorned (like several other external parts of the building) with heraldic devices cut in granite. Two lateral towers with modern spires (1854-56) and turrets reach a height of 247 feet. The total length of the building is 303 feet and its width 52, the length of the transept 118 feet and the height 66. The nave and the transept are in the style of the 15th century, and the central boss bears the arms of Anne of Brittany (1476-1514). The terminal chapel of the apse dates from the 13th century. In the side ...chapels are the tombs of several early bishops. The high altar, tabernacle, and ciborium are costly works of contemporary art. The pulpit panels represent episodes in the life of St Corentin. Of the other churches may be mentioned St Matthieu, rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century, with a fine belfry; the church of Locmaria, dating from the 11th century; and the college chapel, in the “Jesuit” style. The old seminary is now used as a poorhouse, and there is also a lunatic asylum in the town. The public library in the town-hall possesses 25,000 volumes. The museum built in 1869-70 contains archaeological collections and about 1300 paintings and drawings. In 1868 a bronze statue of Laennec the inventor of the stethoscope (born at Quimper in 1781) was erected in Place St Corentin.
Quimper, or at least its suburb Locmaria (which lies below the town on the left bank of the Odet), was occupied in the time of the Romans, and numerous traces of the ancient foundations still exist. At a later period Quimper became the capital of Cornouailles and the residence of its kings or hereditary counts. It is said to have been Grallon Meur (i.e., the Great) who brought the name of Cornouailles from Great Britain and founded the bishopric, which was first held by St Corentin about 495. Ho el, count of Cornouailles, marrying the sister and heiress of Duke Conan in 1066, united the countship with the duchy of Brittany. Quimper was surrounded by walls in the course of the 13th century. It suffered greatly in the local wars of succession. In 1344 it was savagely sacked by Charles of Blois. Monfort did not succeed in his attempt to take the town by storm on August 11, 1345, but it opened its gates to his son John IV. in 1364 after the victory at Auray. At a later period it sided with the League. Besides Laennec, already mentioned, it has given birth to Kerguélen the navigator, Fréron the critic, Hardouin the antiquary, and Count Louis de Carne. Doubtless on account of its distance from the capital, Quimper, like Carpentras and Landerneau, has undeservedly been made a frequent butt of French popular wit.
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