Lorient

Lorient is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.

History

At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis. They later built additional warehouses across the bay in 1628, at the location which became known as L'Orient (the Orient in French). Later, the French East India Company, founded in 1664 and chartered by King Louis XIV, established shipyards there, thus giving an impetus to the development of the city. In 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession, Britain launched a Raid on Lorient to destroy French shipping.

In attempts to destroy German submarine pens (U-boat bases) and their supply lines, most of this city was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II (see section below). Thus, today's Lorient reflects an architectural style of the 1950s.

Geography

Lorient is located on the south coast of Brittany on the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers Blavet and Scorff enter the Atlantic Ocean at Lorient.

Keroman Submarine Base

Lorient was the location of a German U-boat (submarine) base during World War II. Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz decided to construct the base on 28 June 1940. Between February 1941 and January 1942 three gigantic reinforced concrete structures were built on the Keroman peninsula.

Although Lorient was heavily damaged by Allied bombing raids, this naval base survived through to the end of the war. Lorient was held until May 1945 by the Nazi German army, even though this city was surrounded by the American Army, since the Germans there refused to surrender.
Presently, the former U-boat base of Keroman is open to the public, and it can be visited year-round.
After the war the base was taken over by the French Navy and was used up to 1997. The base was renamed after Jacques Stosskopf in July 1946. He had been the deputy director of naval construction at the base and gave valuable information to the Allies during the war.