1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Penmarc'h

PENMARC’H, a village of western France in the department of Finistère, 18 m. S.W. of Quimper by road. Pop. (1906), of the village, 387; of the commune, 5702. On the extremity of the peninsula on which it is situated are fortified remains of a town which was of considerable importance from the 14th to the 16th centuries and included, besides Penmarc’h, St Guénolé and Kerity. It owed its prosperity to its cod-banks, the disappearance of which together with the discovery of the Newfoundland cod-banks and the pillage of the place by the bandit La Fontenelle in 1595 contributed to its decadence. The church of St Nouna, a Gothic building of the early 16th century at Penmarc’h, and the church of St Guénolé, an unfinished tower of the 15th century and the church of Kerity (15th century) are of interest. The coast is very dangerous. On the Point de Penmarc’h stands the Phare d'Eckmuhl, with a light visible for 60 miles. There are numerous megalithic monuments in the vicinity.