Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère département of Brittany in northwestern France. Roscoff is renowned for its picturesque architecture, labelled "petite cité de caractère de Bretagne" since 2009. Roscoff is also a traditional departure point for Onion Johnnies. After lobbying by local economic leaders headed by Alexis Gourvennec, the French government agreed in 1968 to provide a deep-water port at Roscoff. Existing ferry operators were reluctant to take on the relatively long Plymouth/Roscoff crossing, so Gourvennec and colleagues founded Brittany Ferries. Since the early 1970s, Roscoff has been developed as a ferry port for the transport of Bretonagricultural produce, and for motor tourism. Brittany Ferries and Irish Ferries link Roscoff with both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Due to the richness of iodine in the surrounding waters and the mild climate maintained by a sea current that only varies between, Roscoff is also a centre of post-cure which gave rise to the concept of thalassotherapy in the latter half of the 19th century. A French doctor, Louis-Eugène Bagot, opened the Institut marin in Roscoff in 1899, the first centre for thalassotherapy in Europe. Since then many important centres of thalassotherapy such as the Institut de Rockroum, the clinic Kerléna, and a heliomarin hospital founded in 1900, the Perharidy Centre, can be found on the edges of the sea at Roscoff. The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour.
Sights
Roscoff parish churchOur Lady ofCroaz Batz : Renaissance and Gothic church from the 16th century
Inhabitants of Roscoff are called in French Roscovites.
Breton language
The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 14 November 2008. In 2008, 18.44% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools.
Ferries
operate ferry services from Roscoff to Plymouth daily from February to November with occasional Christmas sailings, to Cork twice a week from March to November and to Rosslare Europortonce a week from May to October. Irish Ferries used to operate a ferry service from Roscoff to Rosslare from May to September but now sail to Cherbourg instead.
Historic events
In 1375, the harbour was destroyed by English forces under the Earl of Arundel. It would later be rebuilt at its current location, at Kroas Batz.
From 1522 to 1545–1550, the construction the Church of Our Lady of Kroas Batz.
In 1548, the six-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, having been betrothed to the Dauphin François, disembarked at Roscoff en route from Scotland.
