Pontivy (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called Pontivyens in French. Map History A monk called Ivy built a bridge nearby over the river Blavet in the 7th century, and the town is named after him ("pont-Ivi" being the Breton for "Ivy's bridge"). From November 9, 1804, the name was changed to Napoléonville after Napoléon Bonaparte, under whom it had around 3,000 inhabitants. After his downfall, it was renamed Pontivy again, then later Bourbonville, and Napoléonville again after Napoléon III came to power. Population Economy This is a largely agricultural town. Breton language The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 8 August 2004. As part of that plan, all road signs in the town centre are bilingual. In 2008, 11.34% of the children in the town attended the bilingual schools in primary education. Sights The castle of Rohan (with its moat) (late XVe). The Notre-Dame-de-Joie basilica. [Basilica: The Saint Joseph church. [Eglise St. Joseph: Events Every year the final round of Kan ar Bobl, a Breton music competition. Twin towns The town maintains twinning links with: Tavistock, United Kingdom since 1958 Ouelessebougou, Mali since 1986 Wesseling, Germany since 1972 Napoléonville, United States since 1989 See also Communes of the Morbihan department Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer Sculptor of Pontivy war memorial References External links Official website Mayors of Morbihan Association Communes of Morbihan Subprefectures in France