Dinan

Dinan
Subprefecture and commune
Château de Dinan
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Dinan
Dinan Show map of France Dinan Show map of Brittany
Coordinates: 48°27′23″N 2°02′56″W / 48.4564°N 2.0489°W / 48.4564; -2.0489
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Côtes-d'Armor
Arrondissement	Dinan
Canton	Dinan
Intercommunality	Dinan Agglomération
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Didier Lechien^[1]
Area ¹	8.71 km² (3.36 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2020)^[2]	14,682
• Density	1,700/km² (4,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	22050 /22100
Elevation	7–92 m (23–302 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Dinan (French pronunciation: [dinɑ̃] ^ⓘ; Breton: [ˈdinãn]) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan.^[3]

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/5
Views:
19 523
6 772
18 712
6 361
10 304

Transcription

Geography

Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most urban development has been on the hillside overlooking the river Rance. The area alongside the river is known as the "port of Dinan", and is connected to the town by steep streets: Rue Jerzual and its continuation outside the city walls, the Rue Petit Fort. The Rance has moderate turbidity and its brownish water is somewhat low in velocity due to the very low gradient of the watercourse; pH levels have been measured at a slightly basic 8.13^[4] within the city, and electrical conductivity of the waters has tested at 33 micro-siemens per centimetre. In the centre of Dinan, the Rance's summer flows are typically low, in the range of 500 cubic feet per second (14 m³/s).

For many years, the bridge over the river Rance at Dinan was the most northerly crossing point on the river, but the tidal power station at the mouth of the estuary, constructed in the 1960s downstream from Dinan, incorporates a 750-metre long tidal barrage, which also serves as a crossing point nearer to the sea.

Dinan station has rail connections to Saint-Brieuc, Lamballe and Dol-de-Bretagne.

Population

Inhabitants of Dinan are called dinannais and dinannaises.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	6,393	—
1800	6,406	+0.03%
1806	7,188	+1.94%
1821	7,175	−0.01%
1831	8,044	+1.15%
1836	7,356	−1.77%
1841	7,533	+0.48%
1846	8,159	+1.61%
1851	7,732	−1.07%
1856	8,238	+1.28%
1861	8,089	−0.36%
1866	8,510	+1.02%
1872	7,698	−1.66%
1876	8,180	+1.53%
1881	9,964	+4.02%
1886	10,105	+0.28%
1891	10,444	+0.66%
1896	10,620	+0.33%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	10,534	−0.16%
1906	11,078	+1.01%
1911	11,410	+0.59%
1921	10,161	−1.15%
1926	10,002	−0.31%
1931	10,633	+1.23%
1936	11,822	+2.14%
1946	12,737	+0.75%
1954	13,844	+1.05%
1962	12,847	−0.93%
1968	13,137	+0.37%
1975	13,429	+0.31%
1982	12,267	−1.28%
1990	11,591	−0.71%
1999	10,907	−0.67%
2007	11,087	+0.20%
2012	10,768	−0.58%
2017	14,166	+5.64%

Populations after 2017 for the area corresponding with the new commune of Dinan (incl. Léhon).
Source: EHESS^[5] and INSEE (2007-2017)^[6]

Attractions

HIC MILITES WILLELMI DUCIS PUGNANT CONTRA DINANTES ("Here the knights of Duke William fight against the men of Dinan"). Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, c.1066, showing the early castle of Dinan

ET CUNAN CLAVES PORREXIT ("and Conan passed out the keys"). Successive scene

The medieval town on the hilltop has many fine old buildings, some of which date from the 13th century. The town retains a large section of the city walls, part of which can be walked round.

Major historical attractions include the Jacobins Theatre dating from 1224, the flamboyant Gothic St Malo's Church, the Romanesque St Saviour's Basilica, Duchess Anne's Tower and the Château de Dinan.

A major highlight in the calendar is Dinan's Fête des Remparts. The town is transformed with decoration and many locals dress up in medieval garb for this two-day festival. The festival takes place over the third weekend in July every even-numbered year.

Breton language

In 2008, 4.97% of primary school children attended bilingual schools.^[7]

Personalities

Prominent people born in Dinan include:

Charles Beslay (1795–1878), member of the Council of the Paris Commune
Théodore Botrel (1868–1925), poet and singer
Maurice Colbourne (1939–1989), actor
Yves Guyot (1843–1928), politician and economist
Auguste Pavie (1847–1925), explorer and diplomat
Charles Pinot Duclos (1704–1772), author
Pierre de Porcaro (1904–1945), Catholic priest and prisoner-of-war
Jean Rochefort (1930–2017 ), actor
Da Silva (singer) (1976–), singer
Yann Benoist, musician, (1951–)

Other people associated with Dinan include:

François-René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), writer, studied in Dinan
Bertrand du Guesclin (c1320-80), connétable of France. Born at nearby Broons. His heart is buried in Dinan.
John Everett Millais (1829–96), British painter who lived in Dinan as a child
Danielle Mitterrand (1924–2011), wife of President François Mitterrand, educated at the Roger Vercel college
Colonel Robert Jambon (1924/5-2011), soldier in the First Indochina War, died in Dinan
Jean-François Paillard (1928– ), conductor, educated at the Cordeliers de Dinan
Henri Pinault (1904–1987), Catholic Bishop of Chengdu, educated at the Cordeliers de Dinan
René Pleven, (1901–1993), politician, minister, essayist. The hospital in Dinan is named after him.
Horace Tuck (1876–1951), English painter, visited Dinan for its picturesque vistas
Roger Vercel (1894–1957), writer, winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1934, died in Dinan. A college in the town is named after him.
Edward Matthew Ward (1816–1879), English artist who painted views of Dinan

Gallery

The Rue du Jerzual is a steep medieval street connecting Dinan to the river below.
Statue of Bertrand Du Guesclin.
Saint Saviour's Basilica,
The main altar.
Saint Malo's Church,
Font carried by the Demon.
Saint Malo's Church,
Entrance of Anne of Brittany.
Saint Malo's Church,
Transfer of Saint Malo's relics.

International relations

Dinan is twinned with:

Dinant, Belgium
Exmouth, United Kingdom
Lugo, Spain

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
^ "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
^ Arrêté préfectoral 30 September 2017 (in French)
^ Hogan, C. Michael, Water quality of freshwater bodies in France, Lumina Press, Aberdeen, Scotland(2006)
^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Dinan, EHESS (in French).
^ "Populations légales 2017: Commune de Dinan (22050)". Retrieved 19 July 2022.
^ (in French) Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue