Dinan (; ) is a walled

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan.

Geography

Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

has been on the hillside overlooking the river

Rance Rance may refer to: Places * Rance (river), northwestern France * Rancé, a commune in eastern France, near Lyon * Ranče, a small settlement in Slovenia * Rance, Wallonia, part of the municipality of Sivry-Rance ** Rouge de Rance, a Devonian re ...

. 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 Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

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 BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

8.13 within the city, and

electrical conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allow ...

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 . For many years, the bridge over the river

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''.

Attractions

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

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dating from 1224, the flamboyant Gothic

St Malo's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, the Romanesque

St Saviour's Basilica ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

Duchess Anne's Tower Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

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. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
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Personalities

Prominent people born in Dinan include: *

Charles Beslay Charles Victor Beslay (1795, Dinan, Côtes-d'Armor – 1878, Neuchâtel) was the oldest member of the Paris Commune. An engineer, he was councillor general of Morbihan in 1830. Later, in Paris, he founded a steam machine factory, and tried to a ...

(1795–1878), member of the Council of the Paris Commune * Théodore Botrel (1868–1925), poet and singer *

Maurice Colbourne Maurice Colbourne (24 September 1939 – 4 August 1989) was an English stage and television actor who starred as Tom Howard in the BBC television series ''Howards' Way''. He is also known for roles in other television series such as ''Gangster ...

(1939–1989), actor *

Yves Guyot Yves Guyot (6 September 184322 February 1928) was a French politician and economist. Biography He was born at Dinan. Educated at Rennes, he took up the profession of journalism, coming to Paris in 1867. He was for a short period editor-in-chief of ...

(1843–1928), politician and economist *

Auguste Pavie Auguste Jean-Marie Pavie (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1925) was a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos in the last two decades of the 19th century. After a long career in ...

(1847–1925), explorer and diplomat *

Charles Pinot Duclos Charles Pinot (or Pineau) Duclos (12 February 1704 – 26 March 1772) was a French author and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. Biography Duclos was born at Dinan in Brittany ...

(1704–1772), author *

Pierre de Porcaro The Abbé Pierre de Porcaro (; August 1904 – 12 March 1945) was a French Roman Catholic priest who worked as an undercover minister during the Second World War. He was eventually captured by the Nazis and died in Dachau concentration camp. L ...

(1904–1945), Catholic priest and prisoner-of-war *

Jean Rochefort Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort (; 29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor. He received many accolades during his career, including an Honorary César in 1999. Life and career Rochefort was born on 29 April 1930 in Paris, France, to ...

(1930–2017 ), actor * Da Silva (singer) (1976–), singer *

Yann Benoist Yann Benoist (born 6 February 1951) is a French session guitarist, performer, singer , composer, conductor, and arranger. Early life Yann Benoist was born in Dinan, Brittany. At age 8 his parents enrolled him in a music academy. They bought hi ...

, 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 Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

(1829–96), British painter who lived in Dinan as a child *

Danielle Mitterrand Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Mitterrand (née Gouze; 29 October 1924 – 22 November 2011) was the wife of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.Robert Jambon (1924/5-2011), soldier in the First Indochina War, died in Dinan *

Jean-François Paillard Jean-François Paillard (12 April 1928 – 15 April 2013) was a French conductor. He was born in Vitry-le-François and received his musical training at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize in music history, and the Salzburg Moza ...

(1928– ), conductor, educated at the Cordeliers de Dinan *

Henri Pinault Henri-Marie-Ernest-Désiré Pinault (7 September 1904 – 24 February 1987) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Chengdu from 1949 until 1983, four years before his death. Early life Pinault was born in 1904 into a family of farmers in Tintén ...

(1904–1987), Catholic Bishop of Chengdu, educated at the Cordeliers de Dinan *

René Pleven René Pleven (; 15 April 1901 – 13 January 1993) was a notable French politician of the Fourth Republic. A member of the Free French, he helped found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR), a political party that was meant ...

, (1901–1993), politician, minister, essayist. The hospital in Dinan is named after him. *

Horace Tuck Horace Tuck (1876–1951) was a prolific Norfolk artist and vice-principal of Norwich School of Art. Biography Mainly a painter of oil and watercolour landscapes of his native Norfolk in England, Horace Tuck also travelled to France (particular ...

(1876–1951), English painter, visited Dinan for its picturesque vistas *

Roger Vercel Roger Vercel (born Roger Cretin; 8 January 1894, in Le Mans – 26 February 1957, in Dinan) was a French writer. Biography Vercel was fascinated by the sea and marine life. Although he virtually never went to sea, most of his novels featured a m ...

(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 Edward Matthew Ward, , (14 July 1816 – 15 January 1879) was a British painter who specialised in historical genre. He is best known for his murals in the Palace of Westminster depicting episodes in British history from the English Civil War to ...

(1816–1879), English artist who painted views of Dinan

Gallery

File:Dinan_hill_05-08-03.jpg, The Rue du Jerzual is a steep medieval street connecting Dinan to the river below. File:Du Guesclin Dinan.jpg, Statue of Bertrand Du Guesclin. File:Bretagne Armor Dinan6 tango7174.jpg, Saint Saviour's Basilica,
The main altar. File:Bretagne Armor Dinan3 tango7174.jpg, Saint Malo's Church,
Font carried by the Demon. File:Bretagne Armor Dinan4 tango7174.jpg, Saint Malo's Church,
Entrance of Anne of Brittany. File:Bretagne Armor Dinan5 tango7174.jpg, Saint Malo's Church,
Transfer of Saint Malo's relics.
Dinan Port on Rance River

International relations

Dinan is twinned with: *

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

, Belgium *

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

, United Kingdom *

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

, Spain

References

External links

*
Town council website

Dinan Basilica Image
* {{Authority control Communes of Côtes-d'Armor Subprefectures in France Fortified settlements Côtes-d'Armor communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia