
The Château de Dinan, also known as Dinan Castle, consists of a
keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
, in the town of
Dinan
Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan.
Geography
Inst ...
, in the
Côtes-d'Armor
The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.[département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...]
'' of the
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of France.
History
First castle
The first building known as the Château de Dinan was present by 1064, making it one of the earliest known castles as evidenced by the fact that it appeared in the
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...
. The
Battle of Dinan was fought at the Château de Dinan in 1065, when
Conan II, Duke of Brittany
Conan may refer to:
People
* Saint Conan (died 684), bishop of the Isle of Man
* Conan of Cornwall (c. 930 – c. 950), bishop of Cornwall
* Conan I of Rennes (died 992), duke of Brythonic Brittany
* Conan II, Duke of Brittany (died 1066), duke o ...
surrendered to the army of
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
.

Its defences were fortified in 1283 and underwent upgrades until the end of the
War of the Breton Succession
The War of the Breton Succession (, ) or Breton Civil War was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montfort of Brittany, Montforts of Brittany for control of the Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fou ...
in 1365.
Second castle
In 1382,
John V, Duke of Brittany
John V, sometimes numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise (; ), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of the Hundred Years' War between Engla ...
seized the previous castle from the Dinan family, and Etienne le Tur built the current keep in 1382–3; it was in use by 1384.
[Le château de Dinan](_blank)
/ref>
The castle was then enlarged between 1595–98 by Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur after annexing the Porte du Guichet and the Tour de Coëtquen, and the castle was subsequently altered by Garanjeau, a military engineer, between 1693–1711.
The castle was listed for protection as a ''monument historique
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
'' in 1886. It is owned by the '' commune'' and houses the local museum.
Description
It is called ''Donjon de la duchesse Anne'' (Keep of the Duchess Anne), and stands 111 feet (34m) high near the Saint Louis gate.
The keep is formed by a union of two tall circular towers; a moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
and drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...
divides the keep from the outside of the ramparts as well as from the inside of the city, providing a stronghold both against outsiders and from the townspeople themselves.Le château de Dinan
/ref> Extensive machicolation
In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...
s overhang the wall head providing defensive coverage of the base of the tower.
The keep and the gate are part of the of medieval rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department
** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
s which still surround the old town.
See also
*List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
* Chateau
* Basilica of Saint-Sauveur, Dinan.
Notes
External links
Official site (in French)
*
Castles in Brittany
Châteaux in Côtes-d'Armor
Buildings and structures in Côtes-d'Armor
Museums in Brittany
Local museums in France
Monuments historiques of Côtes-d'Armor
Military history of the Duchy of Brittany
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