Dinan
Walled town in Brittany, France
title: "Dinan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dinan", "communes-of-côtes-d'armor", "subprefectures-in-france", "fortified-settlements", "côtes-d'armor-communes-articles-needing-translation-from-french-wikipedia"] description: "Walled town in Brittany, France" topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Walled town in Brittany, France ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox French commune"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Dinan |
| commune status | Subprefecture and commune |
| image | Dinan on the banks of the Rance.jpg |
| image flag | Flag of Dinan.svg |
| image coat of arms | Blason_ville_fr_Dinan_(Côtes-d'Armor).svg |
| coordinates | |
| INSEE | 22050 |
| postal code | 22100 |
| arrondissement | Dinan |
| canton | Dinan |
| mayor | Didier Lechien |
| term | 2020–2026 |
| intercommunality | Dinan Agglomération |
| elevation min m | 7 |
| elevation max m | 92 |
| area km2 | 8.71 |
| population | |
| population date | |
| population footnotes | |
| :: |
|name = Dinan |native name = |commune status = Subprefecture and commune |image = Dinan on the banks of the Rance.jpg |image flag = Flag of Dinan.svg |image coat of arms = Blason_ville_fr_Dinan_(Côtes-d'Armor).svg |coordinates = |INSEE = 22050 |postal code = 22100 |arrondissement = Dinan |canton = Dinan |mayor = Didier Lechien |term = 2020–2026 |intercommunality = Dinan Agglomération |elevation min m = 7 |elevation max m = 92 |area km2 = 8.71 |population = |population date = |population footnotes = Dinan (; ) 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.
Geography
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Dinan_desde_las_murallas.jpg" caption="View of the Port of Dinan and the Rance river from the Promenade of Duchesse Anne at the Jardin Anglais (English Garden)" alt="View of the Port of Dinan from the Promenade of Duchesse Anne at the Jardin Anglais (English Garden)"] ::
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 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 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.
Climate
|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Dinan (Le Quiou) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1985–present) |Jan record high C = 17.0 |Feb record high C = 22.1 |Mar record high C = 24.3 |Apr record high C = 28.8 |May record high C = 32.0 |Jun record high C = 37.0 |Jul record high C = 39.7 |Aug record high C = 40.4 |Sep record high C = 34.1 |Oct record high C = 30.8 |Nov record high C = 21.6 |Dec record high C = 17.0 |Jan record low C = -12.0 |Feb record low C = -14.5 |Mar record low C = -7.2 |Apr record low C = -4.8 |May record low C = -1.6 |Jun record low C = 2.6 |Jul record low C = 4.5 |Aug record low C = 3.5 |Sep record low C = 0.7 |Oct record low C = -5.5 |Nov record low C = -6.6 |Dec record low C = -8.5 |Jan high C = 9.3 |Feb high C = 10.4 |Mar high C = 13.3 |Apr high C = 16.2 |May high C = 19.4 |Jun high C = 22.5 |Jul high C = 24.7 |Aug high C = 24.6 |Sep high C = 21.9 |Oct high C = 17.3 |Nov high C = 12.7 |Dec high C = 9.7 | year high C = 16.8 |Jan mean C = 6.1 |Feb mean C = 6.6 |Mar mean C = 8.5 |Apr mean C = 10.5 |May mean C = 13.4 |Jun mean C = 16.0 |Jul mean C = 17.7 |Aug mean C = 17.7 |Sep mean C = 15.4 |Oct mean C = 12.5 |Nov mean C = 9.0 |Dec mean C = 6.4 | year mean C = 11.6 |Jan low C = 3.0 |Feb low C = 2.7 |Mar low C = 3.7 |Apr low C = 4.8 |May low C = 7.4 |Jun low C = 9.4 |Jul low C = 10.7 |Aug low C = 10.8 |Sep low C = 8.9 |Oct low C = 7.6 |Nov low C = 5.2 |Dec low C = 3.2 | year low C = 6.4 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 71.8 |Feb precipitation mm = 58.3 |Mar precipitation mm = 50.6 |Apr precipitation mm = 54.5 |May precipitation mm = 62.8 |Jun precipitation mm = 52.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 46.6 |Aug precipitation mm = 52.3 |Sep precipitation mm = 57.1 |Oct precipitation mm = 78.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 86.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 86.6 |year precipitation mm = 757.4 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 12.6 | Feb precipitation days = 11.5 | Mar precipitation days = 9.7 | Apr precipitation days = 10.3 | May precipitation days = 9.4 | Jun precipitation days = 7.8 | Jul precipitation days = 7.8 | Aug precipitation days = 8.2 | Sep precipitation days = 8.5 | Oct precipitation days = 12.1 | Nov precipitation days = 14.0 | Dec precipitation days = 14.3 | year precipitation days =126.3 |source 1 = Meteociel{{cite web |url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=22263001 |title=Normales et records pour Le Quiou (22) |publisher=Meteociel |access-date=17 November 2024}}}}
Population
Inhabitants of Dinan are called dinannais and dinannaises.
|align = none |cols = 3 |percentages = pagr |source = EHESS and INSEE (2007-2017) |footnote = Populations after 2017 for the area corresponding with the new commune of Dinan (incl. Léhon). |1793 |6393 |1800 |6406 |1806 |7188 |1821 |7175 |1831 |8044 |1836 |7356 |1841 |7533 |1846 |8159 |1851 |7732 |1856 |8238 |1861 |8089 |1866 |8510 |1872 |7698 |1876 |8180 |1881 |9964 |1886 |10105 |1891 |10444 |1896 |10620 |1901 |10534 |1906 |11078 |1911 |11410 |1921 |10161 |1926 |10002 |1931 |10633 |1936 |11822 |1946 |12737 |1954 |13844 |1962 |12847 |1968 |13137 |1975 |13429 |1982 |12267 |1990 |11591 |1999 |10907 |2007 |11087 |2012 |10768 |2017 |14166
Breton language
In 2008, 4.97% of primary school children attended bilingual schools.
Attractions
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Chateau_Dinan2.jpg" caption="Château de Dinan"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/BayeuxTapestryScene19.jpg" caption="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"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Francia_-_Dinan_Tour_de_l'Horloge.jpg" caption="Clock Tower (Tour de l’Horloge, beffroi)"] ::
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. At least in November, the city hosts the Festival Films courts de Dinan, an international French-speaking film festival.
Notable people
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
- Yves Guyot (1843–1928), politician and economist
- Odile Ohier (born 1963), long distance athlete
- 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
- Maurice Colbourne (actor born 1939) (1939–1989), actor
- 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
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Dinan_Port_on_Rance_River.jpg" caption="Dinan Port on the Rance River"] ::
International relations
Dinan is a twin town with:
References
References
- (13 September 2022). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
- [https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/arrete/2017/9/30/INTB1736647A/jo/texte Arrêté préfectoral] 30 September 2017 {{in lang. fr
- Hogan, C. Michael, ''Water quality of freshwater bodies in France'', Lumina Press, Aberdeen, Scotland(2006)
- {{Cassini-Ehess. 11851. Dinan
- "Populations légales 2017: Commune de Dinan (22050)".
- {{in lang
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