So I bring you back to tell you again about the wonderful town of Dinan, in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 of my lovely Bretagne. I am sort of taken some subjects from previous posts very little mention and given them more exposure here. We visited again Dinan, this time a bit more. We went by car of course. Therefore, here are the curiosities of Dinan part I !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
From the birth of Dinan until the 19C, the western facade of the city was protected by a deep valley that stretched from the current Place Duclos to Bas Bourgneuf. At the bottom of the valley, a small stream was called “Cocherel”. This valley is overlooked by a counterscarp converted into a promenade in the 18C call the Petits Fossés. The garden dates from 1850 and from the 1930s, the upper part of the valley, between Place Duclos and Trou au Chat was urbanized. The Mayor of the time surrounded the beautiful building of the Caisse d’Epargne (today CCAS) with a garden below. Then to develop the rest of the valley between the promenade and rue Chateaubriand. The city bought the De Ferron mansion and its park to install the municipal library there.
The Jardins du Val Cocherel garden or commonly called “the garden of the Little Devils” takes its name from the small stream “Cocherel” which flows at the bottom of the garden, this magnificent park of approximately 4 hectares of greenery is located in the heart of the city of Dinan. You will find slides and swings for children, a covered picnic area, mini-golf, ping-pong tables, animals (fawns, aviaries) a wide variety of flowers as well as a kiosk in the middle from the garden offering cold drinks, ice creams and sandwiches. Below the garden, a pond offers a space of calm and relaxation. Most of this information from the City of Dinan webpage,
The city of Dinan on the garden Cocherel : https://www.dinan.fr/196/jardin-du-val-cocherel
The Chapelle Sainte-Catherine of Dinan was built in the 17C by the Dominicans who arrived in Dinan in 1631, First installed in the Hotel de la Garaye (current Hotel Beaumanoir rue Haute-Voie), they obtained permission in 1664 to establish themselves, to the east of the city, on land belonging to Dominican monks. It became the Hospital Chapel in the 19C and is the subject of an important decorative program that can be found on the apse of the choir and in the transepts. It features a Jesuit-style facade. Don’t miss the collection of statues among the oldest in the churches of Dinan and its monumental painting. These statues are a Saint-Antoine 17-18C, Saint-François d’Assise 16C in limestone, two bishops 17-18C, Saint-Pierre 16C, and a Christ on the Cross . There is also the oldest and the most exceptional, “The education of the Virgin”, from the beginning of the 14C,another, a limestone Virgin 15C, did not budge from the chapel because it was intact. She had been found in the 1930s, buried in a garden.
The Chapelle Sainte Catherine is a jewel of Counter-Reformation architecture. The interior splendor of the 16C chapel, restored over seven years, dazzles visitors: immaculate walls, polychrome wooden statues, restored stone floor, and at the bottom of the church, a breathtaking trompe-l’oeil. After extensive renovation work it reopened on January 2022 for worship.
The City of Dinan on religious monument so the Chapelle: https://www.dinan.fr/298/les-edifices-religieux
The Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office on the Chapelle Sainte Catherine : https://www.dinan-capfrehel.com/culture-patrimoine/chapelle-sainte-catherine/
The Théatre des Jacobins is an intercommunal theater hosting various types of shows ,such as theater, concerts, circus, etc. Before being a theater inaugurated in 1966, the Jacobins was a convent founded by monks in 1232. In 1824, the city bought the building which was to undergo a series of architectural modifications throughout the 19C. Initially, the town of Dinan set up various businesses. At the same time, in another part of the convent, several dramatic societies perform. In 1868, the city/town hall decided to close the shopping areas and wanted to transform the place into a casino. On the other hand, it is urgent to undertake the repair work, because the building is deteriorating and is the cause of several serious accidents. The work was interrupted by the Great War or WWI, during which the casino was requisitioned. At the end of the 1920s, the hall hosted operettas whose companies rented the premises. It was therefore necessary to wait until the middle of the 20C for a municipal theater to settle in the premises, this time completely secure and refurbished in 1966.
The Dinan metro area cultural agenda on the Theater of Jacobins : https://saison-culturelle.dinan-agglomeration.fr/Lieux-de-spectacle/Theatre-des-Jacobins-Dinan
The local regional government of the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 is the Sous Préfecture of Dinan located at 17 Rue Michel, This historically was the Chateau-Ganne built at the end of the 19C in tufa stone in the Second Empire style by Henri Flaud, industrialist and deputy mayor of Dinan at the time. It was acquired by the department in 1947 in order to install the Sub-Prefecture there. In the 1970s, a new building was built to accommodate the majority of administrative services. Château-Ganne remains the residence of the Sub-Prefect. Somehow they all like the old and beautiful still.
This Château-Ganne, a name given by its creator, Henri Flaud, in honor of one of the first castellans of Dinan, Ganna. Mayor of Dinan under the Second Empire, Henri Flaud had money and tastes. It is the only building in Dinan made of tuffaud, this limestone from the banks of the Loire, which he had transported by the Rance river, Once inside, you reach the first floor by a solid spiral staircase, The dining room is adorned with an Aubusson tapestry from the 1650s. The adjoining room is a small living room embellished by the paneling of a bookcase built into the wall. A large living room, decorated with a Pleyel piano, high mirrors and textile hangings dating from Napoleon III. As in the small living room, daylight enters easily thanks to the large windows that cover the fireplaces. It is outside that you find the greatest wonder of the place: the breathtaking view of the Rance valley from a small turret, at the bottom of the garden.
The Sub Préfecture of Dinan, hours, schedules just for info : https://www.cotes-darmor.gouv.fr/Outils/Horaires-et-coordonnees/Horaires-et-coordonnees-Sous-prefecture-de-Dinan
The Maison d’Auguste Pavie is located at 10 place Saint-Sauveur, in the historic center of Dinan, It is a half-timbered house where Auguste Pavie was born, this magnificent 15C residence where Auguste Pavie, explorer and diplomat in Indochina in the 19C was born. We are welcomed in an elegant and cozy living room with dark blue woodwork, inhabited by sofas draped in white linen. Elegance again at breakfast time for the carmine red dining room which fits perfectly with the Asian atmosphere. Objects brought back from Vietnam, carefully chosen, and magnificent statues populate the residence like this female representation of Buddha The rooms bear the name of the places where Auguste Pavie stayed: “Champassack” with vanilla-coloured walls, “Kampot” in beige tones and chestnut, “Angkor”, enhanced with plum… Nothing outdated though. In the “Luang-Prabang” room, a very contemporary blue canopy sits majestically under the age-old beams. A nod to Laos with these rice paddy hats but a designer bathtub for the bathroom. Auguste Pavie also stopped at Vinh-Long on the shores of the Mekong Delta, a small Vietnamese port made famous by Marguerite Duras’ novel “L’ Amant” or The Lover. The room of the same name has a magnificent gray wall fresco with elephants.
. It is today a rental house or chambre d’hôtes in City center Dinan, so you can rent it and we just saw it, Webpage : https://www.lamaisonpavie.com/fr/chambre-hotes-charme-dinan/
The Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office on Dinan: https://www.dinan-capfrehel.com/en/our-essentials/dinan-medieval-city-brittany/
There you go folks, another dandy in my lovely Bretagne, this time north of me in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 and delightful Dinan. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the curiosities of Dinan, part I !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 