HISTORY

At the dawn of civilisation, Neaderthal Man camped on the side of a cliff, creating the westernmost settlement of a race whose disappearance remains shrouded in mystery. Almost one thousand years before the building of the Pyramids, Stone Age man brought the region a fabulous civilisation famous for its standing stones. Then, as one invasion followed another, successive civilisations (Bronze Age, celts, Romans) left their mark on the headland on the left bank of the River Rance. During the great wave of migrations that brought the Britons across the channel, the legendary King Arthur freed the region from Frisian oppression and built a fort here, known in the Celto-Breton language as " Dinard " or " Fort Arthur ". A village grew up under his protection and, from the 6th century onwards, it has borne the name of Saint Bishop of Saint Malo, Saint Enogat. On two occasions, the town was the scene of Historic events. On 3rd August 1379, Duke John IV landed on the shore and unified the Bretons ; his success was short-lived. During the French revolution, the so-called " Dinard Conspiracy " Concerned a plot to hand the habour in Saint Malo over to the British. The parish developed into a fully-fledged town and, in the middle of last century, the attractiveness of the " most outstanding coastal beauty spot in Europe ", the mild climate, the splendid fine sandy beaches and the " healthy aie " introduced a new lifestyle based on tourism. The British and Americans played a leading role in the changover from town to seaside resort. Then came the " Belle Epoque ", The end of the 19th century when development reached its height. Dinard had become France's leading resort. Despite the Depression in the 1930's , Dinard flourished during the interwar years. The period following the Second World War was more difficult. Over the past twenty-five years, however, the resort has invested in some top-quality amenities including a sports centre, an olympic-sized swimming-pool, an equestrian centre, an Arts and Festival centre, a fully-renovated casino, and a thalassotherapy centre. Dinard remains one of the most famous seaside resorts in Europe.

Marius Mallet, Author of " Dinard, its story "