DOL DE BRETAGNE, DOOR OF THE EMERAUDE COAST

A prehistoric Brittany

Dol de bretagne contains a good part of Brittany’s history, as some camps from the neolithic era were found there. The Mont Dol has has preserved the trace of this passage. Indeed, 70 000 years ago, Dol de Bretagne sheltered many camps of nomads who lived amongst mammoths, lions, wolves, and the vegetation was steppe-like and the climate glacial.
Later on, a megalithic civilization appeared and Dol de Bretagne shows testimony of it with its super menhir of Champ-Dolent, 10 meters highs, that we can see next to the city.

The creation of Dol de Bretagne

The fundation of Dol de Bretagne goes back to the VIth century, as the unhabitants of south England and Wales were fleeing the barbarian invasions and looked for shelter in Brittany. Amongst these emigrates was a monk named Samson, still worshipped today as one of the seven founders of Brittany. It’s him who created the small town of Dol de Bretagne and began to evangelize these pagan lands.

Dol de Bretagne, Today

Today, after a long history, Dol de Bretagne has inherited from a superb medieval cathedral . Having realized the value of their city, the unhabitants of Dol de bretagne have tried, since the early 1900’s, to restore, protect and conserve this patrimony.
One can go and admire the Saint-Samson Cathedral, one of the most beautiful of brittany, or visit the moats and see the half timbered houses, the medieval museums or again this superb menhir.

How to go to Dol de Bretagne, from the Hotel de l’Abbaye

Via D80 - 14,2 km by car

Via N176 - 14,9 km by car