Historic Cities · France
Ys through the ages
Ys, also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ville d'Ys in French, is a mythical city on the coast of Brittany that was swallowed up by the ocean. Most versions of the legend place the city in the Baie de Douarnenez.
Ys in AD 920
Kêr-Is Behind the Dyke
Kêr-Is is the low city built from the bay, held dry by a great sea dyke whose bronze sluice admits ships at certain tides. The walk moves from the approach across the Bay of Douarnenez, along the dyke and quays, past Gradlon’s palace and the cathedral square, to Dahut’s seaward tower and a high promenade that looks back over the city.
A low, compact skyline of stone and timber sits behind an immense stone dyke punctured by a single gleaming bronze sluice; beyond the wall the grey Atlantic stretches flat to the horizon. Gradlon’s palace flashes with pale marble, cedar panelling and glints of gilt, the cathedral’s spire rising a little above rows of low houses, quays sloping to tidal mud where small fishing boats ride at low water. Streets are narrow, windswept and salted by spray, the town’s colour largely the greys and browns of wet stone, wood and rope.
The route: 9 streets, squares and views
Douarnenez Bay Approach → Sea Dyke and Bronze Gate → Outer Slipway and Tide Channel → Lower Fishmarket Quay → Shipwrights' Row → Gradlon's Palace → Cathedral Square → Dahut's Tower → High Dyke Promenade
Step inside, 5 interiors
Sluice-Gate Chamber · Lower Fishmarket Hall · Shipwrights' Workshop · Great Hall of Gradlon · Cathedral Nave
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Ys.
