King Gradlon and Saint Corentin

King Gradlon and Saint Corentin

The Quimper audio-guided tour tells you the legend of King Gradlon and Saint Corentin, two founding figures of the city and its cathedral.

The legend of the city of Ys

In Quimper, two characters maintain this fine border between reality and imagination, proper to Breton legends: King Gradlon and Saint Corentin, forever linked to the city and its cathedral. According to the tales, Gradlon, king of Cornouaille, is said to have founded Quimper after surviving the submersion of the city of Ys, a majestic city he had built for his beloved daughter Dahut. The latter, the legend says, is said to have let herself be trapped by entrusting the keys of the city to a mysterious lover, causing the engulfing of the city by the waves. This ancestral legend, mixing tragedy and the marvellous, is one of the great founding myths of Brittany and Quimper.

What there is to see

The legend of King Gradlon and Saint Corentin imbues Quimper and its cathedral, whose imagination it nourishes. Along the walk, it invites one to look at the city differently, between history and Breton marvel, and to let oneself be told the myth of the engulfed city of Ys. It is an immersion in the legendary soul of the Cornouaille.

Practical information

The legend of King Gradlon and Saint Corentin is closely linked to the Saint-Corentin cathedral, in the heart of Old Quimper. It is discovered along the walk in the city, by looking up at the cathedral and its statues.

Who is said to have founded Quimper according to the legend?

King Gradlon, king of Cornouaille, after surviving the submersion of the legendary city of Ys.

What is the city of Ys?

A legendary city that Gradlon is said to have built for his daughter Dahut, before being engulfed by the waves.