The Lost City of La Ville d’Ys       

All around Finistère, but especially near Douarnenez, you'll see references to La Ville d'Ys and Le Roi Gradlon.

It's a great story, rather like the lost city of Atlantis, so here's a brief account. 

According to local legend, there was once a walled town in the bay of Douarnenez called La Ville d'Ys, connected to the mainland by a walkway. This town was governed by King Gradlon and was firmly locked up every night.

King Gradlon had a daughter called Dahut. She was fickle and flighty, given to doing as she pleased.

One fine day, Dahut met a man and fell madly in love with him.

He asked her to prove her love by giving him the keys to the town of Ys.

Dahut stole her father's keys and handed them over to her new love.

Sadly, she had been deceived - the young man turned out to be the Devil.

The Devil opened the great gates to the town in the middle of the night and Ys was flooded, utterly submerged in a matter of minutes.

The King called out for help from Saint Guénolé and just managed to escape the town as it sank under the waves, leaving his daughter who was crying to be saved from a watery grave.

Legend tells how Dahut was then transformed into a mermaid and continues to haunt the shores to this day. She calls to the sailors with her mournful songs until they crash upon the rocks.

As for King Gradlon himself, he went on to establish a new kingdom, which later became Quimper.