Its geographical location, hidden by the tip of Carolles, made Granville a strategic point of attack especially for the British who invaded Mont Saint-Michel during the Hundred Years’ War. After the war, the Granvillais took over the premises thanks to the support of France’s King Charles VII, who granted the inhabitants a market right and tax exemption and thus promoted local economic development.
The first cod fishermen for New World Newfoundland were armed in the 16th century. La Grande Pêche began at Mardi Gras. Sailors and families, then, were in a festive mood to enjoy the last moments before long months of separation. Thus was born the tradition of the Granville carnival that continues to this day.
The right to practice race, that is, to attack enemy ships and seize property, granted in the 16th century by the king of France, made Granville the main rival of St. Malo. 15 famous privateers, such as Georges-René Pléville Le Pelley, whose statue dominates the ports, marked as Granville, christened “La Cité Corsaire.” In parallel, thanks to the Bisquines, oyster fishing at the foot of the horse developed in the bay of Mont Saint-Michel. With the Industrial Revolution, Granville opens in Paris and becomes the department’s first coastal tourist center, a place of care, celebration and social life. This time is marked by the installation, on the heights of the Gousset apartment, of the Christian Dior family in the village called “Rhumbs,” in reference to the 32 divisions of the compass rose, which now houses a museum dedicated to the couturier, surrounded by a park and rose garden overlooking the sea, is also the birthplace of the Granville Casino, opened in 1911.
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