In Brest, the first youth hostel is created in the year 1936, in an ancient WW1 barracks, situated in the courtyard of a community centre in Recouvrance. Destroyed by an explosion during the war, the hostel is rehoused several times: at Landerneau until the end of the war, place de la Liberté in Brest, a centre in the commercial port, later in Quéliverzan, with this time a building built for purpose. 20 years later, restricted by a building in which its limits were cruelly felt, the youth hostel experiences a new beginning with the project at Moulin Blanc.

Situated on the ancient property belonging to the Count Chalus, the hostel was imagined by Roland Schweitzer, an expert architect for UNESCO. Schweitzer, a specialist in wooden construction, particularly those destined for co-habitation. Having received several prizes for its architecture, it’s in 2018 that the youth hostel in Brest becomes the first in France to be a Listed building!