[3] The village of Elven is located about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from the Vannes-Rennes junction on route nationale 166.

Until 2015, it was the seat of the former canton of Elven which also included Saint-Nolff, Monterblanc, Sulniac, Trédion and La Vraie-Croix.

An ancient site of human settlement, the history of Elven can be traced back to the Bronze Age with archaeological evidence discovered in the commune, in particular the village of Bocolo where the cache of a metal smelter was found.

The commune of Elven was founded by religious leaders who emigrated across the Channel from Britain in the fifth century.

The present castle Largoët was built in the fourteenth century 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the town in the middle of a great expanse of woods and was the seat of the Marshall of Brittany.

Indeed, the head Chouan Joseph Gambert, captain of the canton's companies, was killed near the village of Panistrel in 1794.

The canton with ten bezants indicates the House of Rieux who lived in the castle and whose arms are inlaid on the entrance above the drawbridge.

Together with their artistic advisor Roland Becker, Elven Bagad won the title of 3rd category in the National Bagadou Championship of 2008.

At the end of 2008, Elven Bagad released their second album: "Mémoires d'aujourd'hui" which represents the dialogue between the music of today and folk tunes collected over the last 60 years.

Elven has been twinned since 1998 with the city of Lüdingworth, District of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.