Angers
View of the city and the Saint-Maurice Cathedral from the castle
Angers
Location within Pays de la Loire region  Angers
Administration
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Maine-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Angers
Intercommunality	Angers Loire Métropole
Mayor	Frédéric Béatse (PS) (2012–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	12–64 m (39–210 ft) (avg. 20 m or 66 ft)
Land area1	62.71 km2 (24.21 sq mi)
Population2	157,000  (1999 estimate)
- Density	2,504 /km2 (6,490 /sq mi)
Time zone	CET (GMT +1)
INSEE/Postal code	49007/ 49000
Website	angers.fr/foreign-versions/english-version/
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 47°28′25″N 0°33′15″W / 47.4736°N 0.5542°W / 47.4736; -0.5542

Angers (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃.ʒe]) is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about 300 km (190 mi) south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins.

Angers proper has a population of 157,000 inhabitants, while c. 283,000 live in its metropolitan area. The city traces its roots to early Roman times. It occupies both banks of the Maine, which is spanned by six bridges. The district along the river has flourishing nurseries and market gardens. It is known for its fresh produce and cut flowers.

History[link]

The first sign of human presence on the site of Angers is a stone tool dated back to 400,000 BCE (Lower Paleolithic).^{[citation needed]}

The earliest known inhabitants were the Andecavi, a Gallic tribe that was overrun by the Romans. The city, while under Roman rule, was called Juliomagus.

The Council of Angers was held here in 453.

The city suffered severely from the invasions of the Vikings in 845 and succeeding years.

Angers was once the capital of the historic province of Anjou. Beginning in the 9th century, the region was controlled by a powerful family of feudal lords. It is the cradle of the House of Plantagenet who ruled England from the twelfth century and gave name to the Angevin Kings of England. During this time the Hospital of Saint-Jean was built in Angers by King Henry II of England. The edifice still stands to this day, now housing an important museum. In 1204 Angers was conquered by King Philippe II.

An enormous castle, the Château d'Angers, was built during the minority of Louis IX ("Saint Louis") in the early part of the 13th century. In 1352, John II le Bon, gave the château to his son, Louis I. Married to the daughter of the wealthy Duke of Brittany, Louis I had the château modified, and in 1373 commissioned the famous Apocalypse Tapestry from the painter Hennequin de Bruges and the Parisian tapestry-weaver Nicolas Bataille.

In the early 15th century, the dauphin who became King Charles VII, had to flee Paris and was given sanctuary at the Château D'Angers. Louis II and Yolande d'Aragon added a chapel (1405–12) and royal apartments to the castle. The chapel is a sainte chapelle, the name given to churches which enshrined a relic of the Passion. The relic at Angers was a splinter of the fragment of the True Cross which had been acquired by Louis IX.

The Huguenots took the city of Angers in 1585, and the Vendean royalists were defeated nearby in 1793 during the siege of Angers. Until the French Revolution Angers was the seat of a celebrated university founded in the 14th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the Château D'Angers served originally as a defensive castle, and later as a military training school. The military role of the Chateau D'Angers castle was revived in the 20th century when it was used by the Nazi government of Germany to store arms, ammunition, and explosives. During the war, the latter exploded, causing significant amounts of damage to the castle.

Main sights[link]

In addition to the massive Château d'Angers, the city is also noted for the impressive twin spires of the twelfth-century Cathedral of Saint-Maurice. Other noteworthy churches around Angers include St. Serge, an abbey-church of the 12th and 15th centuries, and the twelfth-century La Trinité Cathedral.

The elaborately sculptured eleventh and 12th century arcades of the famous abbey of Saint Aubin survive in the courtyard of the Prefecture and Hotel du Departement. The tower of the abbey church has also survived nearby^[1]

Ruins of the old churches of Toussaint (13th century) and Notre-Dame du Ronceray (eleventh century) are also nearby. The ancient hospital of St. Jean (twelfth century) is occupied by Jean Lurcat's tapestries. The Logis Barrault, a mansion built in 1486–92, houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which has a large collection of paintings and sculptures. In 1984 the former abbey church of Toussaint became the Musee David d'Angers consisting of works by the sculptor David d'Angers, who was a native of the town. In the middle of a main boulevard near the museum stands his bronze statue of René of Anjou, who was born in the chateau of Angers.

The Hôtel de Pincé or d'Anjou (1523–1530) is the finest of the stone mansions of Angers. There are also many curious wooden houses of the fifteenth and 16th centuries. The Palais de Justice, the Catholic Institute, a fine theatre, and a hospital with 1500 beds are the more remarkable of the modern buildings of the town. Angers is the seat of a bishopric, dating from the 3rd century; a prefecture; a court of appeal; and a court of assizes (criminal courts). It has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce, a branch of the Bank of France, and several learned societies.

Economy[link]

The early prosperity of the town is largely due to the nearby quarries of slate, whose abundant use for the roofs of Angers led to the city's nickname, the "Black City" (or "La ville noire", in French). As of 1911, existing industries noted in the Encyclopædia Britannica for that year included the distillation of liqueurs from fruit (Cointreau, a brand of triple sec orange liqueur, is produced to this day in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, a suburb of Angers); cable, rope, and thread-making; the manufacture of boots, shoes, umbrellas, and parasols; weaving of sail-cloth and fabrics; machine construction; wire-drawing; and the manufacture of sparkling wines and preserved fruits. The chief articles of commerce, besides slate and manufactured goods, were hemp, early vegetables, fruit, flowers, and live-stock.

Many of these industries in 1911 have since disappeared, though Cointreau continues to produce liqueur. Other contemporary industries include the manufacturing of lorries (Scania) and computers (Bull, Packard-Bell, NEC) as well as research in horticulture and biotechnologies.

Transport[link]

Angers is connected by A11 autoroute to Paris (c. 295 km) and to Nantes (c. 90 km). Gare d'Angers-Saint-Laud railway station has a direct TGV service to Paris (1 hour 35 minutes). The nearest airport is Angers - Loire Airport.

In 1850 a catastrophic failure of the Angers Bridge caused the deaths of over 200 soldiers. The disaster inhibited the construction of suspension bridges in France for two decades.

Angers inaugurated a new light rail system on 25 June 2011. The tramway consists of one 12 km (7.46 mi) line with 25 stops. The line runs from Avrillé-Ardenne in the North to Angers-Roseraie in the south. Service is provided by Keolis using 17 Alstom Citadis trams.^[2]

Culture[link]

Maison d'Adam, Adam's House, the oldest house of Angers

Angers has an orchestra, ONPL (Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire), shared with Nantes, a local theatre NTA (Nouveau Théatre d'Angers) and a dance school CNDC (Centre National de Danse Contemporaine).

Angers has a few important museums on the national level:

• "Musée des Beaux-Arts" (Art & Sculpture, the permanent collections: 14th to the present) has just reopened, after five years of work.
• "Galerie David d'Angers", which is consecrated to the 19th century sculptor David d'Angers.
• "Musée Pincé", which holds a collection of Classical art, as well as Egyptian, Etruscan, Japanese and Chinese.
• "Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie contemporaine", is a tapestry museum. The famous tapestry series "Le chant du Monde" by Jean Lurçat is in the ancient Hôpital St-Jean, the oldest hospital in France, while another modern building holds the contemporary collections, and also other works by Jean Lurçat.
• The Apocalypse Tapestry, or "the tapestries of the Apocalypse", originally made for Louis I d'Anjou in the fourteenth century, are today in the Château d'Angers after their restoration.
• Muséum d’histoire naturelle d’Angers is an important natural history museum in the "Hôtel Demarie-Valentin", dating from 1521.

Angers is an important center for tapestries, especially contemporary tapestry.

It calls itself the "most flowered city in Europe", and its displays of live and cut flowers are stunning. The city's Jardin des Plantes d'Angers and Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie d'Angers are a historic botanical gardens, and its Arboretum Gaston Allard is a major arboretum. It is also well known for being the seat of important cultural events, such as the film festival Premiers Plans, Tour de Scènes (free concerts in the streets) and Les Accroche-Coeurs (free street festival).

Sport[link]

Angers has many sport teams playing at top levels:

• Angers SCO is Angers's football team. The club was created in 1919. In 2010–11 season, Angers SCO is playing in the Ligue 2 (second division) league.
• Les Ducs d'Angers is Angers's ice hockey team. The club is playing in the Magnus League (first division).
• Anjou BC is Angers's basketball team, playing in second division.
• Angers acts as home to the Angers Aviron Nautique (In French), a rowing club which actively competes in regattas across France

Education[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

Angers on the banks of the Maine

A centre of learning, Angers boasts two renowned universities and several specialized institutions, altogether responsible for more than 26,000 students.^[3] The city has a Catholic university, the Université Catholique de L'Ouest (Catholic University of the West, or UCO), one of five Catholic universities in France. UCO is best known for its French language studies institute, the Centre international d'étude de la langue française (CIDEF), which provides college students from around the world with college-level course instruction in the French language. The town is also home to a state university, the University of Angers.

Angers's other educational institutions include lycées; training colleges, an engineering school in manufacturing (ENSAM), an engineering school in electronics and computer science (ESEO), and a school of fine art. Its education and research institutes are the driving force behind the city's science and technology industries.

Angers's Business School is ESSCA (Ecole Superieure des Sciences Commerciales d'Angers). Formerly part of the UCO, the school's program is of a duration of five years. ESSCA is recruiting students after the Baccalaureat.

In addition to French schools and universities, an American university St. Edward's University has new expanding campus in Angers. St. Edward’s University is a diverse, Catholic liberal arts institution from Austin, TX. The university has a partnership with UCO, and offers a variety of courses of undergraduate level and professional training.

Public libraries[link]

The city operates the Toussaint Main Library and nine branch libraries.^[4]

Miscellaneous[link]

Births[link]

The city is the birthplace of:

• René I of Naples (1409–1480)
• Jean Bodin (1529–1596), philosopher and jurist, author of Six Livres de la République
• Michel Eugène Chevreul, (1786–1889), chemist
• Joseph Louis Proust, (1754–1826), chemist responsible for "Proust's law"
• Pierre-Jean David d'Angers, (1788–1856), sculptor
• Prosper Ménière (1799–1862), physician
• Édouard Cointreau, (1849–1923), creator of the "Cointreau" orange-flavoured liquor
• René Bazin (1853–1932), writer and educator
• Fernand Charron (1866–1921), one of the first cars constructors (Octave Mirbeau dedicated to Charron La 628-E8, 1907).
• André Bazin (1918–1958), critic of the French New Wave
• Hervé Bazin (1911–1996), writer
• Henri Dutilleux (born 1916), composer
• Joseph Wresinski (born 1917), humanitarian activist
• Paul Poupard (born 1930), Roman Catholic cardinal
• Jacques Loussier (born 1934), composer and jazz pianist
• Francis Le Jau, (1665–1717), Anglican missionary to West Indies and South Carolina, worked for the humane treatment of slaves.^[5]
• Nicolas Mahut (born 1982), tennis player
• Juliana Mialoundama, basketball player
• Eriq Ebouaney (Born 1967), actor

International relations[link]

Twin towns – sister cities[link]

Angers is twinned with:

• Haarlem, Netherlands, since 1964
• Osnabrück, Germany, since 1964
• Bamako, Mali, since 1974
• Pisa, Italy, since 1982^[6]
• Wigan, United Kingdom, since 1988
• Södertälje, Sweden, since 1998
• Seville, Spain, since 2000
• Yantai, China, since 2006
• Austin, Texas, USA, since 2011

See also[link]

Angers portal

• Timeline of deportations of French Jews to death camps

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Angers

• Official website
• Official website (French)
• Angers Info
• University of Angers (French)
• ESSCA
• Angers SCO Official Website
• The official website of Angers Tourist Information Centre
• “A Visit to the Slate Quarries of Angers,” France, article from the Scientific American – Supplement No. 974, Munn & Co., New York, 1894, on Stone Quarries and Beyond.

v t e Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department Les Alleuds Allonnes Ambillou-Château Andard Andigné Andrezé Angers Angrie Antoigné Armaillé Artannes-sur-Thouet Aubigné-sur-Layon Auverse Aviré Avrillé Baracé Baugé Bauné Beaucouzé Beaufort-en-Vallée Beaulieu-sur-Layon Beaupréau Beausse Beauvau Bécon-les-Granits Bégrolles-en-Mauges Béhuard Blaison-Gohier Blou Bocé La Bohalle La Boissière-sur-Èvre Botz-en-Mauges Bouchemaine Bouillé-Ménard Le Bourg-d'Iré Bourg-l'Évêque Bourgneuf-en-Mauges Bouzillé Brain-sur-Allonnes Brain-sur-l'Authion Brain-sur-Longuenée Breil La Breille-les-Pins Brézé Brigné Briollay Brion Brissac-Quincé Brissarthe Broc Brossay Candé Cantenay-Épinard Carbay Cernusson Les Cerqueux Les Cerqueux-sous-Passavant Chacé Challain-la-Potherie Chalonnes-sous-le-Lude Chalonnes-sur-Loire Chambellay Champigné Champ-sur-Layon Champteussé-sur-Baconne Champtocé-sur-Loire Champtoceaux Chanteloup-les-Bois Chanzeaux La Chapelle-du-Genêt La Chapelle-Hullin La Chapelle-Rousselin La Chapelle-Saint-Florent La Chapelle-Saint-Laud La Chapelle-sur-Oudon Charcé-Saint-Ellier-sur-Aubance Chartrené Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe Châtelais Chaudefonds-sur-Layon Chaudron-en-Mauges Chaumont-d'Anjou La Chaussaire Chavagnes Chavaignes Chazé-Henry Chazé-sur-Argos Cheffes Chemellier Chemillé Chemiré-sur-Sarthe Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault Chenillé-Changé Cherré Cheviré-le-Rouge Chigné Cholet Cizay-la-Madeleine Clefs Cléré-sur-Layon Combrée Concourson-sur-Layon Contigné Corné Cornillé-les-Caves La Cornuaille Coron Corzé Cossé-d'Anjou Le Coudray-Macouard Courchamps Courléon Coutures Cuon La Daguenière Daumeray Denée Dénezé-sous-Doué Dénezé-sous-le-Lude Distré Doué-la-Fontaine Drain Durtal Échemiré Écouflant Écuillé Épieds Étriché Faveraye-Mâchelles Faye-d'Anjou Feneu La Ferrière-de-Flée Le Fief-Sauvin Fontaine-Guérin Fontaine-Milon Fontevraud-l'Abbaye Forges La Fosse-de-Tigné Fougeré Freigné Le Fuilet Gée Gené Gennes Genneteil Gesté Grez-Neuville Grézillé Grugé-l'Hôpital Le Guédéniau L'Hôtellerie-de-Flée Huillé Ingrandes La Jaille-Yvon Jallais Jarzé La Jubaudière Juigné-sur-Loire La Jumellière Juvardeil La Lande-Chasles Landemont Lasse Lézigné Linières-Bouton Le Lion-d'Angers Liré Loiré Le Longeron Longué-Jumelles Louerre Louresse-Rochemenier Le Louroux-Béconnais Louvaines Lué-en-Baugeois Luigné Marans Marcé Marigné Le Marillais Martigné-Briand Maulévrier Le May-sur-Èvre Mazé Mazières-en-Mauges La Meignanne Meigné Meigné-le-Vicomte Melay La Membrolle-sur-Longuenée La Ménitré Méon Le Mesnil-en-Vallée Miré Montfaucon-Montigné Montfort Montguillon Montigné-lès-Rairies Montilliers Montjean-sur-Loire Montpollin Montreuil-Bellay Montreuil-Juigné Montreuil-sur-Loir Montreuil-sur-Maine Montrevault Montsoreau Morannes Mouliherne Mozé-sur-Louet Mûrs-Erigné Neuillé Neuvy-en-Mauges Noëllet Notre-Dame-d'Allençon Noyant Noyant-la-Gravoyère Noyant-la-Plaine Nuaillé Nueil-sur-Layon Nyoiseau Parçay-les-Pins Parnay Passavant-sur-Layon La Pellerine Pellouailles-les-Vignes Le Pin-en-Mauges La Plaine Le Plessis-Grammoire Le Plessis-Macé La Poitevinière La Pommeraye Pontigné Les Ponts-de-Cé La Possonnière Pouancé La Pouëze La Prévière Pruillé Le Puiset-Doré Le Puy-Notre-Dame Querré Rablay-sur-Layon Les Rairies La Renaudière Rochefort-sur-Loire La Romagne Les Rosiers-sur-Loire Rou-Marson Roussay Saint-André-de-la-Marche Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné Saint-Augustin-des-Bois Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou Saint-Christophe-du-Bois Saint-Christophe-la-Couperie Saint-Clément-de-la-Place Saint-Clément-des-Levées Saint-Crespin-sur-Moine Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg Sainte-Christine Sainte-Gemmes-d'Andigné Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire Saint-Florent-le-Vieil Saint-Georges-des-Gardes Saint-Georges-des-Sept-Voies Saint-Georges-du-Bois Saint-Georges-sur-Layon Saint-Georges-sur-Loire Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-sur-Moine Saint-Jean-de-la-Croix Saint-Jean-de-Linières Saint-Jean-des-Mauvrets Saint-Just-sur-Dive Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay Saint-Lambert-la-Potherie Saint-Laurent-de-la-Plaine Saint-Laurent-des-Autels Saint-Laurent-du-Mottay Saint-Léger-des-Bois Saint-Léger-sous-Cholet Saint-Lézin Saint-Macaire-du-Bois Saint-Macaire-en-Mauges Saint-Martin-d'Arcé Saint-Martin-de-la-Place Saint-Martin-du-Bois Saint-Martin-du-Fouilloux Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire Saint-Melaine-sur-Aubance Saint-Michel-et-Chanveaux Saint-Paul-du-Bois Saint-Philbert-du-Peuple Saint-Philbert-en-Mauges Saint-Pierre-Montlimart Saint-Quentin-en-Mauges Saint-Quentin-lès-Beaurepaire Saint-Rémy-en-Mauges Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne Saint-Saturnin-sur-Loire Saint-Sauveur-de-Flée Saint-Sauveur-de-Landemont Saint-Sigismond Saint-Sulpice Saint-Sylvain-d'Anjou La Salle-de-Vihiers La Salle-et-Chapelle-Aubry Sarrigné Saulgé-l'Hôpital Saumur Savennières Sceaux-d'Anjou Segré La Séguinière Seiches-sur-le-Loir Sermaise Sœurdres Somloire Soucelles Soulaines-sur-Aubance Soulaire-et-Bourg Souzay-Champigny Tancoigné La Tessoualle Thorigné-d'Anjou Thouarcé Le Thoureil Tiercé Tigné Tillières Torfou La Tourlandry Toutlemonde Trélazé Le Tremblay Trémentines Trémont Turquant Les Ulmes Valanjou La Varenne Varennes-sur-Loire Varrains Vauchrétien Vaudelnay Vaulandry Les Verchers-sur-Layon Vergonnes Vern-d'Anjou Vernantes Vernoil-le-Fourrier Verrie Vezins Le Vieil-Baugé Vihiers Villebernier Villedieu-la-Blouère Villemoisan Villevêque Vivy Yzernay