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Angers
Maison d'Adam, House of Adam, the oldest house of Angers Angers is a city in the Maine-et-Loire department in northwestern France about 300 km 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. There are 157,000 people in the city of Angers and close to 283,000 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 is famous for its flourishing nurseries and market gardens. It is well known for its fresh produce and cut flowers.
HistoryThe first sign of human presence on the site of Angers is a stone tool dated back to 400,000 BC (Lower Paleolithic). 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 Normans (in 845 and succeeding years) Angers was once the capital of the historic province of Anjou. Beginning in the ninth 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. The Huguenots took it in 1585, and the Vendean royalists were defeated nearby in 1793. UNtil the French Revolution Angers was the seat of a celebrated university founded in the 14th century. Main sightsThe site of a massive and ancient château, 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 twelfth century arcades of the famous abbey of Saint Aubin survive in the courtyard of the Prefecture and Hotel . The tower of the abbey church has also survived nearby. [Eglise Saint Aubin| Ruins of the old churches of Toussaint (thirteenth 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 Musee 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 sixteenth 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 third 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. EconomyThe 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). Other industries (noted in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica) included the distillation of liqueurs from fruit (the orange liqueur Cointreau is only distilled in the town of Angers and the surrounding areas); 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. Nowadays industry consists of manufacturing lorries (Scania) and computers (Bull, Packard-Bell, NEC) as well as research in horticulture and biotechnologies. Transport
There was a catastrophic failure of the Angers Bridge in 1850 which caused the deaths of over 250 soldiers on the structure at the time. It inhibited the construction of suspension bridges for many years after in France. CultureAngers has an orchestra ONPL 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 museum on the national level:
Angers is a 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. 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). SportAngers has many sport teams playing at top level:
Colleges and universitiesA centre of learning, Angers boasts two renowned universities and several specialized institutions, altogether responsible for more than 40,000 students. The city is host of L'Université Catholique de l'Ouest (UCO), one of five Catholic universities in France and a state university Université d'Angers . Angers' other educational institutions include seminaries, lycées; training colleges, an engineering school in manufacturing (ENSAM), and a school of fine art. Its education and research institutes are the driving force behind the city's science and technology industries. Angers' 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 one of the best business schools in France, recruiting students after the Baccalaureat. MiscellaneousBirthsThe city is the birthplace of:
Twin townsAngers is twinned with:
ReferencesNotesExternal links
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