Le Mans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the city in France. For the sportscar endurance race, see 24 Hours of Le Mans. For racecar type, see Le Mans Prototype. For other uses, see Le Mans (disambiguation).
"Mans" redirects here. For plural of, see Man (disambiguation). For other uses, see MANS.
Le Mans Ville
Top left: Le Mans 24 hours automobile race in June, Top right: Le Mans Justice Department Office, Middle: View of Sarthe River and historic area, include in Palais of Comtes du Maine, Bottom left: Le Mans Tramway in Gambetta Street, Bottom center: Facade built in Le Mans Commerce Center, Bottom left: Saint Julien Cathedral

Coat of arms
Le Mans Ville
Coordinates: 48°00′28″N 0°11′54″E / 48.0077°N 0.1984°E / 48.0077; 0.1984Coordinates: 48°00′28″N 0°11′54″E / 48.0077°N 0.1984°E / 48.0077; 0.1984
Country France
Region Pays de la Loire
Department Sarthe
Arrondissement Le Mansbourg
Intercommunality Le Mans
Government
 • Mayor (2001–2008) Jean-Claude Boulard
Area
 • Land1 52.81 km2 (20.39 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Population2 148,169
 • Population2 Density 2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 72181 / 72000
Dialling codes (0)243
Elevation 38–134 m (125–440 ft)
(avg. 51 m or 167 ft)

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.

Le Mans (pronounced: [lə mɑ̃]) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.

Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles. It has been host to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923.

History

Palais of Comtes du Maine, birthplace of Henry II of England (now part of the Town Hall and not open to the public)

First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy,[1] the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, a sub tribe of the Aedui. Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum (City of the Cenomani). Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, lies in the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. An amphitheatre built in the third century AD is still visible, but the thermae were demolished during the crisis of the third century to build the city's walls, which remain some of the most complete circuit of Gallo-Roman city walling that survives.[citation needed]

Gallo-Roman walls

Gregory of Tours mentions a Frankish sub-king Rigomer, who was killed by King Clovis I in his campaign to unite the Frankish territories.

As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the eleventh century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror was able to invade England successfully; however in 1069 the citizens revolted and expelled the Normans, which led to Hugh being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda of England in the cathedral, where Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was baptized.[citation needed]

World War II

Soon after Le Mans was liberated by the U.S. 79th and 90th Infantry Divisions on 8 August 1944,[2] engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground outside of the town. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as "A-35". It was used by several American fighter and transport units until late November when the airfield was closed.[3][4]

Post World War II

Main sights

A street in the old town
Manhole cover depicting the city's coat-of-arms
  • Le Mans has a well-preserved old town (Cité Plantagenêt, also called Vieux Mans), where the cobbled streets and half-timbered house fronts provided setting for Gérard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac (1989) and a cathedral: Cathédrale St-Julien, is dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans, who is honoured as the city's first bishop.
  • There are remnants of a Roman wall in the old town and Roman baths by the river. These walls are highlighted every summer (July and August) evening in a light show that tells the history of the town.
  • Arboretum de la Grand Prée
  • part of the former Cistercian abbey de l' Epau, founded by queen Berengaria and currently maintained in extensive grounds by the Département de la Sarthe.
  • Jardin des Plantes du Mans
  • Musée de la reine Bérengère, a museum of Le Mans history located in a gothic manor house.
  • Musée de Tessé, the fine arts museum of the city, displaying painting (including artworks by Philippe de Champaigne, Charles Le Brun, François Boucher, John Constable, Ingres, Théodore Géricault and Camille Corot) and archaeological collections as well as decorative arts.

Demographics

At the 1999 French census, there were 293,159 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire urbaine) of Le Mans, with 146,105 of these living in the city proper (commune).

Historical population of Le Mans
(Source: http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/psdc.htm)
Year1962196819751982199019992006
Population132,181143,246152,285147,697145,502146,105148,169

Economy

Transportation

The Gare du Mans is the main railway station of Le Mans. It takes 1 hour to reach Paris from Le Mans by TGV high speed train. There are also TGV connections to Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Brest. Gare du Mans is also a hub for regional trains. Le Mans inaugurated a new light rail system on 17 November 2007.[5]

Sport

Motorsport

Dunlop Curve

The city is best known for its connection with motorsports. There are actually two separate racing tracks at Le Mans, though they share certain portions. The smaller is the Bugatti Circuit (named after Ettore Bugatti, founder of the car company bearing his name), a relatively short permanent circuit which is used for racing throughout the year, and has hosted the French motorcycle Grand Prix. The longer and more famous Circuit de la Sarthe is composed partly of public roads, which are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing, and has been host to the infamous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race selling merchandise and promoting products for cars. The first French Grand Prix took place on a 64-mile (103 km) circuit based at Le Mans in 1906. The "Le Mans start" was formerly used in the 24 hour race: drivers lined up across the track from their cars, ran across the track, jumped into their cars and started them to begin the race. In 1955, the city was home to a disaster that killed eighty-four spectators.

Basketball

Football

Cycling

Notable people

Le Mans was the birthplace of:

Among other personalities who lived there :

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns – Sister cities

Le Mans is twinned with:

Gastronomy

The culinary specialty of Le Mans is rillettes, a shredded pork pâté.

Landmarks

At Mayet, near Le Mans, and with a height of 342 m, the Le Mans-Mayet transmitter is one of the tallest radio masts in France.

Panorama of Le Mans, facing north-west

See also

References

  1. ↑ Geography 2.8.8
  2. ↑ Blumenson, Martin, Breakout and Pursuit, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1989, pp. 436–8
  3. ↑ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
  4. ↑ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  5. ↑ "Le Mans light rail takes off". Railway Gazette International. 6 January 2008. 
  6. ↑ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 2013-07-11. 
  7. ↑ Town Twinning, bolton.gov.uk, retrieved 22 January 2010 
  8. ↑ officially since 1967, traditionally since 836 (oldest partnership of its kind).
  9. ↑ Lelièvre, Jean; Balavoine, Maurice (1994). Le Mans-Paderborn, 836-1994: dans l'Europe, une amitié séculaire, un sillage de lumière. Le Mans: M. Balavoine. pp. 1–42. Retrieved 9 August 2013. 
  10. ↑ "The Origins of Town Twinning". Inverness: The City of Inverness Town Twinning Committee. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-30. 
  11. ↑ "Twinnings". Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece. Retrieved 2013-08-25. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Le Mans.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Le Mans.
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