Meung-sur-Loire

Meung-sur-Loire
Commune

Château of Meung-sur-Loire

Coat of arms
Meung-sur-Loire

Coordinates: 47°49′46″N 1°41′57″E / 47.8294°N 1.6992°E / 47.8294; 1.6992Coordinates: 47°49′46″N 1°41′57″E / 47.8294°N 1.6992°E / 47.8294; 1.6992
Country France
Region Centre-Val de Loire
Department Loiret
Arrondissement Orléans
Canton Meung-sur-Loire
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Pauline Martin
Area1 20.35 km2 (7.86 sq mi)
Population (2012)2 6,115
 • Density 300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 45203 /45130
Elevation 82–113 m (269–371 ft)
(avg. 100 m or 330 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.

Meung-sur-Loire (French pronunciation: ​[mœ̃ syʁ lwaʁ]) is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.

It was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire in 1429.

Geography

Meung-sur-Loire lies 15 km to the west of Orleans on the north bank of the River Loire at the confluence with the River Mauves. The Mauves, actually three rivers, have their source in the water table of the productive agricultural region of the Beauce.

History

There is evidence of mesolithic settlements at « Mousseau » and « La Haute-Murée ».[1]

A Gallo-Roman fortified village recorded as Magdunum was built in the marais adjoining the river, which in 409 was fired by the invading Alans. The marais was drained, according to tradition by Saint Liphard around the year 520. The canalisation formed the watercourses known as the mauves. He went on to build the chapel which was to become the monastery and the abbey. His relics were deposited in the church in 1104, the year after Louis VI had founded as fortress.

During the 12th century the church was rebuilt in the gothic style, and fortified accommodation for tha abbot built alongside. Jeanne d'Arc visited in 1429, and this was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire. The complex was restored in 1570, again during the 19th century and again in 1985.

The river defined the town, in 1857, 38 mills had the right to use the waters of the rivers to power themselves.

Fiction

In fiction, it has been described by Alexandre Dumas in The Three Musketeers as the village where d'Artagnan, en route to join the King's Musketeers in Paris, first encounters the villainous Comte de Rochefort. Also in fiction, Meung-sur-Loire is the country home of Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, Georges Simenon's classic crime fiction character. Maigret and his wife Louise eventually retire to their Meung-sur-Loire home, where he spends his time fishing (pike), and she tends, according to her sister, any number of animals.[2]

Points of interest

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rozoy (Dr J.-G.) – 1978 – Les derniers chasseurs. L'Epipaléolithique en France et en Belgique. Essai de synthèse. Charleville, Rozoy éd., 30 cm, 3 vol., 1500 p., 6500 objets figurés.
  2. ↑ Maigret Returns
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