Angers
Angers is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the province are called Angevins or, more rarely, Angeriens.
Angers proper covers and has a population of 154,508 inhabitants, while around 432,900 live in its metropolitan area. The Angers Loire Métropole is made up of 29 communes covering with 299,500 inhabitants. Not including the broader metropolitan area, Angers is the third most populous commune in northwestern France after Nantes and Rennes and the 18th most populous commune in France.
For centuries, Angers was an important stronghold in northwestern France. It was the cradle of the Plantagenet dynasty and became one of the intellectual centers of Europe during the reign of René of Anjou. Angers developed at the confluence of three rivers, the Mayenne, the Sarthe, and the Loir, all coming from the north and flowing south to the Loire. Their confluence, just north of Angers, creates the Maine, a short but wide river that flows into the Loire several kilometres south.
Today, Angers stands out for its specialization in the plant sector: Végépolys is Europe's leading horticultural competitiveness cluster, and the city is also home to the headquarters of the Community Plant Variety Office. In addition, the Angers metropolitan area is a major economic centre in western France, particularly active in industry and tourism. Angers enjoys a rich cultural life, made possible by its universities and museums. The old medieval center is still dominated by the massive château of the Plantagenêts, home of the Apocalypse Tapestry, the biggest medieval tapestry ensemble in the world. Angers is also both at the edge of the Val de Loire, a World Heritage Site, and the Loire-Anjou-Touraine regional natural park.
Toponymy
Etymology
The city is first mentioned by Ptolemy around AD 150 in his Geography. It was then known as Juliomagus, a name by which it also appears in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The name is a compound of the Latin name Julius and the Celtic magos, "market". Similar town dedications were common in Roman Gaul, and toponyms often kept a Gallic element.When the location needed to be distinguished from other Juliomagi, it was known as Juliomagus Andecavorum, in reference to the principal Gallic tribe in and around the city.
Around AD 400, the city came to be referred to as the civitas Andecavorum. This was a common change in Gaul, also seen in the names of Paris, Tours and Évreux around this time. During the Middle Ages, the late Latin name gradually developed into the modern one. It is successively mentioned as Andecava civitas, Andecavis, Andegavis, Angieus and Angeus. The form Angiers appeared during the 12th century and was later corrupted to "Angers".
The Latin Andecavum also gave Anjou its name. This double formation is quite common in France and is also seen in Poitiers and Poitou, and Bourges and Berry.
Nicknames
Angers was traditionally known as the "Black City" because many roofs were built of slate, due to the quarry in neighbouring Trélazé. These have become less common since the development of the city in the 19th century.The city has also been known as:
- "The Athens of the West", a name borne since the 19th century from the development of its university
- "The City of Flowers", a name from the Second Empire
- "Green City", in reference to its numerous parks and important horticultural industry
- "Angers the White", from its modern tufa façades and with ironic reference to its former name
Heraldry
- Antique clef de France,
- Neteté de souffrance,
- Garant contre ennemis,
- Etappe d'assurance,
- Recours de secourance,
- Securité d'amis.
In 1949, Angers received the 1939–1945 War Cross and since then, the decoration is sometimes placed between the two fleurs de lys.
Angers also had several mottos through its history:
- During Antiquity: Assiuis conciliis ;
- From 1434 to 1480 : D'ardent désir;
- In 1499: Antique clef de France;
- Until June 1987: Angers, la qualité.
Geography
Location
Angers is located at the geographical center of the Maine-et-Loire department, on the road which connects Paris to the Atlantic Ocean. The city is situated just south of the confluence of the Loir, Mayenne and Sarthe, which form together the river Maine. The Maine crosses Angers and heads south towards the Loire. The confluence of the three rivers and the proximity of the Loire make up a natural crossroads which favoured the foundation of the antique Juliomagus.Angers is located from Nantes, from Rennes, from Poitiers and from Paris. It is also far from Pornic, the closest sea resort, situated on the Atlantic Ocean.
Elevation varies above sea level.
Angers is a hilly town, particularly marked by a rocky promontory dominating the lower valley of Anjou. This was the site of the ancient city and still houses the town's castle, cathedral, and medieval quarters.
At the north and south, where the river Maine arrives in and leaves Angers, the landscape is formed by islands, ponds and floodplains which are a haven for birds and a typical flora of the Val de Loire. The étang Saint-Nicolas and Lac de Maine, both artificial, are among the biggest green areas of the city.
Metropolitan area
The commune of Angers is bordered by ten other communes which form various suburbs. These are, clockwise, Avrillé, Cantenay-Épinard, Écouflant, Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, Trélazé, Les Ponts-de-Cé, Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire, Bouchemaine and Beaucouzé. 22 other communes situated farther form with them the Communauté urbaine Angers Loire Métropole. All these peripheral communes are situated within from Angers proper. Together, they have around 272,400 inhabitants.Climate
Angers has an oceanic climate, with moderate rain year-round. Winters have scarce frosts and snowfalls, and summers are warm and sunny.Urban morphology
The oldest streets and buildings in Angers are located on the promontory where the Angers castle stands. The urban structure there dates back from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.A military presence there was attested from the 3rd century and some remains of an antique city wall are still visible on the castle grounds. This wall was built to protect the city from the Germanic invasions of AD 275 and 276.
During the Middle Ages, the castle was the core of the city's defence system, composed of tall city walls and river chains which prevented enemy ships from going up the Maine. The walls were last reconstructed between 1230 and 1240, by order of King Louis IX. Today, portions of the wall are still visible in Rue Toussaint and on Boulevard Carnot, as are some towers, like the Tour Villebon and the Tour des Anglais.
Before the first cadastre, the city had not extended much beyond its medieval limits: on and around the castle promontory, with some dwellings on the other bank of the Maine in a neighbourhood called La Doutre. That part of the city developed quickly during the industrial revolution and became a big river port. Industry was encouraged by firms like Bessonneau and Cointreau.
After 1850, many suburbs appeared around the train stations and the slate quarries to the south in Trélazé. Despite the port in La Doutre, demographic growth and urban extension were more significant on the eastern bank of the Maine, where the former Juliomagus had been founded.
The medieval city center was redeveloped and expanded from 1791. The Place du Ralliement, the main square, was then built in place of three churches destroyed during the French Revolution and, later, ring boulevards planted with trees replaced the city walls.
The architectural style used is mainly Haussmanian, but there are also some Palladian, Art Nouveau or Art Deco buildings.
After 1945 and the Second World War, several large council estates made of tower blocks were built around the city center, the first of them being Belle-Beille in 1953. Industrial activity changed drastically: port activity declined while new factories, such as Technicolor SA in 1957, were built. During the 1970s, the collective approach to urban development gave way to more individual houses being built for the middle class.
As the metropolitan area continued to grow, commuting became more common. New shopping areas were constructed close to the villages which had been subsumed into the city. Because of the floodplains that surround the city north and south, Angers can only grow significantly on an east–west axis.
Green areas
Being both at the edge of the Val de Loire World Heritage site and on the largest river confluence in France, Angers has a high natural potential, notably highlighted by the Saint-Aubin island, situated north of the center and covering a tenth of the city total surface. Protected, the island is formed of swamps and natural meadows.The oldest green areas date back from the Renaissance, when the moats of the castle were transformed into pleasure and kitchen gardens. Similar gardens were built by the aristocracy around their hôtels particuliers and physic garden were planted in hospices cloisters. The Jardin des plantes, the first botanical garden, dates back from the beginning of the 18th century. During the 19th century, others were built, for example the Faculty of Pharmacy garden and the Roseraie. The first recreational parks, for their part, were built during the Second French Empire. The étang Saint-Nicolas, made by a sluice on a small river, the Brionneau, was protected as early as 1936.
The Jardin du Mail, an esplanade situated outside the ring boulevards, was built between 1820 and 1880 on the former Champs de Mars. Another esplanade, the Mail François Mitterrand, was built in 1999 together with a garden inside the new Saint-Serge business district. During the 1960s the old gravel pits around the Maine were filled with water to form the Lac de Maine, which now hosts a marina. In 2010, a large amusement park, Terra Botanica, was inaugurated close to Saint-Aubin island.