Argentan
Argentan | |
|---|---|
Location of  | |
| Country | France |
| Arrondissement | Argentan |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 61006 / |
Argentan is a commune, and the chief town of two cantons and of an arrondissement of the Orne département, in France.
Geography
Argentan is located 180 km NE of Rennes, 131 km ENE of Le-Mont-Saint-Michel, 188 km SE of Cherbourg, 58 km SSE of Caen, 133 km SW of Rouen and 100 km N of Le Mans.
Sites of interest
- Donjon of Argentan
History
Argentan is an old Roman town built along the Orne River. The town continued to grow during the Middle Ages. Argentan was the site of the Battle of Argentan in 1944 during the Second World War.
Following the Viking invasion, in the north of France, the « Neustrie » became « Normandy » (literally: north man country). The Viking chief, « Rolf the walker », let the town to one of his lieutenant. Throughout all of the Middle Ages, Argentan was, turn to turn, a rich place, or totally burnt. With war against the English army, English forces occupied the city several times. In fact, the Plantagenet had considered this town as one of the most important towns of Normandy. During Louis XIV time, Colbert pushed Alençon against Argentan by economic competition about lace. By this way, the Point of Argentan was founded. Argentan became a very important town for traditional industry, moreover for religious power with Benedictines and convent. Two very impressive churches were built: Saint-Martin and Saint-Germain; Several particular hotels to.
With the French Revolution, Argentan starting to be more quiet. During the World Wars, the city suffered: many young men of Argentan died in Verdun under the 104th infantry regiment in 1916. During the Second World War, the city was almost totally destroyed.
In 1944, during the June 6 bombing preceding the Allied landings at Normandy, the city was partially destroyed by B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. The majority of the city was, however, destroyed at the end of August the same year. The U.S. Third Army, under the command of general George S. Patton liberated Argentan after eight days of violent combats against the 9th Panzer Division and soldiers of the 2nd SS Panzer Division. It was the U.S. 80th Infantry Division which liberated the city, in the morning of August 20. The city burnt again.
Miscellaneous
Today the town is developing tourism.
People
Argentan was the birthplace of:
- François-Eudes de Mézeray (1610-1683), historian
- Fernand Léger, painter
- André Mare, painter
- Michel Onfray (born January 1, 1959), French philosopher
Twin towns
Argentan is twinned with: