La Flèche

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La Flèche
Coat of arms of La Flèche
La Flèche (France)
La Flèche
region Pays de la Loire
Department Sarthe
Arrondissement La Flèche
Canton La Flèche (main town)
Community association Pays Fléchois
Coordinates 47 ° 42 ′  N , 0 ° 5 ′  W Coordinates: 47 ° 42 ′  N , 0 ° 5 ′  W
height 23-103 m
surface 74.21 km 2
Residents 14,956 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 202 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 72200
INSEE code 72154
Website http://www.ville-lafleche.fr

The former Château des Carmes , now the town hall

La Flèche is a commune with 14,956 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire ; it is the administrative center of the arrondissement of La Flèche and the canton of La Flèche .

history

In the Middle Ages, La Flèche was a parish of the diocese of Angers and in this context it was an integral part of Anjou , more precisely of Haut-Anjou, which was also called Maine angevin . From 1343 the state claimed the salt monopoly by decree of King Philip IV and introduced a salt tax called Gabelle . The Anjou was one of the countries with the so-called large table , which also affected La Flèche. The salt tax was particularly unpopular and, along with the waistline, is a prime example of the unjust tax system of the ancien régime , which is considered to be one of the main causes of the outbreak of the French Revolution .

Under Guillaume Fouquet de la Varenne, Seigneur of La Flèche, and later of Sainte-Suzanne (Mayenne) and Angers, the city gained significantly in importance. His friend Henry IV , who had spent his youth in La Flèche, founded a college here and handed it over to the Jesuits . The college developed rapidly and in 1625 already had 1,500 students. Famous men like Descartes and Prince Eugene of Savoy received their education here. However, after disputes with the governor over the right to fish in the moat, the friars were expelled in 1762. The college was converted into a cadet institute in 1764 , and under Napoleon in 1808 into a military academy, the Prytanée national militaire of La Flèche , which still exists today .

On December 8, 1793, the royalists were defeated by the republican troops at La Flèche.

When the French departments were founded, the entire north-eastern part of Anjou, including the towns of La Flèche, Le Lude and Château-du-Loir, was annexed to the new Sarthe department in 1790. In 1866 the commune of Sainte-Colombe was incorporated, and in 1965 the communes of Saint-Germain-du-Val and Verron.

The town hall right on the river was modernized in 1994 around the Château des Carmes , which was once given to the Carmelites . The castle now forms the noble entrance building, while the steel and glass outbuildings behind it create the connection to the now public Parc des Carmes .

Population development
year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2009
Residents 11.092 13,768 14,516 14,752 14,953 15,241 15,228

Neighboring communities

  • Bazouges-sur-le-Loir
  • Bousse (Sarthe)
  • Clermont-Créans
  • Cré-sur-Loir | Cré
  • Crosmières
  • Mareil-sur-Loir
  • Villaines-sous-Malicorne
  • Thorée les Pins

Attractions

Notre-Dame des Vertus chapel

Town twinning

Personalities

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Sarthe. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-84234-106-6 , pp. 542-568.

Web links

Commons : La Flèche  - Collection of images, videos and audio files