Laval (Mayenne)
Laval | ||
---|---|---|
|
||
region | Pays de la Loire | |
Department | Mayenne ( prefecture ) | |
Arrondissement | Laval ( chief lieu ) | |
Canton |
Laval-1 (main town) Laval-2 (main town) Laval-3 (main town) |
|
Community association | Laval | |
Coordinates | 48 ° 4 ′ N , 0 ° 46 ′ W | |
height | 42-122 m | |
surface | 34.22 km 2 | |
Residents | 49,728 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 1,453 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 53000 | |
INSEE code | 53130 | |
Website | www.mairie-laval.fr | |
View of castle and city on the river |
Laval is a French city with 49,728 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in Mayenne in the region Pays de la Loire . Laval is the seat of the prefecture of the department.
geography
Laval is located in the north-west of France about halfway from Le Mans to Rennes . The name of the city is derived from its geographical location in the valley of the Mayenne river : La vallée de la Mayenne . The formerly fortified old town on the right bank of the river lies on the slope of a hill; it is characterized by numerous buildings from the 16th to 18th centuries.
The seven neighboring municipalities are (clockwise from the north): Changé , Bonchamp-lès-Laval , Forcé , Entrammes , L'Huisserie , Montigné-le-Brillant and Saint-Berthevin .
City history
In the 11th century, the original castle was replaced by a stone structure, under which settlers gradually settled. At the end of the 13th century, it was already an imposing fortress, which was used to monitor the passage on the Mayenne and to block enemies the way into Brittany. The 36 m high, Romanesque defense tower was built and the city was fortified from the old bridge - the Pont Vieux dates from the 13th century - around the settlement to the Porte Beucheresse . Numerous remains of the city wall have now been restored and the adjacent area created as a park.
Allegedly built by Charles the Bald , Laval was an important market town in the Middle Ages and became the capital of its own county and peerage in 1429, and of the Mayenne department in 1790. Little by little, the left bank of the river was also settled. Guy IX's wife, Béatrix de Gâvre, Princess of Flanders, was very successful in promoting the textile industry. The Seigneurs de Laval , including the Montmorencys and Montforts , played an important role in French history, they married rich and accompanied the kings of France on the crusades. In the hundred years war they fought against the British and Guy XIV. Was a faithful follower of Joan of Arc .
In the 15th century, the settlement outside the city walls expanded. The city's wealth is based on the cultivation of linen and hemp as well as the manufacture and trade of woven articles. Dye works and laundries (bateaux lavoirs) were built. Very beautiful properties were also built, some of which are still preserved today. In 1521 Laval came to François II de La Trémoille by marriage .
During the French Revolution , Laval, like most cities, followed the new ideas, but joined the counter-revolution in 1794 and was captured by the Vendée army . Already on October 25 and 27, 1792, the Vendéers had triumphed at Laval over the Republicans under Westermann .
In 1812 the course of the Mayenne river was straightened, the quays were built, and the city center had to be relocated for the construction of a country road from Paris to Brittany. The image of the city changed. The high bridge for the Paris-Brest railway line was built from 1855 to 1856. The last battle of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 took place at the gates of the city in Saint-Melaine.
The Laval economy is still based on the textile industry today. The dairy industry, metal and leather industry as well as equipment manufacturing have been added.
Population development | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2008 |
Residents | 39.283 | 45,674 | 51,544 | 50,360 | 50,473 | 50,947 | 50,931 |
Attractions
- Church buildings
In 1855 Rome established the diocese Laval here and gave it the Latin name Valleguidonensis , the valley of the Guy, in memory of the ancestors of the Laval Castle, the Seigneurs de Laval , Guy I to XX. The parish church of Laval, which dates back to the 11th century and the second half of the 12th century, was elevated to the status of cathedral. The structural changes to the house of God extend into the 19th century and are visible today in the different architectural styles and materials.
In addition to the cathedral with a Flemish winged altar, the churches of Notre-Dame-d'Avénières from the 12th century and Notre-Dame-des-Cordeliers from the 14th to 17th centuries are among the sights.
- Laval Castle
The townscape is dominated by Laval Castle from the 12th century and its round keep. It was once the residence of the Dukes of Laval, then a prison in the 19th century, and has housed a museum of naive painting since 1966.
Teaching and Research
Twin cities
Laval maintains relationships with the following nine cities and districts through town twinning and other forms of cooperation:
city | country | since | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Boston | England, UK | 1958 | Town twinning |
Chalkidiki district | Central Macedonia, Greece | 2009 | Cultural exchange |
Gandia | Valencia, Spain | 1978 | Town twinning |
Garango | Burkina Faso | 1974 | Town twinning |
Laval | Quebec, Canada | 1984 | Town twinning |
Lovech | Bulgaria | 2010 | collaboration |
Mettmann | North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | 1974 | Town twinning |
Modesto | California, United States | 2011 | Town twinning |
Suceava | Bucovina, Romania | 2010 | collaboration |
Personalities
- Daniel Hay du Chastelet (1596–1671), member of the Académie française
- René-Louis Ambroise (1720–1794), beatified clergyman and martyr
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (* 1989), football player
- André Bellessort (1866–1942), member of the Académie Francaise
- Grégory Bourillon (* 1984), football player
- Francis Coquelin (born 1991), football player
- Claude Corbineau (1772–1807), general of the cavalry
- Philippe Dalibard (* 1958), racing cyclist
- Francis Duschesne (1736–1794), priest, one of the fourteen martyrs of Laval
- Auguste Fauchard (1881–1957), organ composer / organist
- Alain Gerbault (1893–1941), the first single-handed sailor
- Alfred Jarry (1873–1907), writer and creator of the fictional character Ubu Roi
- François Jouffroy (1806–1882), sculptor, picture carver and restorer; died in Laval
- Charles Landelle (1821–1908), painter
- Gonzaque Lécureul (1887–1984), racing car driver
- Manuela Montebrun (* 1979), track and field athlete
- Daniel Oelhert (1849–1920), geologist
- Ambroise Paré (1510–1590), founder of modern surgery
- Joseph Pellé (1720–1794), beatified clergyman and martyr
- François Pyrard (1578–1621), explorer
- Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), painter of naive painting
- Robert Tatin (1902–1983), ceramicist, painter and sculptor
- Ludovic Turpin (* 1975), racing cyclist
- Jean-Baptiste Triquerie (1737–1794), priest, one of the fourteen martyrs of Laval
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Mayenne . Volume 2. Flohic Editions, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-135-X , pp. 567-637.
Web links
Individual evidence