Loches

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Loches
Loches coat of arms
Loches (France)
Loches
region Center-Val de Loire
Department Indre-et-Loire
Arrondissement Loches
Canton Loches (main town)
Community association Loches Sud Touraine
Coordinates 47 ° 8 ′  N , 1 ° 0 ′  E Coordinates: 47 ° 8 ′  N , 1 ° 0 ′  E
height 64-147 m
surface 27.06 km 2
Residents 6,277 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 232 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 37600
INSEE code 37132
Website www.ville-loches.fr

Hole is a French municipality with 6277 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in Indre-et-Loire in the region of Center-Val de Loire ; it is the administrative seat of the Arrondissement Loches and the Canton of Loches . The inhabitants of Loches are called Lochois or Lochoises .

Loches is a small medieval town overlooked by one of the oldest donjons in Europe. The builder of the donjon was Fulko III. the black , Count of Anjou .

geography

With the municipalities of Beaulieu-lès-Loches , Ferrière-sur-Beaulieu and Perrusson , Loches forms a small agglomeration of around ten thousand inhabitants near the city of Tours , with which it is connected by the TER .

economy

The local economy now depends heavily on tourism - the place is particularly popular with the British, who see it in connection with the history of the royal family of the Anjou-Plantagenet . In the past, the economy was mainly based on mushroom cultivation for Paris , which in its heyday gave work to up to 600 people; this branch of production was given up in 1994 .

Attractions

Tour Saint-Antoine
Loches keep
Logis Royal
Tour St-Antoine, and Loches Castle in the background
  • The donjon : 36 meters high, square plan and excellent state of preservation; probably built by Fulko III. from Anjou in the 11th century . The fortress was built in the 15th century by Louis XI. converted into a royal prison. It houses the cells of Philippe de Commynes, Cardinal Balue and the Duke of Milan, who passed the time with wall paintings. 1801 gave Napoleon the state prison to the department on. The donjon was used as a prison until 1926 . Next to the donjon is the Tour Louis XI. from the Renaissance , which served purely military purposes.
  • The Logis Royal : Erected on a mountain spur and dominating the Indre valley from here , the Logis Royal was one of the most popular residences of the Valois during the Hundred Years War . Charles VII had a first military-style building built at the end of the 14th century . His successors extended it to include a second wing with a Gothic facade in the flamboyant style . Three women have shaped the history of the Logis Royal: Jeanne d'Arc , Agnès Sorel and Anne de Bretagne .
  • The Porte Royale : the only access to the citadel . It dates to the 12th and 13th centuries . From here you can get to the medieval Cité with Donjon, Logis Royal and Saint-Ours collegiate church, as well as the Maison Lansyer and the remains of the fortifications. The Porte Royale can be reached through the garden of Maison Lansyer.
  • The collegiate church of Saint-Ours : Romanesque and Gothic building from the 11th and 12th centuries, whose mix of styles is due to the long construction period. Portal with sculptures of people and animals as well as remains of colored painting, as well as two eight-sided towers (“Dubes”) from 1165 . Agnes Sorel's grave has been located here since April 2005.
  • The Maison Lansyer : home of the painter Emmanuel Lansyer .
  • The Chancellerie (municipal museum) and next to it the Maison du Centaure with a relief of Hercules and a centaur on the facade.
  • The Tour Saint-Antoine : Former church tower and bell tower of the city, 52 meters high. Erected between 1529 and 1575 , it is the only Renaissance bell tower in Touraine . Generally not open to the public.
  • The Porte des Cordeliers from the 15th century on the road to Spain. The name comes from the nearby Franciscan convent (Cordeliers).
  • Carrière de Vignemont : Former tuff quarry, which in the past not only served as a quarry, but with its caves also as a breeding station for mushrooms and as a retreat in case of danger.
  • Manoir de Sansac : Small renaissance castle by Louis Prévost de Sansac with an asymmetrical facade. King Franz I first met Emperor Karl V here. The castle is privately owned.

Town twinning

various

Two images attributed to Caravaggio were found in the Saint-Antoine church: Pèlerinage de Notre Seigneur à Emmaüs and Saint Thomas mettant son doigt en la plaie du Christ

Personalities

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes d'Indre-et-Loire. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-84234-115-5 , pp. 827-844.

Web links

Commons : Loches  - collection of images, videos and audio files