Montoire-sur-le-Loir
| Montoire-sur-le-Loir | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Center-Val de Loire | |
| Department | Loir-et-Cher | |
| Arrondissement | Vendôme | |
| Canton | Montoire-sur-le-Loir (main town) | |
| Community association | Territoires Vendômois | |
| Coordinates | 47 ° 45 ' N , 0 ° 52' E | |
| height | 60-146 m | |
| surface | 21.02 km 2 | |
| Residents | 3,782 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 180 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 41800 | |
| INSEE code | 41149 | |
 Place Clémenceau with the Saint-Laurent church |
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Montoire-sur-le-Loir is a commune with 3782 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Loir-et-Cher in the region Center-Val de Loire . It belongs to the Arrondissement of Vendôme and is the main town (chef-lieu) of the 18 municipalities in the canton of Montoire-sur-le-Loir .
geography
The small town of Montoire-sur-le-Loir on the middle reaches of the Loir is located roughly in the middle of the city triangle Le-Mans - Tours - Orléans . The town center is about 90 meters above sea level. In the north of the 21 km² municipal area, a forest area ( Bois de Fargot ) reaches a maximum height of 146 m. The districts of Fargot, Fosse, Saint-Quentin-lès-Troo, Ruau, Valleron and Saint-Oustrille , opposite the Loir, belong to Montoire-sur-le-Loir , neighboring communities are Fontaine-les-Coteaux and Lunay in the north, Les Roches- l'Évêque and Saint-Rimay in the northeast, Villavard in the east, Lavardin in the south, Saint-Martin-des-Bois in the southwest and west and Troo in the northwest.
history
Montoire arose around the Saint-Gilles priory, which was founded in the 7th century . The place is on the Loir on a hill on which Charles the Bald built a castle in the 9th century to protect against Norman invasions. Parts of the donjon and the surrounding wall of the castle built on this site by the lords of Montoire at the end of the 11th century are still preserved. One of the French Way of St. James led via Montoire, and pilgrims on their way to Tours to the tomb of St. Martin also stopped here.
Of historical interest in modern times are the meetings of Adolf Hitler with the French Prime Minister Laval and with Marshal Pétain , which took place in 1940 on October 22nd and October 24th in Montoire. A photo of the two heads of government taken on October 24th was widely disseminated by German propaganda and marks a turning point for the Vichy government: On October 30th, Pétain announced on the radio that he would immediately take the path of collaboration .
Population development
| 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2012 |
| 2,797 | 3,466 | 3,932 | 4,200 | 4,065 | 4,275 | 4.127 | 3,963 |
Attractions
Worth seeing in Montoire:
- some Renaissance houses,
- the ruins of the castle built in the 11th century by the first seigneurs of Montoire with remains of the donjon and the surrounding walls,
- the Saint-Gilles chapel with Romanesque frescoes ,
- the Saint-Laurent church (with the organ of the Cistercian Abbey of La Virginité ),
- the botanical garden "La Fosse".
Saint-Gilles Chapel
The Saint-Gilles (Aegidius) chapel belonged to the former Benedictine priory of the Saint-Calais monastery, probably founded in the 11th century by the lords of Montoire. The location on the pilgrimage routes suggests economic well-being. The most famous prior of Saint-Gilles was the poet Pierre de Ronsard in 1566 .
After the priory was dissolved during the French Revolution , the building fell into disrepair, and although valuable paintings from the Romanesque style epoch had been uncovered inside in 1840, the municipal council did not interest it. Only the private rescue initiative of the Gerard family secured the chapel's existence.
The paintings of Saint-Gilles are among the most artistic and beautiful that have ever come down from the Romanesque period. The enthroned Christ (Majestas Domini) appears monumentally in all three apses, which form a cloverleaf chancel and transept. The oldest representation in the dome of the east apse comes from the second quarter of the 12th century.
Bridge over the Loir
Street towards the castle ruins
Saint-Gilles Chapel
partnership
Montoire-sur-le-Loir maintains a town partnership with the Polish Łowicz .
Personalities
- Charles Bouvard (1572-1658), physician
- Charles Busson (1822–1908), landscape painter
literature
- Wilfried Hansmann : The Loire Valley. Castles, churches and cities in the «Garden of France» . 2nd Edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 3-7701-6614-0 , p. 237 .
- Meyer's Encyclopedic Lexicon . Bibliographical Institute, Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1973, Volume 16, p. 474.
- Wilfried Hansmann: The Loire Valley. Castles, churches and cities in the «Garden of France» . DuMont Reiseverlag, Cologne 2003, ISBN 3-7701-6086-X , p. 244.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Le Monde hors-série: 1940, la débâcle et l'espoir, May / June 2010
