Sainte-Suzanne (Mayenne)

Sainte-Suzanne
local community	Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes
region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Mayenne
Arrondissement	Laval
Coordinates	48 ° 6 ′ N , 0 ° 21 ′ W Coordinates: 48 ° 6 ′ N , 0 ° 21 ′ W
Post Code	53270
Former INSEE code	53255
Incorporation	January 1, 2016
status	Commune déléguée
Website	http://www.ste-suzanne.com/
	; The medieval old town of Sainte-Suzanne

Sainte-Suzanne is a town and commune Déléguée in the French commune of Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes with 931 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in Mayenne in the region Pays de la Loire .

Sainte-Suzanne has been classified as one of the Plus beaux villages de France ( Most Beautiful Villages in France ) since 2010 .

geography

The Erve and the forêt de la Charnie in the background

Halfway between Laval and Le Mans , Sainte-Suzanne is an old, fortified place from the 11th century, located on a rocky hill in the shape of a triangle, 70 meters above the course of the Erve River .

At the foot of the city wall, the promenade de la Poterne offers a wonderful view: to the south towards the fôret de Charnie forest and towards the Anjou , to the north to the hills of Coëvrons . Sainte-Suzanne is considered the pearl of the Mayenne department and one of the most beautiful sights in western France.

history

1083–1086: Siege of Sainte-Suzanne by William the Conqueror .
1422: the commander-in-chief of Sainte-Suzanne is Ambroise de Loré , companion of Joan of Arc .
1425–1439: Sainte-Suzanne is conquered by the English. The English commander in chief is John Fastolf , model for Shakespeare's Falstaff .
1589: Attack by the Duke of Mercœur , army commander of the Catholic League against the monarchy ( Henry IV was then in control of Sainte-Suzanne).
1604: Guillaume Fouquet de la Varenne buys the barony of Sainte-Suzanne from Queen La reine Margot and builds the main building of the castle in 1608. Fouquet was the first public post controller in France and governor of the province of Anjou.

1661: King Louis XIV supports the local trade and grants the city of Sainte-Suzanne six annual fairs .

1725: Founding of a salt storage facility . In the 18th century, Sainte-Suzanne was an economically lively market town thanks to numerous grain, cloth and paper mills as well as two well-known playing card factories.

1884: Sainte-Suzanne gets its current appearance through the breakthrough of the rue de la cité and the construction of a new town hall, where the market hall used to be.

1967: Sulzheim (Rheinhessen) becomes a partner municipality of the canton of Sainte-Suzanne.

1999–2008: the Mayenne department buys and renovates the castle.

The commune of Sainte-Suzanne merged with Chammes on January 1, 2016 to form Commune nouvelle Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes. It belonged to the Laval arrondissement and was the capital of the eponymous canton of Sainte-Suzanne .

Buildings

The approximately 6000 year old Dolmen des Erves is one of the oldest and most famous megalithic monuments in the Mayenne department.
The "Glass Burned Wall" ( Celtic origin), city wall, former drawbridge and observation tower from the 11th century
The camp of the English or Camp de Beugy 11th century. Camp of William the Conqueror (1083-1086). Thanks to its well-preserved condition, this extraordinary monument is a rare evidence of the construction of the earth walls.
The castle and the medieval old town.
The Renaissance castle of Fouquet de la Varenne (built 1604–1608)
The courtroom museum, Musée de l'auditoire, under the motto "Sainte-Suzanne, 3000 years of history"
The church of Sainte-Suzanne, early 16th century; Reconstruction at the end of the 19th century
The former mill on the river Erve.