Everything about Le Mans totally explained
Le Mans (in
French) is a
city in
France, located on the
Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of
Maine, it's now the
préfecture (capital) of the
Sarthe département, and is furthermore the seat of the
Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Its inhabitants are called
Manceaux and
Mancelles; and has been host to the famous
24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923.
History
First mentioned by
Ptolemy (
Geography 2.8.8), the
Roman city
Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, a sub tribe of the
Aedui. Le Mans is also known as
Civitas Cenomanorum (City of the
Cenomani). Their city lies in the ancient Roman
province of
Gallia Lugdunensis. An
amphitheatre built in the
3rd century AD is still visible.
Gregory of Tours mentions a
Frankish sub-king Rigomer, who was killed by
Clovis in his campaign to unite the Frankish territories.
As the principal city of
Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the 11th century between the counts of
Anjou and the dukes of
Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine,
William the Conqueror was able to successfully invade
England; however in 1069 the citizens revolted and expelled the Normans, which led to
Hugh V being proclaimed
count of Maine.
During
World War II, Le Mans was liberated by the
US 5th Armored Division on
August 8,
1944 following their breakout from the
Normandy beachheads.
Sights
Le Mans has a well-preserved old town (
Cité Plantagenêt, also called
Vieux Mans) and a
cathedral:
Cathédrale St-Julien, dedicated to
St Julian of Le Mans, who is honoured as the city's first bishop. There are remnants of a
Roman wall in the old town and Roman baths by the river.
Demographics
At the 1999 French census, there were 293,159 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (
aire urbaine) of Le Mans, with 146,105 of these living in the city proper (
commune).
source : http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/psdc.htm
Sport
Motorsport
The city is best known for its connection with motorsports. There are actually two separate racing tracks at Le Mans, though they share certain portions. The smaller is the
Bugatti Circuit (named after
Ettore Bugatti, founder of the
car company bearing his name), a relatively short permanent circuit which is used for racing throughout the year. The longer and more famous
Circuit de la Sarthe is composed partly of public roads, which are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing, and has been host to the famous
24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race selling merchandise and promoting products for cars. The first
French Grand Prix took place here
in 1906. The "Le Mans start" takes its name from the way racers lined up across the street from their cars and ran across the street and jumped into their cars to begin.
Basketball
Football
Le Mans UC72
Births
Le Mans was the birthplace of:
Henry II of England, born 1133
Geoffroy V d'Anjou, born 1113
Geoffrey de Goreham or Gorron, became Abbott of St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, in 1119
Dom Louis Le Pelletier, born 1663, linguist of the breton language
Gilles-François de Beauvais, born 7 July 1693, was a Jesuit writer and preacher.
Jean Rondeau, born in 1946, racecar driver and constructor
François Fillon, born in 1954, Prime Minister of France.
Julien Cottereau, born 1969, actor and clown - Cirque du Soleil, now in his own show Imagine Toi.
Sébastien Bourdais, born 1979, racecar driver
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, born 1985, professional tennis player.
Sister Cities
- Bolton, United Kingdom
- Haouza, Western Sahara
- Paderborn, Germany - officially since 1967, traditionally since 836 (oldest partnership of its kind in Europe).
- Rostov-on-Don, Russia
- Suzuka, Japan
- Volos, Greece
Others
The culinary specialty of Le Mans is rillettes, a shredded pork paté.
At Mayet, near Le Mans, and with a height of 342m, the Le Mans-Mayet transmitter is one of the tallest radio masts in France.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Le Mans'.
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