Angers

Angers is a city in the Maine-et-Loire department in north-western France about 300 km south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins. Angers proper has a population of 157,000 inhabitants, while c. 283,000 live in its metropolitan area. The city traces its roots to early Roman times. It occupies both banks of the Maine, which is spanned by six bridges. The district along the river is famous for its flourishing nurseries and market gardens. It is well known for its fresh produce and cut flowers.

The site of a massive and ancient château, the city is also noted for the impressive twin spires of the twelfth century Cathedral of Saint-Maurice. Other noteworthy churches around Angers include St. Serge, an abbey-church of the 12th and 15th centuries, and the twelfth century La Trinité Cathedral. The elaborately sculptured eleventh and twelfth century arcades of the famous abbey of Saint Aubin survive in the courtyard of the Prefecture and Hotel du Departement. The tower of the abbey church has also survived nearby.

Ruins of the old churches of Toussaint (thirteenth century) and Notre-Dame du Ronceray (eleventh century) are also nearby. The ancient hospital of St. Jean (twelfth century) is occupied by Jean Lurcat's tapestries. The Logis Barrault, a mansion built in 1486-92, houses the Musee des Beaux-Arts, which has a large collection of paintings and sculptures. In 1984 the former abbey church of Toussaint became the Musee David d'Angers consisting of works by the sculptor David d'Angers, who was a native of the town. In the middle of a main boulevard near the museum stands his bronze statue of René of Anjou, who was born in the chateau of Angers.

The Hôtel de Pincé or d'Anjou (1523-1530) is the finest of the stone mansions of Angers. There are also many curious wooden houses of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Palais de Justice, the Catholic Institute, a fine theatre, and a hospital with 1500 beds are the more remarkable of the modern buildings of the town. Angers is the seat of a bishopric, dating from the third century; a prefecture; a court of appeal; and a court of assizes (criminal courts). It has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce, a branch of the Bank of France, and several learned societies.

Angers is connected by Motorway A11 to Paris (c. 295 km) and to Nantes (c. 90 km). A TGV railways line goes from Angers-St Laud station to Paris in some 1h35. The nearest airport is the Angers - Loire Airport. In 1850 a catastrophic failure of the Angers Bridge caused the deaths of over 250 soldiers. It inhibited the construction of suspension bridges for many years in France.