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Le Mans

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Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox French commune

Le Mans (Template:IPAc-en; {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.

Its inhabitants are called Manceaux (male) and Mancelles (female). Since 1923, the city has hosted the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest active endurance sports car race. The event is among the most attended and prestigious motor sports events in the world.

HistoryEdit

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First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy,<ref>Geography 2.8.8</ref> 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), or Cenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. A 3rd-century amphitheatre is still visible. The thermae were demolished during the crisis of the third century when workers were mobilized to build the city's defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of Gallo-Roman city walls to survive.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

As the use of the French language replaced late Vulgar Latin in the area, Cenomanus, with dissimilation, became known as Celmins. Cel- was taken to be a form of the French word for "this" and "that", and was replaced by le, which means "the".

As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the eleventh century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror successfully invaded England and established an occupation. In 1069 the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda of England in the cathedral. Their son Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was born in the town.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the 13th century Le Mans came under the control of the French crown. It was subsequently invaded by England during the Hundred Years' War.<ref name="britannica.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Industrialization took place in the 19th century which saw the development of railway and motor vehicle production as well as textiles and tobacco manufacture.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

Wilbur Wright began official public demonstrations of the airplane he had developed with his younger brother Orville on 8 August 1908, at the Hunaudières horse racing track near Le Mans.<ref name="hc">Template:Cite book</ref>

World War IIEdit

Just outside Le Mans city centre there used to be an airfield, built to protect the Renault factory.

Soon after Le Mans was liberated by the U.S. 79th and 90th Infantry Divisions on 8 August 1944,<ref>Blumenson, Martin, Breakout and Pursuit, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1989, pp. 436–8</ref> engineers of the Ninth Air Force Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground on a location the Germans had used a simple airfield. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as "A-35". It was used by several American fighter and transport units in additional offensives across France; the airfield was closed in November 1944.<ref>Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.</ref><ref>Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Main sightsEdit

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GalleryEdit

  • Palais des comtes du Maine - Le Mans.jpg

    Le Palais des Comtes du Maine<ref group="n">birthplace of Henry II of England (now part of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and not open to the public)</ref>

  • Le Mans muraille Gallo Romaine nord-est.JPG

    Gallo-Roman walls

  • Organ in the cathedral.JPG

    Organ in the cathedral

  • Street Le Mans 2009 SK.jpg

    A street in the old town

  • LeMansCoatArms.JPG

    Manhole cover depicting the city's coat-of-arms

  • Yvre - Abbaye Epau RB 01.jpg

    Effigy of Berengaria of Navarre in the chapter house of Épau abbey.

  • Place de la mairie Le Mans.JPG

    The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)

ClimateEdit

Le Mans has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) influenced by the mild Atlantic air travelling inland. Summers are warm and occasionally hot, whereas winters are mild and cloudy. Precipitation is relatively uniform and moderate year round.

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DemographicsEdit

Template:As of, there were 367,082 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire d'attraction) of Le Mans, with 143,252 of these living in the city proper (commune).<ref>Comparateur de territoire: Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 du Mans (034), INSEE</ref> In 1855 Le Mans absorbed four neighbouring communes.<ref name=ehess/> The population data for 1851 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1855 borders. Template:Historical populations

TransportationEdit

The Gare du Mans is the main railway station of Le Mans. It takes 1 hour to reach Paris from Le Mans by TGV high speed train. There are also TGV connections to Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Brest. Gare du Mans is also a hub for regional trains. Le Mans inaugurated a new light rail system on 17 November 2007.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

SportEdit

MotorsportEdit

File:Le Mans 2007 - Dunlop Curve.jpg
Dunlop Curve
File:Empreinte pilotes 24h.jpg
Handprints and signatures from the winners of the 1992 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mark Blundell, Derek Warwick, and Yannick Dalmas, at Le Mans

The first French Grand Prix took place on a 64-mile (103 km) circuit based at Le Mans in 1906.

Since the 1920s, the city has been best known for its connection with motorsports. There are two official and 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 and regularly hosts the French motorcycle Grand Prix. The longer and more famous Circuit de la Sarthe is composed partly of public roads. These are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing. Since 1923, this route has been used for the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race, selling merchandise and promoting products for cars.

The "Le Mans start" was formerly used in the 24-hour race: drivers lined up across the track from their cars, ran across the track, jumped into their cars and started them to begin the race.

The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a large accident during the race that killed eighty-four spectators.

BasketballEdit

The city is home to Le Mans Sarthe Basket, 2006 Champion of the LNB Pro A, France's top professional basketball division.

The team plays its home games at the Antarès, which served as one of the host arenas of the FIBA EuroBasket 1999.

FootballEdit

CyclingEdit

Notable peopleEdit

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Le Mans was the birthplace of:

File:Basile Moreau CSC.jpg
Basil Moreau around 1860

Notable residents include:

Died in Le Mans:

International relationsEdit

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Le Mans is twinned with:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Div col

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GastronomyEdit

The culinary specialty of Le Mans is rillettes, a shredded pork pâté.

LandmarksEdit

Located at Mayet near Le Mans, the Le Mans-Mayet transmitter has a height of 342 m and is one of the tallest radio masts in France.

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Representation in popular cultureEdit

  • Le Mans has been a setting for numerous feature films that feature its famous race.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Le Mans is a setting for sections of the 2020 novel, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

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External linksEdit

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