Prefecture of Maine-et-Loire (49)
Population: 157,500 (Angevins, Angevines) and 306,600 in the Angers Loire Métropole conurbation.
Specialities: chocolates (Quernons d'ardoise, Caramande), liqueurs (Cointreau, Menthe Pastille), pike-perch with sorrel, chicken fricassee à l'Angevine, Anjou wines
Personalities: René d'Anjou (king), David d'Angers (sculptor), Hervé Bazin (novelist), Jean-Claude Brialy, Daniel Gélin (actors), Patrice Chéreau (theatre), Roselyne Bachelot (former minister), Valérie Trierweiler (journalist), Pascal Rabaté (comic strip), Nicolas Mahut (tennis)
Sport: Angers-SCO (football), Ducs d'Angers (ice hockey), UFAB (women's basketball), La Vaillante (table tennis)
Economy: Tourism, student centre (36,000 students), two centres of excellence in plant-based and digital technologies.
Festivals: Les Accroche-Cœurs (theatre), Premiers Plans (cinema), Tempo Rives (music), Angers BD (comic strips)
Labels: Ville d'Art et d'Histoire, French Tech, Vignobles & Découvertes
Websites / Facebook / Twitter: www.angers.fr / www.facebook.com/ville.angers / www.twitter.com/angers / www.angersloiremetropole.fr / www.twitter.com/angersagglo
ANGERS AND CYCLING
The first Tour prologue
In 1967, Angers was the scene of the first prologue in the history of the Tour de France, but also of one of the many missed opportunities for Raymond Poulidor to win the Yellow Jersey. Almost certain to win after setting the fastest time ahead of all the favourites, and with only the outsiders left to start at dusk, "Poupou" was nevertheless beaten to the punch by Basque José-Maria Errandonea. Having already won the prologue of the Vuelta the previous year, the rider from Irun deprived the Frenchman of his dream by just six seconds on the winding 5.8 km course through the streets of Anjou. Victim of a crash two days later, Errandonea didn't hold on to his lead for long. He would later go on to make a name for himself by finishing 4th in the 1968 Tour of Spain. As for Poulidor, who crashed in the Vosges mountains, he ended one of his less successful Tours de France with a time trial victory in the final stage of Paris (9th).
Local riders include Régis Delépine, from La Bohalle (17km), who won a stage of the Tour in 1977, and Jason Tesson, French amateur champion in 2020. Angers is also the French home of Jean-François Quénet, a legend in cycling journalism.
SIGHTS
Château d'Angers
Built: 13th century
Style: medieval
History: the site has been occupied since ancient times due to its strategic defensive position. Subsequently, the Counts of Anjou established their residences here until the end of the Plantagenet Empire, when the Kingdom of France conquered the County of Anjou. Louis IX had the present château built in the 13th century, while the Dukes of Anjou transformed it into a seigneurial residence in the 15th century. Yolande d'Aragon gave birth to René d'Anjou here. In the 16th century, following the troubles of the Wars of Religion, Henri III ordered the destruction of the castle, but only the upper part of the towers was destroyed. It was subsequently converted into a prison, then into a garrison and ammunition depot during the Second World War.
Characteristics: the overall appearance of the exterior of the fortress dates almost entirely from the time of Louis IX and is a monumental reminder of the castle's military role. On the other hand, the interior and the later court buildings, built between Louis I of Anjou and King René, are reminiscent of the residential role of the Anjou court between the 14th and 15th centuries. The castle stands on a trapezoidal, tabular schist rock fortified in Roman times. Its 140-metre-wide north-western base runs steeply along the Maine, while its long sides dip up to 180 metres perpendicular to it. On the north-east and east sides, the square is defended by an artificial moat 30 m wide.
Special feature: since 1954, it has been home to the Tapestry of the Apocalypse, the largest medieval woven tapestry in the world.
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1875 and 1913
Tapestry of the Apocalypse
Creation: 14th century
Style: Gothic
History and characteristics: This is a representation of the Apocalypse of John of Patmos created at the end of the 14th century on commission from Duke Louis I of Anjou. This work is the largest surviving collection of medieval tapestries in the world. Composed of six successive pieces, each divided into fourteen panels, the tapestry was executed from cartoons by Hennequin de Bruges and testifies to the prestige of its patron. The hanging was bequeathed to Angers cathedral in the 15th century by King René. After a long period of neglect and damage, it was partially reconstructed from the mid-19th century onwards, then conserved and exhibited in the Apocalypse Tapestry Museum, located in Château d'Angers, in a very long gallery inaugurated in 1954. UNESCO included the Apocalypse Tapestry in the Memory of the World international register in 2023.
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1902
Terra Botanica
Open since 2010, Terra Botanica is Europe's first theme park dedicated to plants, with a dual purpose: fun and educational. With over 40 attractions and activities, the park covers an area of 110,000 m². Visits are punctuated by adventures involving shows and games, allowing visitors to discover plants from every angle, including from a hot-air balloon.
Museum of Fine Arts
Built: 15th century (Logis Barrault)
Museum opening: 1801
History and features: housed in the Logis Barrault, a jewel of Gothic civil architecture, the Musée des Beaux-Arts offers 3,000m² of exhibition space in two permanent sections: "Fine Arts" (350 paintings and sculptures, from the 14th century to the present day) and "The History of Angers". Throughout the year, the museum hosts exhibitions showcasing contemporary artists and heritage exhibits.
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1902
Jean Lurçat and Contemporary Tapestry Museum (Hôtel-Dieu)
Built: 1175
Characteristics: Hôpital Saint-Jean, a remarkable 12th-century architectural ensemble, houses Jean Lurçat's "Chant du Monde" (1957-1966) in the former patients' ward. A manifesto of a committed artist and a contemporary echo of the Apocalypse tapestry, this group of ten tapestries is an epic, poetic, symbolic and humanist vision of the 20th century.
Listed as: historic monument in 1840
David d'Angers Gallery
Since 1984, the restored 13th-century abbey church of Toussaint has been home to works by the sculptor David d'Angers (1788-1856). The museum's collection is impressive: monumental works, commissions (the pediment of the Panthéon), bust portraits and medallions. This architectural renovation juxtaposes the principles and materials of modernity with those of the past.
David d'Angers (1788-1856)
David d'Angers' career was an official one. After winning the Grand Prix de Rome in 1811, he spent several years in Italy, returning to Paris in 1816. Ten years later, he was elected to the Académie and taught at the École des Beaux-Arts. After 1825, his talent was recognised in monumental, commemorative and funerary works of national importance: Monument de Bonchamps (church of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil), Monument à Fénelon (cathedral of Cambrai), Monument au général Foy (Père-Lachaise cemetery, Paris). He associated with the best poets, writers and artists of the Romantic period, and was more familiar with foreign literary and artistic circles than any French artist of his time. Individualistic and independent, he was attracted by the epic of the First Republic and distanced himself from the constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe. Before his short-lived political career (in 1848, he was a member of the National Assembly and mayor of a Paris arrondissement), he did not disguise his democratic convictions either in his works or in his writings.
TO EAT
La Gouline
La Gouline is a recipe from Anjou that is considered to be the region's signature dish. This dish is a pie with rillauds, mushrooms and tomme, made mainly from local produce. Gouline angevine was elected the dish of Anjou on 15 December 2017 during the operation Un Plat pour l'Anjou launched by the Destination Anjou network and its partners, such as Michelin-starred chef Pascal Favre-d'Anne and the newspaper Le Courrier de l'Ouest.
It consists of a shortcrust pastry, Anjou rillauds, IGP shallots, sweet chenin, Saumur mushrooms and Anjou tomme. Easy to make and delicious to eat, this pie is a concentrate of regional products.
