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Alençon

Alençon (UK: /æˈlɒ̃sɒ̃/,[3] US: /ˌælɒ̃ˈsoʊn/,[4] French: [alɑ̃sɔ̃] ⓘ; Norman: Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department.[5] It is situated 173 kilometres (107 mi) west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people).

History

The name of Alençon is first recorded in a document dated in the seventh century. During the tenth century, Alençon was a buffer state between Normandy and the Maine regions.

In 1049–1051, William Duke of Normandy, later known as William the Conqueror and king of England, laid siege to the town, which had risen in support of the Count of Anjou along with two other towns of the Bellême estates, Domfront (then in Maine) and Bellême (held directly from King Henry I of France). According to Duke William's chaplain and panegyrist, William of Poitiers, the defenders of the fortress refused to surrender and mockingly waved animal hides from the castle walls, referencing William's lineage as the grandson of a tanner. In response to this, William had 32 prisoners of the town's hands and feet cut off, prompting a sudden surrender. Upon hearing of this event, the town of Domfront also surrendered.[6][7]

Alençon was occupied by the English during the Anglo-Norman wars of 1113 to 1203.

The city became the seat of a dukedom in 1415, belonging to the sons of the King of France until the French Revolution, and some of them played important roles in French history: see Duke of Alençon. The French Revolution caused relatively little disorder in this area, although there were some royalist uprisings nearby.

A long-standing local fabric industry gave birth to the town's famous point d'Alençon lace in the 18th century. The economic development of the nineteenth century was based on iron foundries and mills in the surrounding region. In the first half of the twentieth century the city developed a flourishing printing industry.

Alençon was home to Sts. Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin,[8][9] the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.[10] They were the first spouses in the history of the Catholic Church to be proposed for sainthood as a couple, in 2008. Zélie and Louis were married at the Basilica[11] of Notre-Dame in Alençon on 13 July 1858 and spent their whole married life in Alençon, where Thérèse was born[12] in January 1873 and spent her early childhood until the death of her mother in 1877. Beatification of Louis and Zelie Martin - Saint Therese of Lisieux

On 17 June 1940, the German Army occupied Alençon. On 12 August 1944 Alençon was the first French city to be liberated by the French Army under General Leclerc, after minor bomb damage.

After the war the population sharply increased and new industries settled. Many of these were related to plastics and the town is now a major plastics educational centre.

Climate

Population

Heraldry

Economy

In the seventeenth century, Alençon was chiefly noted for its lace called point d'Alençon.

Today, Alençon is home to a prosperous plastics industry, and, since 1993, to a plastics engineering school.

MPO Fenêtres is a local PVC window company established in Alençon in 1970, is one of the first company in Alençon with around 170 employees (2009) and a turnover of 28 million euros in 2008. It is also the oldest French PVC window company still in business.

Points of interest

Museums

National heritage sites

The Commune has 31 buildings and areas listed as a Monument historique[20]

There are a further eleven private buildings and houses listed as monuments with the commune.[20]

Education

"Écoles". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.

"Collèges". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.

"Lycées". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.

Transport

Alençon is linked by the A28 autoroute (motorway/freeway) with the nearby cities of Le Mans to the south (Sarthe) and Rouen (Seine-Maritime) to the north. The A88 autoroute links the A28 just north of Alençon to the coastal port of Caen.

The Alençon railway station offers regional services towards Caen, Le Mans and Tours.[43] A comprehensive town bus system operates from 7:00 to 19:00.

Aérodrome d'Alençon - Valframbert is an Aerodrome within the commune which is also shared with neighbouring communes of Valframbert and Cerisé that opened in 1936.[44][45] Its IATA airport code is XAN and its ICAO airport code is LFOF.[46]

There is a comprehensive network of cycle paths.

Sport

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Alençon is twinned with:[49]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Alençon". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. n.d.
  4. ^ "Alençon". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
  5. ^ "Commune d'Alençon (61001) − COG | Insee". www.insee.fr.
  6. ^ The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni, ed. and trans. E. van Houts, 2 vols (Oxford, 1992–95) vol. 2 p. 125
  7. ^ "10 Things You May Not Know About William the Conqueror". 29 August 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) - Louis Martin's life". Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) - Zelie Martin's life". Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) - St. Therese's life". Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) - The basilica of Notre Dame". Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Shrine Louis and Zelie Martin (Alençon-France) - Alençon, the birthplace of St. Therese". Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Données climatiques de la station de Alençon" (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Climat Basse-Normandie" (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Normes et records 1961-1990: Alençon - Valframbert (61) - altitude 144m" (in French). Infoclimat. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  16. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Alençon, EHESS (in French).
  17. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  18. ^ Populations légales 2021, INSEE
  19. ^ a b "À la découverte du musée des Beaux-Arts et de la dentelle d'Alençon et ses « pépites »". actu.fr. 8 July 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Les Monuments Historiques en Orne - 61". monumentum.fr.
  21. ^ "Ancien château à Alençon - PA00110691". monumentum.fr.
  22. ^ a b "Bibliothèque municipale (ancienne chapelle des Jésuites) à Alençon - PA00110689". monumentum.fr.
  23. ^ "Bâtiment et machine à vapeur de l'ancienne scierie Prout à Alençon - PA00135513". monumentum.fr.
  24. ^ "Café la Renaissance à Alençon - PA61000057". monumentum.fr.
  25. ^ "Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lorette à Alençon - PA00110690". monumentum.fr.
  26. ^ "Eglise Notre-Dame à Alençon - PA00110692". monumentum.fr.
  27. ^ "Eglise Saint-Pierre du quartier de Montsor à Alençon - PA61000043". monumentum.fr.
  28. ^ "Halle au blé à Alençon - PA00110693". monumentum.fr.
  29. ^ "Les mille vies de la Halle au Blé d'Alençon". actu.fr. 27 August 2023.
  30. ^ a b c "Hôpital psychiatrique à Alençon - PA00110694". monumentum.fr.
  31. ^ "Hôtel du Grand Cerf à Alençon - PA61000056". monumentum.fr.
  32. ^ "Hôtel Libert à Alençon - PA00110696". monumentum.fr.
  33. ^ a b "Hôtel Radigue à Alençon - PA00110697". monumentum.fr.
  34. ^ "Hôtel de la préfecture (ancien Hôtel de Guise) à Alençon - PA00110695". monumentum.fr.
  35. ^ "Hôtel de ville à Alençon - PA00110698". monumentum.fr.
  36. ^ "Presbytère Saint-Pierre de Montsort à Alençon - PA00110710". monumentum.fr.
  37. ^ "Logis Saint-Léonard à Alençon - PA00110705". monumentum.fr.
  38. ^ "Pharmacie Pesche à Alençon - PA00110709". monumentum.fr.
  39. ^ "Tribunal de commerce à Alençon - PA00110712". monumentum.fr.
  40. ^ "Vestiges des remparts à Alençon - PA00110711". monumentum.fr.
  41. ^ a b "Maison d'Ozé à Alençon - PA00110706". monumentum.fr.
  42. ^ NICOLAS, Rose (13 August 2018). "EN IMAGES. Alençon vu des fenêtres de la Maison d'Ozé". Ouest-France.fr.
  43. ^ Votre gare : Alençon, SNCF
  44. ^ "Histoire. Alençon a-t-elle raté le train de l'aviation ?". actu.fr. 1 June 2021.
  45. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps.
  46. ^ "Alençon Valframbert - France". World Airport Codes.
  47. ^ BOSCHER, François (21 June 2018). "Alençon. Un million d'euros pour sécuriser le stade Jacques-Fould". Ouest-France.fr.
  48. ^ "ALENÇON (61) : Cimetière Notre-Dame - Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs".
  49. ^ "Jumelages". alencon.fr (in French). Alençon. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Alençon.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alençon.