Subprefecture and commune in Pays de la Loire, France
City coat of arms from 1699 to 1985
City coat of arms since 1986
Saumur
(
French:
[somy?]
ⓘ
) is a
commune
in the
Maine-et-Loire
department
in western
France
.
The town is located between the
Loire
and
Thouet
rivers, and is surrounded by the
vineyards
of Saumur itself,
Chinon
,
Bourgueil
,
Coteaux du Layon
, etc..
Saumur station
has rail connections to Tours, Angers, La Roche-sur-Yon and Nantes.
Toponymy
[
edit
]
First attested in the
Medieval Latin
form of
Salmuri
in 968 AD, the origin of the name is obscure.
Albert Dauzat
hypothesized a
pre-Celtic
unattested element
*sala
'marshy ground' (
cf.
Celtic
salm
'which jumps and flows'), followed by another unattested element meaning "wall". Many places in Europe seem to contain
*Sal(m)-
elements, which may share
Old European roots
.
History
[
edit
]
The
Dolmen de Bagneux
on the south of the town, is 23 meters long and is built from 15 large slabs of the local stone, weighing over 500 tons. It is the largest in France.
The
Chateau de Saumur
was constructed in the 10th century to protect the Loire River crossing from
Norman
attacks after the settlement of Saumur was sacked in 845. The castle, destroyed in 1067 and inherited by the
House of Plantagenet
, was rebuilt by
Henry II of England
in the later 12th century. It changed hands several times between
Anjou
and France until 1589.
Houses in Saumur are constructed almost exclusively of
Tuffeau stone
. The caves dug to excavate the stone are now often used as commercial wine cellars.
[3]
Amyraldism
, or the School of Saumur, is a distinctive form of
Reformed theology
taught by
Moses Amyraut
at the
University of Saumur
in the 17th century. Saumur is also the scene for
Balzac
's novel
Eugenie Grandet
, written in 1833.
Prior to the
French Revolution
, Saumur was the capital of the
Senechaussee de Saumur
[
fr
]
, a
bailiwick
which existed until 1793. Saumur was the location of the
Battle of Saumur
during the
Revolt in the Vendee
. It hosted a state prison under
Napoleon
. The town was an equestrian centre with both the
military cavalry school
from 1783 and later the
Cadre Noir
equestrian team.
World War II
[
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]
During the
Battle of France
in
World War II
, Saumur was the site of the
Battle of Saumur (1940)
; the town and south bank of the
Loire
were defended by the teenage cadets of the
cavalry school
.
[4]
In 1944 it was the target of the first
Tallboy
and the fourth
Azon
bombing raids by Allied planes. On 8/9 June 1944,
[5]
5,400 kg (12,000 lb)
Tallboy
"earthquake" bombs were first used, against a railway tunnel near Saumur. The hastily organized night raid was to stop a planned German
Panzer Division
, travelling to engage the newly landed allied forces in Normandy. The panzers were expected to use the railway to cross the Loire.
No. 83 Squadron RAF
illuminated the area with flares from four
Avro Lancasters
and marked the target at low level by three
de Havilland Mosquitos
. 25 Lancasters of
No. 617 Squadron RAF
, the "Dambusters" then dropped their Tallboys from 5,500 m (18,000 ft) with great accuracy. They hit the approaches to the bridge, blocked the railway cutting and one pierced the roof of the tunnel, bringing down a huge quantity of rock and soil which blocked the tunnel, badly delaying the German reinforcements moving towards Normandy, especially
2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
.
[6]
[7]
The damaged tunnel was quickly dug out to make a deeper cutting, resulting in the need for a second attack.
On 22 June, nine
Consolidated B-24 Liberators
of the
United States Army Air Forces
used the new
Azon
450 kg (1,000 lb) glide bombs against the Saumur rail bridge;
[8]
escorted by 43
North American P-51 Mustangs
. They failed to destroy the bridge. During the morning of 24 June, 38 American
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses
with conventional bombs attacked the bridge; escort was provided by 121 of 135 P-51s.
[8]
The bridge was damaged.
The town of Saumur was awarded the
Croix de Guerre
with palm for its resistance and display of French patriotism during the war.
Main attractions
[
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]
Saumur is home to the
Cadre Noir
,
[9]
the Ecole Nationale d'Equitation (National School of Horsemanship), known for its annual horse shows, as well as the
Armoured Branch and Cavalry Training School
, the
officer
school for armored forces (
tanks
).
There is the national tank museum, the
Musee des Blindes
, with more than 850 armored vehicles, wheeled or tracked. Most of them are from France, though some come from other countries such as
Brazil
,
Germany
, and the
Soviet Union
, as well as axis and allied vehicles of World War Two.
The annual military
Carrousel
takes place in July each year, as it has done for over 160 years, with displays of horse cavalry skills, historic and modern military vehicles.
[10]
Amongst the most important monuments of Saumur are the great
Chateau de Saumur
itself which stands high above the town, and the nearby Chateau de Beaulieu which stands just 200 metres from the south bank of the Loire River and which was designed by the architect Jean Drapeau. A giant sequoia tree (which is protected) stands in the grounds of Chateau de Beaulieu. The
Dolmen de Bagneux
is on the old road going south.
The architectural character of the town owes much to the fact that it is constructed almost exclusively of
Tuffeau stone
.
[11]
The
wine industry surrounds Saumur
, many utilising the tunnels as cellars with the hundreds of domaines producing white, red, rose and sparkling wines. Visits to producers and the annual
Grandes Tablees du Saumur-Champigny
is an annual event held in early August with over 1 km of tables set up in Saumur so people can sample the local foods and wine.
[12]
Saumur has a weekly market every Saturday morning with hundreds of stalls open for business in the streets and squares of the old town, from before 8am.
Notable people
[
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]
Saumur was the birthplace of:
- Gabriel Dugres
(
fl
. 1643), French Huguenot grammarian
- Anne Le Fevre Dacier
(1654?1720),
scholar
and
translator
of
classics
- Jeanne Delanoue
(1666-1736), made a Roman Catholic Saint in 1982
- Francois Bontemps
(1753?1811), General of the
French Revolutionary Wars
- Charles Ernest Beule
(1826?1874),
archeologist
- Coco Chanel
(1883?1971),
fashion designer
- Marie Adrien Persac
(1823?1873), Franco-American
lithographer
and
photographer
- Yves Robert
(1920?2002), actor, composer, director, writer, producer
- Jack le Goff
(1931-2009), equestrian
- Fanny Ardant
(b. 1949), actress
- Dominique Pinon
(b. 1955), actor
- Youna Dufournet
(b. 1993), French artistic gymnast
Other:
- The French mathematician
Abraham de Moivre
initially studied logic at Saumur.
- Marquis de Sade
was briefly imprisoned in the Chateau de Saumur (then a prison) in 1768.
- Jehan Alain
(1911-1940), organist and composer, was killed during the Battle of Saumur.
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
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]
Saumur is
twinned
with:
[13]
Demographics
[
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]
In 1973 Saumur absorbed four neighbouring communes.
[14]
The population data for 1968 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1973 borders.
Historical population of Saumur
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1793
| 12,300
| ?
|
---|
1800
| 9,585
| ?22.1%
|
---|
1806
| 9,984
| +4.2%
|
---|
1821
| 10,454
| +4.7%
|
---|
1831
| 10,652
| +1.9%
|
---|
1836
| 12,020
| +12.8%
|
---|
1841
| 12,258
| +2.0%
|
---|
1846
| 12,566
| +2.5%
|
---|
1851
| 14,119
| +12.4%
|
---|
1856
| 14,505
| +2.7%
|
---|
1861
| 14,079
| ?2.9%
|
---|
1866
| 13,663
| ?3.0%
|
---|
1872
| 12,552
| ?8.1%
|
---|
1876
| 13,822
| +10.1%
|
---|
1881
| 14,186
| +2.6%
|
---|
1886
| 14,187
| +0.0%
|
---|
1891
| 14,867
| +4.8%
|
---|
1896
| 16,440
| +10.6%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1901
| 16,233
| ?1.3%
|
---|
1906
| 16,392
| +1.0%
|
---|
1911
| 16,198
| ?1.2%
|
---|
1921
| 15,956
| ?1.5%
|
---|
1926
| 16,210
| +1.6%
|
---|
1931
| 16,532
| +2.0%
|
---|
1936
| 17,158
| +3.8%
|
---|
1946
| 17,635
| +2.8%
|
---|
1954
| 18,169
| +3.0%
|
---|
1962
| 20,773
| +14.3%
|
---|
1968
| 21,551
| +3.7%
|
---|
1975
| 32,515
| +50.9%
|
---|
1982
| 32,149
| ?1.1%
|
---|
1990
| 30,131
| ?6.3%
|
---|
1999
| 29,857
| ?0.9%
|
---|
2007
| 28,113
| ?5.8%
|
---|
2012
| 27,523
| ?2.1%
|
---|
2017
| 26,734
| ?2.9%
|
---|
|
|
Source: Cassini
[14]
and
INSEE
[15]
|
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Saumur
.
|
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International
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