Le Mans

Coordinates: 48°0′18″N, 0°11′52″E

Commune of Le Mans Palais of Comtes du Maine, birth place of Henry II of England
Location
Coordinates	48°0′18″N, 0°11′52″E
Administration
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Sarthe (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Le Mans
Canton	Chief town of 9 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté urbaine du Mans
Mayor	Jean-Claude Boulard (2001–2008)
Statistics
Elevation	38 m–134 m (avg. 51 m)
Land area¹	52.81 km²
Population² (1999)	146,105
- Density	2,766.6/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	72181/ 72000
Dialling code	(0)243
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Le Mans (pronounced [ləmɑ̃] in French) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the préfecture (capital) of the Sarthe département, and is furtheremore the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles.

History

First mentioned by Ptolemy (Geography 2.8.8), 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). Their city lies in the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. An amphitheatre built in the 3rd century AD is still visible. Gregory of Tours mentions a Frankish sub-king Rigomer, who was killed by Clovis in his campaign to unite the Frankish territories. As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the 11th century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror was able to successfully invade England; however in 1069 the citizens revolted and expelled the Normans, which led to Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine. During World War II, Le Mans was liberated by the US 5th Armored Division on August 8, 1944 following their breakout from the Normandy beachheads.

Sights

Le Mans has a well-preserved old town (Cité Plantagenêt, also called Vieux Mans) and a cathedral: Cathédrale St-Julien, dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans, who is honoured as the city's first bishop. There are remnants of a Roman wall in the old town and Roman baths by the river.

Demographics

At the 1999 French census, there were 293,159 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire urbaine) of Le Mans, with 146,105 of these living in the city proper (commune).

source : http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/psdc.htm

Sport

Motorsport

The city is best known for its connection with motorsports. There are actually two 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. The longer and more famous Circuit de la Sarthe is composed partly of public roads, which are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing, and has been host to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race selling merchandise and promoting products for cars. The first French Grand Prix took place here in 1906. The "Le Mans start" takes its name from the way racers lined up across the street from their cars and ran across the street and jumped into their cars to begin.

Basketball

• Le Mans Sarthe Basket

Football

• Le Mans UC72

Births

Le Mans was the birthplace of:

• Henry II of England, born 1133
• Geoffroy V d'Anjou, born 1113
• Geoffrey de Goreham or Gorron, became Abbott of St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, in 1119
• Dom Louis Le Pelletier, born 1663, linguist of the breton language
• Gilles-François de Beauvais, born 7 July 1693, was a Jesuit writer and preacher.
• François Fillon, born in 1954, Prime Minister of France.
• Julien Cottereau, born 1969, actor and clown - Cirque du Soleil, now in his own show Imagine Toi.
• Sébastien Bourdais, born 1979, racecar driver

Sister Cities

• - Bolton, United Kingdom
• - Haouza, Western Sahara
• - Paderborn, Germany - officially since 1967, traditionally since 836 (oldest partnership of its kind in Europe).
• - Rostov-on-Don, Russia
• - Suzuka, Japan
• - Volos, Greece

Others

The culinary specialty of Le Mans is rillettes, a shredded pork paté. At Mayet, near Le Mans, and with a height of 342m, the Le Mans-Mayet transmitter is one of the tallest radio masts in France.

Audi A6 Special Edition

Audi has recently introduced a Le Mans special edition of its luxury executive saloon, the A6, called the Le Mans, after the famous race. It is based on the standard 233PS 3.0 TDI quattro A6 but includes features such as RS4-style multi spoke alloy wheels.

External links

• Le Mans 24h (English)
• Official website (French)
• Virtual visit (French)
• Le Mans Nights — Unique experience in Europe. (English) (French)
• Visiting Le Mans (maps and aerial pictures) (English)
• Le Mans 24 Hours official site (English)
• Pictures of Le Mans, old town and cathedral (English)
• The Mike Hawthorn Tribute Site - Le Mans 1955 (English)
• Official miniature car winner Le Mans (English)
• Unofficial blog about Le Mans (French) (French)
• Le Mans Sensations - Photos, news and travel guide dedicated to the 24 Hours of Le Mans (English)
• Beermountain - (A fan Site With advice on camping at the event) (English)

v •  • e  Préfectures of départements of France

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