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49 MAINE ET LOIRE
Région : PAYS DE LA LOIRE
Main city : ANGERS
capital of
Maine-et-Loire dept., W France, in Anjou, on the Maine River. A business and trade center,
it is known for its wine and the famous Cointreau liqueur. It also has glassworks,
printing plants, and factories making electronic and photographic equipment, textiles,
food, paper products, and tiles. On its outskirts are the largest slate quarries in
France. Of pre-Roman origin, Angers became the seat (870–1204) of the powerful counts
of Anjou and the historic
capital of the province. There is a fine cathedral (12th–13th cent.) and a museum
containing 14th-century tapestries and a large collection of the sculpture of David
d'Angers. The 13th-century castle was among the buildings damaged in World War II. Schools
of fine arts and medicine are located there. |
Tourism office : http://www.angers-tourisme.com/index-fr.html
Old name of the province : ANJOU
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To discover :
The Epinay Windmill, The Potter's Village at Le Fuilet, ...
Châteaux Renaissance de Serrant - Brissac - Montgeoffroy, ...
Châteaux Médievaux du Plessis-Bourré - Angers...
La Vallée de la Loire, St-Florent-le-Vieil, Champtoceaux, ...
La Vallée de la Sèvre, Clisson, ...
Le Vignoble, le Muscadet, les Coteaux du Layon , Saumur, ...
La Cinéscénie et le Grand Parcours du Puy du Fou,...
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| Anjou , region and former province, W France,
coextensive roughly with Maine-et-Loire and parts of Indre-et-Loire, Mayenne, and Sarthe
depts. Angers, the
historic capital, and Saumur
are the chief towns. A fertile lowland, Anjou is traversed by the Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe,
Loir, and Maine rivers. It is chiefly an agricultural area with excellent vineyards that
produce the renowned Saumur sparkling wines. Occupied by the Andecavi, a Gallic people,
the region was conquered by Caesar. Anjou fell to the Franks in the 5th cent. and became a
countship under Charlemagne in the 9th cent. By the 10th cent. it was in the hands of the
first line of the counts of Anjou (see Angevin dynasty), who
expanded their holdings vigorously. Fulk Nerra, who founded the Angevin dynasty, acquired
Saumur from the counts of Blois.
His successor, Geoffrey Martel, won Touraine from Blois (1044) and Maine from Normandy
(1051). Fulk (d. 1143),
the grandson of Fulk Nerra, after protracted wars with Henry I of England over the
possession of Maine, married his son Geoffrey (Geoffrey Plantagenet) to Henry's daughter
Matilda. Geoffrey ruled Anjou (1129–51) and conquered Normandy, of which he was
crowned duke in 1144. His son, later Henry II of England, married Eleanor of Aquitaine and
with her inheritance ruled most of W France. When Henry II's grandson, Arthur I, duke of
Brittany, rebelled against his uncle, John of England, he won the support of Philip II of
France, to whom he paid homage (1199) for Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. After Arthur's
death, Philip II seized (1204) all Anjou. In 1246, Louis IX of France gave Anjou in
appanage to his brother Charles, count of Provence, who later also became king of Sicily
and Naples (see Charles I).
Charles II of Naples gave Anjou as dowry to his daughter Margaret when she married Charles
of Valois, son of Philip III of France. When their son became (1328) King Philip VI of
France, Anjou was again reunited to the French crown. John II of France, however, made
Anjou a duchy (1360) and gave it to his son Louis (later Louis I of Naples). Louis XI of
France inherited Anjou after the death (1480) of René, grandson of Louis I, and the death
(1481) of Charles of Maine, René's nephew, the last of the Angevin line. Anjou was
definitively annexed to France in 1487. In the 16th cent. Anjou was held as appanage at
various times; the last duke was Francis of Alençon and Anjou. The region was devastated
during the Wars of Religion (see under Religion, Wars of)
(1562–98). During the French Revolution the rising of the Vendée, the Royalist revolt
against the revolution, occurred in Anjou. |
DEPARTMENT RECORDS : http://jomave.chez.tiscali.fr/adgenweb/AD49.html
ARCHIVES DEPARTEMENTALES
BP n°744, 106 rue de Frémur, 49007 ANGERS CEDEX 01
Migrants from the department :
http://www.genealogie.com/cgi-bin/fo/afficher.cgi?de49
MAINE ET LOIRE GENWEB (english version)
http://cgw49.free.fr/_page1.php
COUSINS GENWEB 49 :
http://cgw49.free.fr/patronymes.php?p=A&end=B
Association généalogique de l'Anjou
http://www.genealogy.tm.fr/cercle/anjou/agena02.htm
Section généalogique de la Société des Sciences
Lettres et Arts de Cholet et de sa région
Adresse postale:27, rue du Deveau 49300
CHOLET
Tél: 02 41 62 40 31
Fax : 02 41 71 94 61
Cercle Généalogique de l'Anjou
75 avenue Bressigny 49000 ANGERS
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