Saumur

For the wine, see Saumur (wine).

For the Canadian Supreme Court decision, see Saumur v. The City of Quebec.

Coordinates: 47°15′36″N 0°04′37″W / 47.260000°N 0.076944°W / 47.260000; -0.076944

Commune of Saumur

$Flag of {{{common_name}}}$

$Coat of arms of {{{common_name}}}$

City coat of arms from 1699 to 1985

City coat of arms since 1986

The château at Saumur

Location

Saumur

Administration

Saumur Loire Développement

Mayor

Michel Apchin
(2008–2014)

Statistics

Elevation

20–95 m (66–310 ft)
(avg. 30 m/98 ft)

Land area¹

66.25 km² (25.58 sq mi)

Population²

29,857 (1999)

- Density

451 /km² (1,170 /sq mi)

Miscellaneous

INSEE/Postal code

49328/ 49400

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: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.

The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc. which produce some of France's finest wines.

The Saumur City Hall

The Cessart bridge

1 History
2 Main sights
3 World War II
4 Notable people
5 Twin towns
6 References
7 External links

History

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Saumur is home to the Cadre Noir, the École Nationale d'Équitation (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 a tank museum, the Musée des Blindés, 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, or the Soviet Union.

The School of Saumur is the name used to denote 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 "Eugénie Grandet", written by the French author in 1833 and the title of a song from hard rock band Trust (whose lyrics express their poor opinion of the city: narrow-minded, bourgeois and militaristic).

Saumur was the location of the Battle of Saumur (1793) during the Revolt in the Vendée.

Main sights

Amongst the most important monuments of Saumur are the great Château de Saumur itself which stands high above the town, and the nearby Château de Beaulieu which stands just 200 metres from the south bank of the Loire river and which was designed by the architect Jean Drapeau.

The architectural character of the town owes much to the fact that it is constructed almost exclusively of the beautiful, but fragile, stone known as Tuffeau.

World War II

During the during Battle of France, in World War II, Saumur was the site of the Battle of Saumur (1940). In 1944 it was the target of several Tallboy and Azon bombing targets from Allied planes. The first raid, on 8 June/9, 1944^[1], was against a railway tunnel near Saumur, and saw the first use of Tallboy bombs. The hasty night raid was to stop a planned German Panzer Division expected later through the tunnel. No. 83 Squadron RAF illuminated the area with flares by 4 Avro Lancasters and marked the target at low level by 3 de Havilland Mosquitos. 25 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF then dropped their Tallboys with great accuracy; one pierced the roof of the tunnel, brought down a huge quantity of rock and soil, and blocked the tunnel for a considerable period, badly delaying the Panzer IVs.^[2]

On 22 June of the same year, 9 B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces used Azon glide bombs against the Samur^[3] Bridge; escort was provided by 41 of 43 P-51 Mustangs. During the morning of 24 June, 74 American B-17 Flying Fortresses were again dispatched to the bridge; 38 hit the primary and 36 hit Tours/La Riche Airfield without loss; escort was provided by 121 of 135 P-51s.^[3]

Notable people

Saumur was the birthplace of:

Anne Lefèvre (1654–1720), better known during her lifetime as Madame Dacier, scholar and translator of classics
Charles Ernest Beulé (1826–1874), archeologist
Coco Chanel (1883–1971), internationally renowned fashion designer
Yves Robert, (1920–2002), actor, composer, director, writer, producer
Fanny Ardant, (b. 1949), actress
Dominique Pinon, (b. 1955), actor
Germaine Lefebvre Capucine (6 January 1931 - 17 March 1990) Actress