Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, France, capital of the

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department. It is situated 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 A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between ...

between

and the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

regions. In 1049–1051, William Duke of Normandy, later known as

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

and king of England, laid

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

to the town, which had risen in support of the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

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 William of Poitiers ( 10201090) (LA: Guillelmus Pictaviensis; FR: Guillaume de Poitiers) was a Frankish priest of Norman origin and chaplain of Duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror), for whom he chronicled the Norman Conquest of Eng ...

, 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. 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 The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, and some of them played important roles in French history: see

Duke of Alençon Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. The

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 Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

industry. Alençon was home to Sts.

Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin Louis Martin (22 August 1823 – 29 July 1894) and Azélie-Marie ("Zélie") Guérin Martin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) were a French Roman Catholic couple and the parents of five nuns, including Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun ...

, the parents of St.

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (french: Thérèse de Lisieux ), born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (), was a French Catholic Discalced Carmelit ...

. 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 of Notre-Dame in Alençon on 13 July 1858 and spent their whole married life in Alençon, where Thérèse was born in January 1873 and spent her early childhood until the death of her mother in 1877

On 17 June 1940 the Wehrmacht, German Army took occupation of Alençon. O
12
August 1944 Alençon was the first French city to be liberated by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

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 Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

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 windows company established in Alençon since 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 windows company still in activity.

Education

Transport

Alençon is linked by the A28 autoroute (motorway/freeway) with the nearby cities of Le Mans to the south (

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

) and Rouen (

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

) 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. A comprehensive town bus system operates from 7:00 to 19:00. There is a comprehensive network of cycle paths.

Notable people

Anne d'Alençon Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

(1492–1562), marquise of Montferrat *

Marie-Catherine de Villedieu Marie-Catherine de Villedieu, born Marie-Catherine Desjardins and generally referred to as Madame de Villedieu (1640 – 20 October 1683) was a French writer of plays, novels and short fiction. Largely forgotten or eclipsed by other writers of th ...

(1640–1683), novelist *

Pierre Allix Pierre Allix (1641 – 3 March 1717) was a French Protestant pastor and author. In 1690 Allix was created Doctor of Divinity by Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and was given the treasurership and a canonry in Salisbury Cathedral by Bishop Gilbert ...

(1641–1717), Protestant pastor and author * Jean Castaing (1723–1805), printer, playwright *

Léonard Bourdon Louis Jean Joseph Léonard Bourdon de la Cronière (6 November 1754, Alençon – 29 May 1807, Breslau) was a French politician of the French Revolution. He was president of the National Constituent Assembly and substitute for the procureu ...

(1754–1807), revolutionist * Jacques Hébert (1757–1794), editor of the extreme radical newspaper ''

Le Père Duchesne ''Le Père Duchesne'' (; "Old Man Duchesne" or "Father Duchesne") was an extreme radical newspaper during the French Revolution, edited by Jacques Hébert, who published 385 issues from September 1790 until eleven days before his death by guill ...

'' during the

* Louis de Frotté (1766–1800), Chouan general *

Edme Castaing Edme-Samuel Castaing (1796 – 6 December 1823) was a French physician and is thought to have been the first person to use morphine to commit murder.Mingo, Jack and Barrett, Erin, "Doctors Killed George Washington - Hundreds Of Fascinating Facts Fr ...

(1796–1824), doctor and murderer * Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755–1834), botanist *

Juste Lisch Jean Juste Gustave Lisch (10 June 1828 – 24 August 1910) was a French architect.Raoul Le Mouton de Boisdeffre Raoul François Charles Le Mouton de Boisdeffre, or more commonly Raoul de Boisdeffre (6 February 1839, Alençon – 24 August 1919, Paris) was a French Army general. Biography He studied at the College of Saint Cyr and at the Staff-College. D ...

(1839–1919), general * Éléonore-Aglaé-Marie Despierres (1843–1895), historian *

Adolphe Gérard Adolphe Gérard (1844–1900) was a French chef, restaurant and hotel owner in Colorado, US. Gérard was born in Alençon, France, in 1844. At age 15, he enrolled in a seminary in the commune of Sées. At age 20, Gérard moved to Paris, where he ...

(1844–1900), American restaurateur * Adhémar Leclère (1853–1917), author *

Thérèse de Lisieux Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg * Therese of ...

(1873–1897), Roman Catholic nun and saint, and is one of only 33 Doctors of the Church *

Auguste Poulet-Malassis Paul Emmanuel Auguste Poulet-Malassis (16 March 1825 – 11 February 1878) was a French printer and publisher who lived and worked in Paris. He was a longstanding friend and the printer-publisher of Charles Baudelaire. Biography In his short six ...

(1825–1878), publisher and friend of Baudelaire * Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin (1831–1877), the mother of St. Thérèse of Lisieux who, along with her husband Louis Martin, is one of the few married couples ever to be beatified by the Catholic Church. *

Daniel Balavoine Daniel Xavier-Marie Balavoine (; 5 February 1952 – 14 January 1986) was a French singer and songwriter. He was hugely popular in the French-speaking world in the early 1980s; he inspired many singers of his generation such as Jean-Jacques Gol ...

(1952–1986), singer and songwriter *

Louis Barillet Louis Barillet (1880 – 1948) was a French artist, known for his work in stained glass. Among those with whom he collaborated were Théodore-Gérard Hanssen and Jacques Le Chevallier. His windows may be seen in the church of Notre-Dame-des-M ...

(1880–1948), glass blower * André Couder (1897–1979), astronomer * Alain Lambert (born 1946), politician *

Anne Consigny Anne Consigny (; born 25 May 1963) is a French actress who has been active since 1981. She received a César Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in the film '' Not Here to Be Loved'' (2005). She is also known for her role as Claude in ...

(born 1963), actress * Yoann (born 1971), graphic artist *

Laurence Leboucher Laurence Leboucher (born 22 February 1972 in Alençon, Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Lorànt Deutsch Lorànt Deutsch (; born László Matekovics on 27 October 1975), is a French actor and writer. Deutsch was born in Alençon to a Hungarian-Jewish father and a Romanian mother. An ardent Catholic, Deutsch says he is a royalist. In 2005, Deuts ...

(born 1975), actor and writer *

Benoît Tréluyer Benoît Tréluyer (; born 7 December 1976) is a French professional racing driver. Early career Beginning his motorsport career in motocross and karting, Alençon-born Tréluyer switched to single-seaters in Formula Renault Campus for 1995. He w ...

(born 1976), car racer, two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours * Jonathan Cochet (born 1976), car racer *

Anthony Geslin Anthony Geslin (born 9 June 1980) is a French retired professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2015, for the and teams. Born in Alençon, Geslin won a bronze medal in the road race at the 2005 UCI Road World Cha ...

(born 1980), cyclist * Orelsan (born 1982), rapper *

Arnold Mvuemba Arnold Mvuemba Makengo (born 28 January 1985) is a French-Congolese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Roeselare in the Belgian First Division B. Club career Mvuemba was born in Alençon, Orne, France. He was signed by Premi ...

(born 1985) footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Alençon is twinned with: *

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the village of Deane, som ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Quakenbrück Quakenbrück (Northern Low Saxon: ''Quokenbrügge'') is a town in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Artland. History Qua ...

, Germany

Gallery

Halle aux bles Alencon.jpg, ' Chateau des Ducs Alencon.jpg, ' Bibliotheque alencon 670px.jpg, Library