Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.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.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 ...

, Maine-et-Loire, and

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

. Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during 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 ...

on 4 March 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of

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 ...

. The southern third of Mayenne corresponds to the northern portion of the old province of Anjou. The inhabitants of the department are called ''Mayennais''. It had a population of 307,062 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 53 Mayenne
INSEE

History

Like 82 other departments, Mayenne was created on 4 March 1790 during the early stages of the

by order of the National Constituent Assembly. The new departments were to be uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in size and population. The former province of Maine was partitioned into two, Upper Maine, centred on Le Mans, became the new department of Sarthe, and Lower Maine, centred on Laval became the new department of Mayenne. Anjou, to the south, being too big to form a single department, was reduced in size and became Maine-et-Loire. In this partition, Sarthe received the region of La Flèche, and Mayenne received

Château-Gontier Château-Gontier () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Mayenne Departments of France, department in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne. Geography It is about sout ...

and Craon. Flax was a feature of the Mayenne economy, and the southern limit for the cultivation of flax was used to determine the new border between Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire. The American first army's 90th Infantry Division were tasked with capturing the town in 1944.

Geography

Mayenne is a department in northwestern France and is part of the region of Pays de la Loire. The department does not have a sea coast, but about thirty kilometres to the northwest is

Mont Saint-Michel Bay The Mont-Saint-Michel Bay (french: baie du Mont-Saint-Michel, br, Bae Menez-Mikael) is located between Brittany (to the south west) and the Normandy peninsula of Cotentin (to the south and east). The bay was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site ...

. The capital and largest town is Laval in the centre of the department. To the north lies the department of

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.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 ...

, to the south lies Maine-et-Loire, to the west lies

and to the northwest lies

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.Mayenne flows centrally through it from north to south, passing through the towns of Mayenne, Laval and Château-Gontier. After leaving the department, the river joins the river

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 ...

to form the

which later joins the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. The department is varied in

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

. Much of it is largely flat, but there are also hilly areas, some with steep-sided valleys and ravines. Of the total area of , some are arable, are grassland, are forests and woodland and are heathland and moorland. To the north lies the

Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (french: Massif armoricain, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dov ...

, a plateau that has been eroded over time, the highest summit of which, the Mont des Avaloirs, is the highest point in the department at above sea level. A branch range to the south of this plateau forms the ridge that divides the Mayenne Valley from the Vilaine Valley. The department is subdivided into three arrondissements: Mayenne, Laval, and Château-Gontier; and is coincident with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laval.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Laval, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 7,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Olivier Richefou, elected in 2014.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Flora and fauna

Mayenne has a diversity of habitat types such as forest, heathland, bog and farmland. Some 1445 species of plants, 63 species of mammals, 280 species of birds, 16 species of amphibians and 11 species of reptiles have been recorded, as well as thousands of species of invertebrates. The peat-lands and bogs are often fringed with woodlands of alder and ash, and in some places carnivorous plants such as

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

and butterwort flourish, fritillaries, marsh cinquefoil and cottongrass grow and butterflies, dragonflies and spiders abound. The woodlands are mostly small with the deciduous trees dominated by oak. Here roe deer,

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

, fire salamander,

Aesculapian snake The Aesculapian snake (now ''Zamenis longissimus'', previously ''Elaphe longissima''), is a species of nonvenomous snake native to Europe, a member of the Colubrinae subfamily of the family Colubridae. Growing up to in length, it is among th ...

, middle spotted woodpecker, little owl and white admiral can be found and uncommon plants present including European columbine and wild russet apple. The dry grasslands, which cover the limestone and sandstone soils, are also rich in fauna and flora. They house the snake '' Vipera aspis'', the Large blue butterfly, the blue-winged grasshopper and the bee orchid. The heathland in the north of Mayenne is populated by dwarf gorse and cross-leaved heath and there are plenty of spiders, nightjars and warblers. The old quarries are the refuge of bats, amphibians, the shining cranesbill and greater butterfly orchid. Rivers and ponds are home to eel, northern crested newt,

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recognized ...

common moorhen The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail (bird), rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-v ...

and plants such as spearwort, yellow flag,

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

and '' Isopyrum thalictroides'', a small poisonous plant.

Economy

The department is largely rural with about 80% being used for agriculture, 8% being urban area and the remainder forest, heath and plantations. Livestock farming predominates, with the breeding of cattle, horses and pigs, and also bee-keeping being important. The soil is generally poor, but it is of better quality around Laval and Château-Gontier. In these parts corn is cultivated and there are plantings of hemp, flax, fruits and vines. There are many apple orchards and large quantities of cider are made. The department is rich in mineral resources; iron and coal are mined and there are quarries for

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

, slate, building stone, limestone and flint; the white sand deposits are used in the manufacture of glass. Industries include the manufacture of linen, paper and hemp, and cider-making is traditionally carried on in the department. Office furniture is manufactured in Château-Gontier, and Laval is active in the industrial sector, with dairy products, electronics and chemicals in a modern

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...

Tourism

File:Château de Laval 43.JPG, Laval File:Paysage Coëvrons.JPG, View from the

File:Couvent des Ursulines - Château-Gontier 15.JPG, Abbey in

File:Chateau Ste-Suzanne 53.jpg, Château de Sainte-Suzanne File:Château de Lassay 13.JPG, Chateau de Lassay

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental council website
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Pays de la Loire States and territories established in 1790