Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

and of an

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

in the

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. As of 2019, Argentan is the third largest municipality by population in the Orne department.Populations légales 2019: 61 Orne
INSEE

History

Earley history

Argentan is situated near the river

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019. The toponym comes from the

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

words ("silver") and ("market"). The town grew in importance during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Middle Ages

The towns fortifications were built or rebuilt on Gallic or Gallo-Roman remains by the order of Rollo "the Walker" first duke of Normandy. The town was then besieged in 1046, by Henry I of France attempting to seize the Norman duchy, destroying its ramparts and setting them on fire. 48 years later in 1094, Roger the Poitevin was sent by

William II of England William II (; – 2 August 1100) was List of English monarchs, King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Duchy of Normandy, Normandy and influence in Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. He was less successfu ...

to defend the town and castle against Philip I of France, but Roger surrendered on the first day of the siege. In 1106 after the Battle of Tinchebray,

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

decided to rebuild and expand the fortifications, building an outer and inner set of walls, a keep and the first incarnation of the chateau des ducs. In 1199 the town came under the control of

John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

who held court that year in the town over Christmas. However it was with John for only a short period as

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

took control in 1203, a year before taking the rest of Normandy. 1356 saw the English take control of the town from

Charles I de Montmorency Charles I de Montmorency (died 11 September 1381) was a 14th-century French noble. Biography Montmorency was a son of Jean I, lord of Montmorency and Jeanne de Calletot. He inherited the seigneuries of Montmorency, Val-d'Oise, Montmorency, Ec ...

, had the domain of Argentan, as part of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. The English abandoned the town 4 years later, and the domaine fell to Marie de Montmorency, who then sold the domaine to Pierre II, Count of Alençon in 1372. Pierre had built several chapels in the town and the version of the chateau des ducs that is still standing today. In 1417, the English under Henry V took control of Argentan after the Siege of Caen. The English stayed in control of the town until 1449, when

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

took control of Normandy and ended the Hundred year war in 1453. Francis II, Duke of Brittany arrived in 1465 and seized the town in protest of the plans of King

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

, to have centralised state in France, as part of the War of the Public Weal. Louis XI immediately recaptured the castle and made duke abandon the Kings brother

Charles of Valois Charles, Count of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, which ruled over France from 1328. He was the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella o ...

side, and concluded a treaty with him in the town. The castle fortifications surrounding the city started to be destroyed by René, Duke of Alençon, in response to getting the lands back that were confiscated from his father by Louis XI. It was also at this time the use of Gunpowder in sieges made the requirement for fortifications unnecessary.

Modern era

The

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

saw the town captured by Gaspard II de Coligny and the protestants. The town saw the occupiers forced out in 1574 by Jacques II de Goyon and 6,000 Catholic soldiers. During the reign of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, Colbert, the

Minister of state Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

, objected to French aristocrats spending their money on foreign luxuries granted royal privileges to areas in the Orne to make their own

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 split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

, with Argentan along with nearby

Alençon Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alen� ...

getting its royal privilege in 1665. This eventually led to the creation of both the ''point d'Argentan'' ("Argentan stitch") and the ''point d'Alençon'' ("Alençon stitch") which were regarded as the finest lace in France. Argentan became a very important town for traditional industry. It also gained in religious importance with the building of a Benedictine Abbey and two churches, ''Saint-Martin'' and ''Saint-Germain''. Several mansions (''hôtels particuliers'') were also built.

Twentieth Century

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the French 104th Infantry Regiment/ 14th Infantry Brigade was stationed at Argentan. It participated in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

in 1916. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the city was almost totally destroyed. On 5 June 1944, on the eve of the Allied D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy, the city suffered an important air raid in which the train station was destroyed. The city suffered further damage when it was bombed on 6 and 7 June by B-17 and B-24 bombers of the U.S.

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

. The greatest part of the city was, however, left in ruins two and a half months later, at the end of August, during the battle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket. The U.S. Third Army, under the command of general George S. Patton liberated Argentan after eight days of violent combat against the German 9th Panzer Division and the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich''. The U.S. 80th Infantry Division liberated the city in the morning of 20 August.

Geography

The commune of Argentan is made up of the town of Argentan and the following villages and hamlets, La Croix de Coulandon, Coulandon and Mauvaisville. The commune is spread over an area of with a maximum altitude of and minimum of The town lies on the Greenwich Meridian line which is marked on its Eastern entrance. Argentan has 5 water courses running through it, three rivers The Orne, The Ure and The Baize and two streams, the Marais de Fleuriel and the Fontaines Thiot. The commune is within the area known as the Plaine d'Argentan, which is known for its cereal growing fileds and horse stud farms. Argentan along with another 65 communes is part of a 20,593 hectare,

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

conservation area, called the Haute vallée de l'Orne et affluents.

Land distribution

According to the 2018 CORINE Land Cover assessment the majority of the land in the commune, 45% is

Arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

. 23 % of the land is urbanised with another 13% built upon for Industrial and commercial purposes. The rest of the land is

Meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable condition ...

at 18%, Forests at just 0.11% and , 2% of land to Artificial Green spaces.

Location

Argentan is located NE of

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, SSE of

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, SW of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

and N of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. Argentan station has rail connections to Caen, Le Mans, Paris and Granville.

Climate

Argentan's Climate is classed as a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

according to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification.

Population

Main sights and notable buildings

* Donjon of Argentan - Ramparts of Argentan built in the

by Henri I. It was classed as a

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

in 1945. * Tour Marguerite - a 12th century

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

tower built by Henri I. It was classed as a Monument Historique in 1965. * Castle of the Dukes - a 14th century castle built by Pierre II of Alençon, it is now a court house. it was classed as a monument historique in 1889. The grounds of the castle houses the 14th century St. Nicholas Chapel, which is also classed as a monument historique. * Saint Martin church - built in the 16th century it was listed as monument historique in 1862. * Saint Germain church - 15th century church listed as monument historique in 1889. * Saint Roch Chapel

National Heritage sites

The Commune has a total of 18 buildings and areas listed as a

in addition to the 6 listed above there are: *Hotel du Moulin de Fontenelle - 18th Century L-shaped Hotel, added as a monument in 2004. *Former Hotel Servain - 17th Century Hotel, whose door was added as a monument in 1948. *Henri IV House - Built in 1623 it served as the town hall from 1722 to 1809, it was classified in 1946. *Hôtel Ango-de-la-Motte - Former seventeenth century Hotel, it was classified in 1948. *Three Crosses Column - erected in 1771, the three crosses are believed to be either to mark the meeting place of three 12th century kings, commemorate the expulsion of the English in 1450, or to redeem the vandalism of Theodore Beza in 1563. *Statue of the Virgin - erected in 1648 it was registered in 1934 *Former residence of the Abbess of the Benedictines - erected in 1623 it was built to receive novices from Almenêches Abbey to replace former nuns who died and those who had opposed the establishment of the new customs of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. It was registered in 1932. *Count of Lonlay - former 17th century hotel, which was registered in 1948 *Norman house - 14th century house, which was registered in 1948 *Lemonnier house - 14th century house, which was registered in 1948 *Aumont-de-la-Vente Hotel - former 17th century hotel, where

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

stayed in 1692, during his period of exile. Classed as a Monument historique in 1948. * Former church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Place - former 12th century church for Medieval pilgrims, that was sold in 1820 and became a dwelling house. It became a monument historique in 1986.

Museums

* Maison Des Dentelles Museum dedicated to Argentan lace *Museum of Fernand Léger – André Mare Museum dedicated to Fernand Léger and André Mare, two major 20th century artists from Argentan

Other points of interest

*Les Pâtures d’Argentan is a 13 Hectare

site, part of the Haute vallée de l'Orne et affluents area, in the middle of the town. The site has a lake, La Noé, and features three protected species that are present on the site all year round' the

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

, the Southwestern water vole and the common bloodroot. *Carrière de Belle-Eau is an old quarry for the extraction of sand, that was closed shortly after World War two, which was bought by the commune in 1989. In 1995 the area was turned into an 18 960 m2 nature reserve. The site today hosts nearly 200 different species of flora and fauna, including thyme broomrape, Common parsley frog, Smooth newt and leopard marsh orchid.

Gallery

Chapel Saint Nicholas end of 11century.jpg, Chapel Saint Nicholas – built at the end of the 11th century Hôtel du Moulin de Tercey, 2 rue Saint-Martin.jpg, Hôtel du Moulin de Tercey, 2 rue Saint-Martin Donjon of argentan, built by Henry II of England.jpg, Donjon of Argentan, built by

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

Argentan - Saint Germain Church - 1.JPG, Saint Germain church (built 16th–18th centuries) Argentan - Tour Marguerite.JPG, Tour Marguerite is the only surviving medieval tower Église Saint-Martin d'Argentan.jpg, Saint Martin church, built in the 15th and 16th centuries Hotel Joseph de Laleu 56 rue Saint Martin built in 1651.jpg, Hotel Joseph de Laleu 56 rue Saint Martin built in 1651 FranceNormandieArgentanHotelAngoDeLaMotte.jpg, This ''hotel particulier'' was the Nicolas Ango house Abbaye in Argentan now a restaurant.jpg, The former abbey, now a restaurant Argentan - Castle - 2.JPG, Château of the Dukes of Alençon (15th century), now the Court House Home of André Mare 1885-1935,rue de la Vieille Prison.jpg, Birthplace of painter André Mare Hôtel de Lonlay, 24 rue St.Martins.jpg, Hôtel du comte de Lonlay

Sport

The Commune has a football club, Football Club Argentan who play at Stade Gérard Saint. The Hippodrome d'Argentan is the local racecourse that is located a few metres from the boundary edge of Argentan in the commmune of Gouffern en Auge. Argentan has a swimming pool, Le centre aquatique du Pays d'Argentan, that features a sports pool, children's pool, wading pool, an aquatic slide and two jacuzzis.

Notable people

* William FitzEmpress (1136 -1164) - the youngest of the three sons of

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou was born here. * Giles d'Argentan (c. 1280 – 24 June 1314), Norman knight who was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn * John II, Duke of Alençon (1409-1476), was a French nobleman born here, and best known as a general in the Last Phase of the

and for his role as a comrade-in-arms of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

. * Margaret of Lorraine (1463 - 1521) - A French noblewoman and a nun of the order of

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

who was beatified in 1921, died here. * Guillaume Mahot (1630 - 1684) - served as the Apostolic Vicar of Cochin, was born here. * Marguerite de Lubert (1702 - 1785) a French woman of letters died here. * Charles-Alexis Chauvet (1837 - 1871) a French

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and composer died here. * Vincent Muselli (1879-1956) a French writer and poet was born here. * Fernand Léger (1881–1955), painter was born in Argentan * André Mare (1885–1935), painter was born in Argentan * André Rouyer (1929-1994) a French actor was born here. * François Doubin - (1933 – 2019) a French politician and cabinet minister who lived and died here. * Gérard Saint (1935-1960) a bike racer who won the Combativity award in 1959 Tour de France was born here. * Richard Peduzzi (born 1945) a French

scenographer A scenographer or scenic designer, also production designer, is a person who develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term ori ...

was born here. * Michel Onfray (born 1959), writer and philosopher born here. * Franck Berrier (1984-2021), a former professional footballer was born here. * Gaëtan Laura (born 1995) - Professional footballer was born here.

Transport

* Argentan station has rail connections to Caen, Le Mans, Paris and Granville. *Aérodrome d'Argentan is an Aerodrome that was opened in 1946. Its

ICAO airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published quarterly in ICAO Document 7910: ''Location Indic ...

is LFAJ. * Route nationale 26 is a highway Argentan with connecting

Verneuil-sur-Avre Verneuil-sur-Avre (, literally ''Verneuil on Avre (Eure), Avre'') is a former Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northern France. On 1 January 2017, it was me ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Argentan is twinned with: *

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The Historic counties of England, historic county town of Berksh ...

, England, United Kingdom * Baja, Hungary *

Rotenburg an der Fulda Rotenburg an der Fulda (, ; officially ''Rotenburg a.d. Fulda'') is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, in central Germany, situated, as the name says, on the river Fulda (river), Fulda. Geography Location The town ...

, Germany

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Communes of Orne Subprefectures in France Museums in Orne Monuments historiques of Orne