Château-Gontier () is a former
commune in the
Mayenne
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, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-e ...
department in north-western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
.
On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune
Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne.
Geography
It is about south of
Laval, the préfecture of the department of Mayenne. Château-Gontier is home to the
Refuge de l'Arche, also known as the Ark Refug
a refuge for abandoned or mistreated animals.
History
There are
chalybeate
Chalybeate () waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Name
The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Greek word . is the singular form of ...
springs close to the town. Château-Gontier owes its origin and its name to a castle erected in the first half of the 11th century by Gunther, the steward of
Fulk Nerra
Fulk III, the Black ( 987–1040; fro, Foulque Nerra), was an early count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles, along with abbeys throughout the ...
of Anjou, on the site of a farm belonging to the monks of St Aubin d’Angers. On the extinction of the family, the lordship was assigned by
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le 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 revol ...
to
Philippe de Comines. The town suffered severely during the
wars of the League. In 1793 it was
occupied by the Vendeans.
Culture and heritage
The following buildings have been listed as
historical monuments:
*The ruined 13th century castle
*The 11th century church of Saint John Baptist
*The church of the Holy Trinity
*The 12th century chapel of Le Genneteil
*The 16th century chapel of Le Moulinet
*The 17th century Hôtel de Lantivy
People
*
Conan II, Duke of Brittany was found dead here during the Breton Norman Wars, likely the victim of poisoning.
*
Claude Pompidou was born here.
* General
Emile-René Lemonnier was born and buried here.
*
Louis-François Allard (1735-1819), physician and politician.
*
Guy de Charnacé (1825–1909), agronomist, writer, musicologist was born here.
*
Alexis Roger, French composer (1814–1846), was born here.
*
Olivier Peslier
Olivier Peslier (born 12 January 1973 in Château-Gontier) is a French thoroughbred horse racing jockey.
Peslier competes in flat racing mainly in France but travels often around the world for the big international races. He was a retained joc ...
, French horse racing jockey was born here.
See also
*
Communes of the Mayenne department
References
Former communes of Mayenne
Anjou
States and territories disestablished in 2019
Populated places disestablished in 2019
{{Mayenne-geo-stub