Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.department in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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 ...

. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the residents are called ''Châtelleraudais''.

Geography

Châtellerault lies on the river

History

Châtellerault was an important stronghold on the northern march of Poitou, established by the Count of Poitiers to secure his borders in the early 10th century. The count's local representative, the Vicomte de Châtellerault was established as a hereditary appointment by the time of Airaud who was probably a kinsman of the counts of Auvergne and dukes of Aquitaine; his heirs were '' vicomtes'' (viscounts) until the mid-11th century. The daughter of

Aymeric I Aimeric or Aymeric or Aimery (from '' Haimirich'' or ''Amalric'') is a male given name: * Aimeric de Belenoi (fl. 1215–1242), troubadour * Prince Aymeric of Belgium (born 2005) * Aymeric Jaubert de Barrault (died 1613), mayor of Bordeaux. * Ayme ...

, Ænor of Châtellerault (c. 1103 – c. 1130), whose mother had been the "mistress" in the new courtly love poetry of the

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

lord William, sixth Count of Poitiers and ninth Duke of Aquitaine, who lodged in his tower the " Dangereuse de Châtellerault", married his son, William X of Aquitaine, and was mother of

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

. The title, ''Vicomte de Châtellerault,'' passed in turn to each of three great French noble families: La Rochefoucauld, Lusignan and, from the thirteenth century 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, to the family of

Harcourt Harcourt may refer to: People *Harcourt (surname) * Harcourt (given name) Places Canada *Harcourt Parish, New Brunswick * Harcourt, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community * Harcourt, Ontario, a village *Harcourt, Newfoundland and Labrad ...

. However, in return for services offered to the Crowns of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and

, the title of Duc de Châtellerault (1548) was presented to James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, Chief of the Name, and regent of Scotland during the infancy of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, and of

. This title, though now without any benefices, remains in contention between the heir male and the heir general of Arran, respectively the

Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and ...

and the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sc ...

. (See

Chatelherault Country Park Chatelherault Country Park is a country park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

, Lanarkshire.)

Population

Economy

From medieval times, Châtellerault was known for its cutlery and swordmaking industry, and in 1816 the commune became a center for arms manufacture for the French government. The Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault was one of France's four principal state-owned arms manufacturers, providing most of the infantry small arms used by the French Army and Navy. ''MAC'' was created in 1819, and operated continually until it was closed as a weapon manufacturing facility in 1968. It saw the creation in 1886, and later the mass production, of the

Lebel rifle The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: ''Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel"'') also known as the ''"Fusil Mle 1886 M93"'', after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French Ar ...

which was the main French infantry weapon used during the First World War (1914–1918). It also was the source of the first 500,000 production Model 1891

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ...

rifles, as the Russian armament industry could not tool up quickly enough to produce them for the rearmament of the Imperial Russian Army. The facility has now been transformed into the central repository ( Centre des Archives de l'Armement et du Personnel) of all the French military archives related to armament matters. Archived and declassified MAC records are open to bona fide scholars and researchers upon written request.

Personalities

Births

Châtellerault was the birthplace of: *

Aénor de Châtellerault Aénor of Châtellerault (also known as ''Aénor de Rochefoucauld'') Duchess of Aquitaine (born c. 1103 in Châtellerault, died March 1130 in Talmont) was the mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who became one of the most powerful women in Europe ...

(1103–1130), Duchess of Aquitaine * Clément Janequin (c. 1485–1558), composer of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

* Jean Daillé (1594–1670), French Huguenot and Calvinist theologian * Charles Sabourin (1849–1920), pulmonologist * Gilbert Chinard (1881–1972), author, historian * Rodolphe Salis (1851–1897), creator, host and owner of Le Chat Noir ("The Black Cat") *

Marie-Louise Carven Marie-Louise Carven (31 August 1909 – 8 June 2015), born Carmen de Tommaso, was a French fashion designer who founded the house of Carven in 1945. She was noted for her designs for petite women, her use of lightweight fabrics such as lace and ...

(1909–2015), Fashion Designer, Recipient of the Highest French Civilion Honor, Commander of the Legion of Honor * Bernard Panafieu (born 1931),

archbishop of Marseille The Archdiocese of Marseille (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Massiliensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Marseille'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France.Cardinal Priest of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Benoît Cauet Benoît Cauet (born 2 May 1969) is a French professional football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. Playing career Cauet was born in Châtellerault. He won the Ligue 1 in 1989 and 1990 with Marseille and in 1995 with Nante ...

(born 1969), former footballer * Sylvain Chavanel (born 1979) and Sébastien Chavanel (born 1981), professional cyclists

Notable residents

* Édith Cresson (born 1934), French politician * Jean-Pierre Thiollet (born 1956), writer

Twin towns – sister cities

Châtellerault is twinned with: * Velbert, Germany, since 1965 * Kaya, Burkina Faso, since 1976 * Corby, England, United Kingdom, since 1979 * Bouctouche, Kent County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

, Canada, since 1984 *

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

, Spain, since 1987 * Hamilton, Scotland, United Kingdom, since 1993 * Piła, Poland, since 1994

References

External links

City council website
(in French)
Tourist office website

Office Tourisme Chatellerault

Aerial views
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatellerault Communes of Vienne Subprefectures in France Poitou