Pontlevoy () is a commune in the

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

department, central

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 ...

.INSEE commune file
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Geography

The village of Pontlevoy is 14 miles southwest of

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

, in the eastern part of Touraine. It is a 20-minute drive from the chateaux of

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home to the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about awa ...

, Cheverny, Chaumont or Chenonceau, and about an hour's drive from Azay-le-Rideau,

Loches Loches (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is situated southeast of Tours by road, on the left bank of the river Indre (river), Indre. History Loch ...

or Chambord. The summer is their tourist season. The French spoken in Touraine is said to be the purest in the country. The medieval battle of Pontlevoy took place in its neighbourhood.

History

Pontlevoy's main street, the Rue du Colonel Filloux, named after the colonel who is identified on the sign as a ''Humaniste et Technicien (1869-1957)''. Colonel Filloux perfected the 155-millimeter

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

for the French army. Most of the shops and houses were built between the 15th and 19th centuries. The architectural detail makes Pontlevoy charming: a crouching monkey carved in limestone on the cornice of a building on the Rue des Singes (Monkey Street), a sun over the doorway of the 17th-century Maison du Dauphin. According to legend, Louis XIV's grandson stayed there overnight. The Rue de la Juiverie is the only remnant of the ancient Jewish community of Pontlevoy.

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

was settled by Jews and Romans until their persecution and eventual expulsion from the region in 1306 caused by antisemitism. Pontlevoy's abbey made the town an important commercial and cultural center, founded in 1034 by Gelduin de Chaumont and re-established in 1644 by cardinal Richelieu. Between 1902 and 1963, Louis Clergeau, a local watchmaker, and his daughter took more than 10,000 photographs of life in Pontlevoy. The museum also highlighted their work. The Clergeau collection is as remarkable a picture of French life as the work of the photographer Jacques H. Lartigue. Pontlevoy is about five miles from the river

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, which up to November 1942 was the dividing line between occupied and unoccupied France. Pontlevoy was occupied, many refugees were hidden there.

Population

Sights

Pontlevoy's memorial to all its dead from

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 ...

and II is behind a green iron fence on the Route de

Montrichard Montrichard () is a town and former commune in the Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Montrichard Val de Cher. During the French Revolution, the commune was known as . ...

, On the four sides of the monument are the names of 81 men, listed year by year, who were killed in 1914-18 and 10 others, who died in 1939-45. In World War I Pontlevoy lost about 10 percent of its population. On the corner of the Avenue Malingie and the Route de Montrichard, Pontlevoy has erected a small concrete cenotaph commemorating its martyrs and victims of Nazism from 1939 to 45.

Personalities

The French composer Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges died in the city 20 January 1838. Antoine le Picard de Philippeaux was born in this village. He died in Saint Jean d'Acre ('Saint John of Acre',the city Acre, Israel) (1767-1799).

Twin towns — sister cities

Pontlevoy is twinned with: * Gignod, Italy

References

{{authority control Communes of Loir-et-Cher