Place Information
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Angers is a city in the Maine-et-Loire department in northwestern France about 300 km south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins. There are 157,000 people in the city of Angers and close to 283,000 in its metropolitan area. The city traces its roots to early Roman times. It occupies both banks of the Maine, which is spanned by six bridges. The district along the river is famous for its flourishing nurseries and market gardens. It is well known for its fresh produce and cut flowers. History
The first sign of human presence on the site of Angers is a stone tool dated back to 400,000 BC (Lower Paleolithic). The earliest known inhabitants were the Andecavi, a Gallic tribe that was overrun by the Romans. The city, while under Roman rule, was called Juliomagus. The Council of Angers was held here in 453. The city suffered severely from the invasions of the Normans (in 845 and succeeding years) Angers was once the capital of the historic province of Anjou. Beginning in the ninth century, the region was controlled by a powerful family of feudal lords. It is the cradle of the House of Plantagenet who ruled England from the twelfth century and gave name to the Angevin Kings of England. During this time the Hospital of Saint-Jean was built in Angers by King Henry II of England. The edifice still stands to this day, now housing an important museum. In 1204 Angers was conquered by King Philippe II. The Huguenots took it in 1585, and the Vendean royalists were defeated nearby in 1793. Till the French Revolution Angers was the seat of a celebrated university founded in the 14th century. Research Tips
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