Angers

Sister cities

• Toruń
• Austin
• Pisa
• Haarlem
• Seville
• Bamako
• Osnabrück
• Södertälje Municipality
• Yantai
• Wigan

History

The first sign of human presence in Angers dates back to around 400,000 BC. Vestiges from the Neolithic are more abundant and include numerous polished stone axes. Burials from 4500  3500 BC were also discovered on the castle grounds. During the 5th century BC, the Andecavi, a Celtic people, settled north of the Loire. By the end of the Iron Age, Angers was a relatively densely populated hillfort. While the settlement's Roman name—Juliomagus—may be older, it is only attested from the 3rd century. The Roman town consisted of many villas and baths and had an amphitheater as well as a Mithraeum, a temple dedicated to Mithra. Successive Germanic invasions in AD 275 and 276 forced the inhabitants to move to the highest point of their city and to build a wall around a small area of around . Angers received its first bishop in 372 during the election of Martin of Tours. The first abbey, Saint-Aubin, was built during the 7th century to house the sarcophagus of Saint Albinius. Saint-Serge Abbey was founded by the Merovingian kings Clovis II and Theuderic III a century later. In 2008, ten Frankish sarcophagi from that period were discovered where Saint-Morille church once stood during the tramway construction. From the 850s, Angers suffered from its situation on the border with Brittany and Normandy. In September 851, Charles the Bald and Erispoe, a Breton chief, met in the town to sign the Treaty of Angers, which secured Breton independence and fixed the borders of Brittany. However, the situation remained dangerous for Angers, and Charles the Bald created in 853 a wide buffer zone around Brittany comprising parts of Anjou, Touraine, Maine and Sées, which was ruled by Robert the Strong, a great-grandfather of Hugh Capet. In 870, the Viking…

Geography

Angers is located at the geographical center of the Maine-et-Loire department, on the road (A11 autoroute, L'Océane) which connects Paris to the Atlantic Ocean. The city is situated just south of the confluence of the Loir, Mayenne and Sarthe, which form together the river Maine. The Maine crosses Angers and heads south towards the Loire. The confluence of the three rivers and the proximity of the Loire make up a natural crossroads which favoured the foundation of the antique Juliomagus. Angers is located from Nantes, from Rennes, from Poitiers and from Paris. It is also far from Pornic, the closest sea resort, situated on the Atlantic Ocean. Elevation varies above sea level. Angers is a hilly town, particularly marked by a rocky promontory dominating the lower valley of Anjou. This was the site of the ancient city and still houses the town's castle, cathedral, and medieval quarters. At the north and south, where the river Maine arrives in and leaves Angers, the landscape is formed by islands, ponds and floodplains which are a haven for birds and a typical flora of the Val de Loire. The étang Saint-Nicolas and Lac de Maine (fr) both artificial, are among the biggest green areas of the city. The commune of Angers is bordered by ten other communes which form various suburbs. These are, clockwise, Avrillé, Cantenay-Épinard, Écouflant, Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, Trélazé, Les Ponts-de-Cé, Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire, Bouchemaine and Beaucouzé. 22 other communes situated farther form with them the Communauté urbaine Angers Loire Métropole. All these peripheral communes are situated within from Angers proper. Together, they have around 272,400 inhabitants. Angers has an oceanic climate, with moderate rain year-round. Winters have scarce frosts and snowfalls, and…

Most-observed species

• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,871
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,833
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,640
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,574
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,462
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,318
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,100
• Fire salamander

  Salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  1,480

Most recent

• M 4 — 2019-06-21
  2 km WSW of Vihiers, France
• M 4.1 — 2018-02-12
  3 km SSE of La Meilleraie-Tillay, France
• M 3.6 — 2017-09-28
  1 km WNW of Tresbœuf, France
• M 3.5 — 2016-06-19
  4 km ESE of La Jumellière, France
• M 4.2 — 2016-05-02
  6 km SE of L'Île-Bouchard, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-11-06
  12 km W of Saint-Gervais-les-Trois-Clochers, France