Le Mans

Sister cities

• Alexandria
• Paderborn
• Rostov-on-Don
• Quintanar de la Orden
• Haouza
• Xianyang
• Suzuka
• Volos
• Bolton
• Amasya

History

First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, a sub tribe of the Aedui. Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum (City of the Cenomani), or Cenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. A 3rd-century amphitheatre is still visible. The thermae were demolished during the crisis of the third century when workers were mobilized to build the city's defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of Gallo-Roman city walls to survive. As the use of the French language replaced late Vulgar Latin in the area, Cenomanus, with dissimilation, became known as Celmins. Cel- was taken to be a form of the French word for "this" and "that", and was replaced by le, which means "the". As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the eleventh century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror successfully invaded England and established an occupation. In 1069 the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda of England in the cathedral. Their son Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was born in the town. In the 13th century Le Mans came under the control of the French crown. It was subsequently invaded by England during the Hundred Years' War. Industrialization took place in the 19th century which saw the development of railway and motor vehicle production as well as textiles and tobacco manufacture. Just outside Le Mans city centre there used to be an airfield, built to protect the Renault factory. Soon after Le Mans was liberated…

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,800
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,709
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,647
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,560
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,530
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,445
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,333
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,241

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-09-19
  2 km NNE of Montigné-le-Brillant, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-09-18
  1 km W of Ambillou, France
• M 3 — 2008-06-07
  3 km ENE of Cangey, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-01-31
  2 km SE of Saint-Berthevin, France
• M 3 — 2007-12-17
  3 km W of Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
• M 3.4 — 2007-12-17
  3 km W of Chaumont-sur-Loire, France