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Alençon

Alençon is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes and a little over 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon.

History
The name of Alençon is first recorded in a document dated in the seventh century. During the tenth century, Alençon was a buffer state between Normandy and the Maine regions. In 1049–1051, William Duke of Normandy, later known as William the Conqueror and king of England, laid siege to the town, which had risen in support of the Count of Anjou along with two other towns of the Bellême estates, Domfront (then in Maine) and Bellême (held directly from King Henry I of France). According to Duke William's chaplain and panegyrist, William of Poitiers, the defenders of the fortress refused to surrender and mockingly waved animal hides from the castle walls, referencing William's lineage as the grandson of a tanner. In response, William had the hands and feet of 32 battle captives cut off, prompting a sudden surrender. Upon hearing of this event, the town of Domfront also surrendered. Alençon was occupied by the English during the Anglo-Norman wars of 1113 to 1203. The city became the seat of a dukedom in 1415, belonging to the sons of the King of France until the French Revolution, and some of them played important roles in French history: see Duke of Alençon. The French Revolution caused relatively little disorder in this area, although there were some royalist uprisings nearby. A long-standing local fabric industry gave birth to the town's famous point d'Alençon lace in the 18th century. The economic development of the nineteenth century was based on iron foundries and mills in the surrounding region. In the first half of the twentieth century the city developed a flourishing printing industry. Alençon was home to Sts. Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. They were the first spouses in the history of the Catholic Church to be proposed for sainthood as a couple, in 2008. Zélie and Louis were married at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Alençon on 13 July 1858 and spent their whole married life in Alençon, where Thérèse was born in January 1873 and spent her early childhood until the death of her mother in 1877. Beatification of Louis and Zelie Martin - Saint Therese of Lisieux On 17 June 1940, the German Army occupied Alençon. On 12 August 1944 Alençon was the first French city to be liberated by the 2nd Armored Division of the French Army under General Leclerc, after minor bomb damage. After the war the population sharply increased and new industries settled. Many of these were related to plastics and the town is now a major plastics educational centre. ==Geography==
Geography
The river Sarthe flows through the town. In addition La Briante also flows through the commune. Alençon along with another 32 communes is part of a 3,503 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called the Haute vallée de la Sarthe. Climate Alençon benefits from an oceanic climate with mild winters and temperate summers. }} ==Population==
Economy
In the seventeenth century, Alençon was chiefly noted for its lace called point d'Alençon. Today, Alençon is home to a prosperous plastics industry, and, since 1993, to a plastics engineering school. MPO Fenêtres is a local PVC window company established in Alençon in 1970, is one of the first company in Alençon with around 170 employees (2009) and a turnover of 28 million euros in 2008. It is also the oldest French PVC window company still in business. ==Social Housing==
Social Housing
The Champ Perrier social housing complex, with its four high-rise buildings, was inaugurated in 1962 and is now facing significant social challenges. ==Points of interest==
Points of interest
Museums • '''Musée des Beaux-arts et de la Dentelle d'Alençon''' a Museum of France dedicated to point d'Alençon and art, that has been open since 1981. • Maison natale de Sainte Thérèse - birthplace of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, with museum and basilica complex. National heritage sites The Commune has 31 buildings and areas listed as a Monument historiqueLe Château des Ducs is a Castle built in the Middle ages. • Municipal Library was a former Jesuit chapel built in 1620, it became the city's library in the 18th century. It was registered as a Monument in 1926. • Café la Renaissance, built in 1855 the cafe, its interior decor is inspired by the second French Renaissance, it was registered as a monument in 2009. • Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Chapel is a seventeenth century chapel, it was registered as a monument in 1975. • '''Basilica of Notre-Dame d'Alençon''' is a fifteenth century church, that was registered as a monument in 1862. • Saint-Pierre church in the Montsor district is a church that was built in 1880, it features Mosaics made by the Facchina workshop, it was registered as a monument in 2006. • The Wheat Market (Halle aux blé) was built in 1812, featuring a 1000 m² glass dome, with a circumference of 110 metres, it was registered as a monument in 1975. • Psychiatric hospital was built in 1774, and initially built as a hospital for the sick, the destitute, the prisoners and the mentally ill. After the revolution it was turned into a prison, then becoming a hospice, before finally becoming a psychiatric hospital. • Hotel Libert is a hotel dating back to the 18th century, registered as a monument in 1947. • Hotel Radigue is a hotel dating back to the 18th century, registered as a monument in 1960. The hotel was mentioned in the Honoré de Balzac novel La Vieille Fille. • The Town Hall dates back to the 17th century and was registered as a monument in 1926. • Saint-Pierre de Montsort Presbytery is a former hotel that might have served as a presbytery, it was built in 1639 and was listed as a monument in 1958. • Saint-Léonard Lodging house is a seventeenth century house, designated as a monument in 1975. • Pesche Pharmacy is a nineteenth century building with neo-classical decor very characteristic of the 1820s-1830s, it was listed as a monument in 1987. • Tribunal de commerce is a fifteenth century building used as a court house for Commercial matters, it was registered as a monument in 1958. • City Ramparts remains of the old sixteenth century ramparts, reworked on in the nineteenth century, they were listed as a monument in 1971. • House of Ozé a fifteenth century house, built entirely from granite. The house was registered as a monument in 1903, and now acts as the Tourist office for the Commune. There are a further eleven private buildings and houses listed as monuments with the commune. • Water tower - Designed by architect Maurice Novarina in 1964, in 2007 it was awarded the Architecture contemporaine remarquable label. • Moulinex Building - former building belonging to Moulinex and designed by architects Maurice Novarina in 1964, 2007 saw the building awarded the Architecture contemporaine remarquable label. ==Education==
Education
Primary education Alençon has 16 elementary schools (Écoles élémentaire, these are typical of France, see the article in the French Wikipedia), of which 12 are public and 4 are private. Secondary education • Alençon has 6 colleges, 4 of which are public and 2 are private. • Alençon also has several lycées, some of which are public and some are private. • There are also 2 schools which provide vocational education. Higher education • Alençon has a branch of the University of Caen Normandy, specifically for law and engineering. • There is also a technical university. • There is a training institute for teachers (''Institut national supérieur du professorat et de l'éducation'') ==Transport==
Transport
Alençon is linked by the A28 autoroute (motorway/freeway) with the nearby cities of Le Mans to the south (Sarthe) and Rouen (Seine-Maritime) to the north. The A88 autoroute links the A28 just north of Alençon to the coastal port of Caen. The Alençon railway station offers regional services towards Caen, Le Mans and Tours. A comprehensive town bus system operates from 7:00 to 19:00. '''Aérodrome d'Alençon - Valframbert''' is an Aerodrome within the commune which is also shared with neighbouring communes of Valframbert and Cerisé that opened in 1936. Its IATA airport code is XAN and its ICAO airport code is LFOF. There is a comprehensive network of cycle paths. ==Sport==
Sport
• Alencon has a football team US Alençon who play at the Jacques Fould stadium. • Hippodrome d'Alençon is a racecourse that specializes in Harness racing, it has been in operation since 1825. ==Notable people==
Notable people
Adela of Ponthieu, Countess of Surrey (c. 1110–1174) • Anne d'Alençon (1492–1562), marquise of Montferrat • Marie-Catherine de Villedieu (1640–1683), novelist • Pierre Allix (1641–1717), Protestant pastor and author • Jean Castaing (1723–1805), printer, playwright lived and died here. • Léonard Bourdon (1754–1807), revolutionist • Jacques Hébert (1757–1794), editor of the extreme radical newspaper Le Père Duchesne during the French RevolutionLouis de Frotté (1766–1800), Chouan general • Jean Pierre François Bonet, Military commander • Edme Castaing (1796–1824), doctor and murderer • Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755–1834), botanist • Auguste Poulet-Malassis (1825–1878), publisher and friend of BaudelaireJuste Lisch (1828–1910), architect • Marie-Azélie Guérin MartinÉléonore-Aglaé-Marie Despierres (1843–1895), historian • Adolphe Gérard (1844–1900), American restaurateur • Adhémar Leclère (1853–1917), author • Georges de Lagarenne (1856 - 1929), an equestrianThérèse de Lisieux (1873–1897), Roman Catholic nun and saint, • André Couder (1897–1979), astronomer • Christian Beauvalet (1929 - 2022), a modern pentathlete was born here. • Pierre Papillaud, (1935 – 2017) a French billionaire businessman died here. • Alain Lambert (born 1946), politician • Daniel Balavoine (1952–1986), singer and songwriter • Fabrice Poullain (born 1962), footballer • Anne Consigny (born 1963), actress • Yoann (born 1971), graphic artist • Laurence Leboucher (born 1972), cyclist • Lorànt Deutsch (born 1975), actor and writer • Benoît Tréluyer (born 1976), car racer, two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 HoursJonathan Cochet (born 1977), car racer • Jérôme Hiaumet (born 1979), footballer • Anthony Geslin (born 1980), cyclist • Orelsan (born 1982), rapper • Arnold Mvuemba (born 1985), footballer • Maxime Blanchard (born 1986), footballer • Agnès Raharolahy (born 1992), athlete specialising in the 400 metres and 800 metres. • Lucas Corvée (born 1993) a badminton player. • Jordan Corvée (born 1995), is a badminton player • Rémy Vita (born 2001), footballer ==Twin towns – sister cities==
Twin towns – sister cities
Alençon is twinned with: • Basingstoke and Deane, England, United Kingdom • Quakenbrück, Germany ==Gallery==
Gallery
Halle aux bles Alencon.jpg|'''' Chateau des Ducs Alencon.jpg|'''' Bibliotheque alencon 670px.jpg|Library ==See also==
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