'' by
Richard Parkes Bonington, 1825 Mantes was halfway between the centres of power of the dukes of
Normandy at
Rouen and the
Kings of France in Paris. Along with most of northern France, the city changed hands frequently in the
Hundred Years' War.
Philip Augustus died in Mantes on 14 July 1223. The
Hôtel de Ville was officially opened in 1972.
Louis XIV instituted the manufacture of musical instruments in Mantes, and it was chosen as the centre of
brass and
woodwind instrument manufacture. In the 19th century, painters were attracted to the town, particularly
Corot, whose paintings of the bridge and the cathedral are celebrated.
Prokofiev spent the summer of 1920 there orchestrating the ballet
Chout. Originally officially called
Mantes-sur-Seine (meaning "Mantes on the
Seine"), Mantes merged with the commune of
Gassicourt in 1930 and the commune born of the merger was called Mantes-Gassicourt. Mantes was the location of the
first allied bridgehead across the Seine on 19 August 1944, by
General Patton's 3rd Army. Major rebuilding was needed after the war. On 7 May 1953, the commune of Mantes-Gassicourt was officially renamed Mantes-la-Jolie (meaning "Mantes the pretty"), allegedly in reference to a letter of King
Henry IV addressed to his
mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées who resided in Mantes: "I am on my way to Mantes, my pretty" (). ==Art==