Poitiers

Location The city of Poitiers is situated on the Seuil du Poitou, a shallow gap between the Armorican and the Central Massif. The Seuil du Poitou connects the Aquitaine Basin to the South to the Paris Basin to the North. This area is an important geographic crossroads in France and Western Europe. Situation Poitiers's primary site sits on a vast promontory between the valleys of the Boivre and the Clain. The old town occupies the slopes and the summit of a plateau that rises above the streams which surround, and hence benefits from a very strong tactical situation. This was an especially important factor before and throughout the Middle Ages. ==Inhabitants and demography==

Inhabitants of Poitiers are referred to as Poitevins or Poitevines, although this denomination can be used for anyone from the Poitou province. ==Climate==

The climate in the Poitiers area is mild with mild temperature amplitudes, and adequate rainfall throughout the year although with a drying tendency during summer. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this type of climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate). ==History==

Antiquity Poitiers was founded by the Celtic tribe of the Pictones and was known as the Oppidum Lemonum before Roman influence. The name is said to have come from the Celtic word for elm, Lemo. After the Roman conquest the town became known as Pictavium, or later "Pictavis", after the original Pictones inhabitants themselves. The city houses a series a of archeological finds from the Roman-era. Until 1857, Poitiers hosted the ruins of a vast Roman Amphitheatre, which was larger than the Amphitheater of Nîmes. Furthermore, Roman baths built in the 1st century and demolished in the 3rd century, were uncovered near the amphitheater in 1877. The first decisive victory of a Western European Christian army over a Islamic power, the Battle of Tours, was fought by Charles Martel's troops in the vicinity of Poitiers on 10 October 732. Eleanor of Aquitaine frequently resided in the town, which she embellished and fortified, and, in 1199, entrusted with communal rights. 20th century and contemporary Poitiers Poitiers was bombed during World War II, particularly the area around the railway station which was heavily hit on 13 June 1944. From the late 1950s until the late 1960s when Charles de Gaulle ended the American military presence, the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force had an array of military installations in France, including a major Army logistics and communications hub in Poitiers, part of what was called the Communication Zone (ComZ), and consisting of a logistics headquarters and communications agency located at Aboville Caserne, a military compound situated on a hill above the city. Hundreds of graduates ("Military Brats") of Poitiers American High School, a school operated by the Department of Defense School System (DODDS), have gone on to maintain successful careers, including the recent commander-in-chief of the U.S. Special Forces Command, Army General Bryan (Doug) Brown. The Caserne also housed a full support community, with a theater, commissary, recreation facilities and an affiliate radio station of the American Forces Network, Europe, headquartered in Frankfurt (now Mannheim, Germany.) The town benefited from the industrial Décentralisation of France in the 1970s, for instance with the installation during that decade of the Michelin and Compagnie des compteurs Schlumberger factories. The Futuroscope theme-park and research park project, built in 1986–1987 in nearby Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, after an idea by French politician René Monory, consolidated Poitiers' place as a touristic destination and as a modern university center, opening the town to the era of information technology. ==Main sights==

. Historic churches, in particular Romanesque buildings, are the main attraction inside Poitiers itself. The town center has maintained much of the pre-modern architecture, and is home to a re-zoned pedestrian area. Tourism grew after the creation of the Futuroscope theme-park and the research park in nearby Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, especially from the United Kingdom. It has also benefited from the TGV high-speed rail link to Paris. • Baptistère Saint-Jean (4th century), the oldest church in France • Palace of Poitiers, the seat of the dukes of Aquitaine • Church of Notre-Dame la Grande, oldest Romanesque church in Europe • Poitiers Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Pierre), (12th century) • Musée Sainte-Croix, the largest museum in Poitiers • Church of St. Radegonde (6th century) • Church of Saint-Hilaire le Grand (11th century) • Hypogée des Dunes (underground chapel) • Jardin des Plantes de Poitiers, a park and botanical garden • Church of Saint-Jean de Montierneuf • Théâtre Municipal de Poitiers, by the French architect Édouard Lardillier • Parc du Futuroscope (European Park of the Moving Image, some north of Poitiers; theme is visual communication technology in ultramodern buildings) ==Sports==

The Stade Poitevin, founded in 1900, is a multi-sports club, which fields several top-level teams in a variety of sports. These include a volleyball team that play in the French Pro A volleyball league, a basketball team, an amateur football team and a professional rugby team (as of the 2008–2009 season). The PB86 or Poitiers Basket 86 play in the French Pro A basketball league. In the 2009–10 season, three Americans played for PB86: Rasheed Wright, Kenny Younger and Tommy Gunn. The team played the French championship playoffs in the 2009–10 season and was the Pro B French Champion for the 2008–2009 season. The team's communication strategy is considered by some to be one of the best in the French basketball scene. Brian Joubert, the French figure skating champion, practices at Poitiers' Ice Rink and lives with his family in the city. ==Transport==

Poitiers' railway station lies on the TGV Atlantique line between Paris and Bordeaux. The station is in the valley to the west of the old town center. Services run to Angoulême, Limoges and La Rochelle in addition to Paris and Bordeaux. The direct TGV puts Poitiers 1 hour and 40 minutes from the Parisian Gare Montparnasse. Poitiers–Biard Airport is located west of Poitiers with flights to Lyon-Saint Exupéry, London Stansted, Edinburgh and Shannon, Ireland on Ryanair. Urban transportation in Poitiers is provided by a company dubbed Vitalis although their e-infrastructure is difficult to access. Regional ground transportation in the department of the Vienne is provided by private bus companies such as "Ligne en Vienne." Rail transportation in the region is provided by the public TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine (regional express train). Between January 2009 and December 2012, Poitiers' town center underwent significant transformations aimed at reducing motor vehicle access. The initiative, called "Projet Cœur d'Agglo," sought to rethink the role of individual car use for accessing the town center and daily transportation. On 29 September 2010, 12 streets were permanently closed to motor vehicles, creating a fully pedestrianized zone. Lastly, a new line of fast buses was added around 2017. {{Panorama ==Education==

The city of Poitiers has a very old tradition as being a prestigious town where many good universities agglomerate, starting as far back as the Middle Ages. The University of Poitiers was established in 1431 and has welcomed many famous philosophers and scientists throughout the ages (notably François Rabelais; René Descartes; Francis Bacon; Samir Amin). Today Poitiers has more students per inhabitant than any other large town or city in France. All around, there are over 27,000 university students in Poitiers, nearly 4,000 of which are foreigners, hailing from 117 countries. The University covers all major fields from sciences to geography, history, languages economics and law. The law degree at the University of Poitiers is considered to be one of the best in France. The program was ranked second by ''L'Étudiant magazine'' in 2005. In addition to the University, Poitiers also hosts two engineering schools and two business schools: • the École nationale supérieure de mécanique et d'aérotechnique (ENSMA) • the École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Poitiers (ENSIP) • the France Business School (FBS) • the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises de Poitiers (IAE). Since 2001, the city of Poitiers has hosted the first cycle of "The South America, Spain and Portugal" program from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, also known as Sciences Po. ==International relations==

Poitiers is twinned with: • Northampton, United Kingdom • Marburg, Germany • Lafayette, United States • Coimbra, Portugal • Yaroslavl, Russia • Iași, Romania • Moundou, Chad ==People==

This is a list of people of interest who were born or resided in Poitiers: • Oklou (born 1993), musician, singer, music producer, DJ, composer and actress • Hilary of Poitiers (c300–367), elected bishop of Poitiers around the year 350, exiled and returned to die there • Saint Radegonde or Radegund ( to 587), Thuringian princess and queen of France, founded an abbey in Poitiers and performed miracles there • Charles Martel, French general who defeated the Muslim Umayyad army in the Battle of Tours in 732 • Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen consort of France (1137-1152) and England (1152-1204), was born, periodically lived, and died in Poitiers. • François Rabelais, Renaissance writer and humanist • Pope Clement V • St. Venantius Fortunatus, 6th-century Latin poet and hymnodist and Bishop in the Roman Catholic Church • Marie Louise Trichet (1684–1759) • William Longchamp, buried at the abbey of Le Pin, 1197 • René Descartes studied law at the University of Poitiers • Saint Louis de Montfort • Michel Aco (1680–1702), explorer, was born in Poitiers • Ribar Baikoua (born 1991), basketball player • Camille Berthomier (born 1984), singer in English rock band Savages, actress • Antoine Brizard, born in Poitiers in 1994, member of the France men's national volleyball team. • Susann Cokal, novelist, lived in Poitiers in mid-1980s and based her first novel Mirabilis on the geography of the city • Lionel Charbonnier (born 1966), footballer (goalkeeper), World Cup winner for France. Played most notably for AJ Auxerre and Rangers. • Romain Édouard (born 1990), chess player and grandmaster • Éric Élisor (born 1971), former professional footballer • Maryse Éwanjé-Épée (born 1964), athlete • Monique Éwanjé-Épée (born 1967), athlete • Fernand Fau, born in Poitiers in 1858, illustrator and cartoonist • Michel Foucault (1926–1984), philosopher • Marie-France Garaud, born in Poitiers in 1934, politician • Hélène Grémillon, (born 1977), writer, winner of the 2011 Prix Emmanuel Roblès • Camille Guérin, born in Poitiers in 1872, discovered a vaccine against tuberculosis with Albert Calmette in 1924 • Bruce Inkango (born 1984), footballer • Yassine Jebbour (born 1991), footballer • Brian Joubert (born 1984), ice skating champion • Natan Jurkovitz (born 1995), French-Swiss-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League • Hervé Lhommedet (born 1973), footballer • Frédéric Mémin (born 1979), footballer • Blanche Monnier (1849–1913), socialite, known for being falsely imprisoned by her mother for 25 years • Mahyar Monshipour (born 1975), World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion from 2003 to 2006 • Francis N'Ganga (born 1985), footballer • Elsa N'Guessan (born 1984), swimmer • Simon Pagenaud, race car driver • Jean-Pierre Raffarin (born 1948), politician and senator for Vienne, former prime minister of France (2002–2005) • Joël Robuchon, born in Poitiers in 1945, French chef and restaurateur • Paul Rougnon (1846–1934), composer and professor at the Conservatoire de Paris • Jean-Pierre Thiollet, born in Poitiers in 1956, French author • Louis Vierne (1870–1937), organist & composer, eventually at the Notre Dame cathedral, Paris • Romain Vincelot (born 1985), footballer ==See also==