Argentan
Argentan is a
commune, and the chief town of two
cantons and of an
arrondissement of the
Orne département, in
France.
Argentan is located 180 km NE of
Rennes, 131 km ENE of
Le-Mont-Saint-Michel, 188 km SE of
Cherbourg, 58 km SSE of
Caen, 133 km SW of
Rouen and 100 km N of
Le Mans.
*
Donjon of Argentan
Argentan is an old
Roman town built along the
Orne River. The town continued to grow during the
Middle Ages. Argentan was the site of the
Battle of Argentan in
1944 during the
Second World War.
Following the Viking invasion, in the north of France, the «
Neustrie » became «
Normandy » (literally: north man country). The Viking chief, « Rolf the walker », let the town to one of his lieutenant. Throughout all of the Middle Ages, Argentan was, turn to turn, a rich place, or totally burnt. With war against the English army, English forces occupied the city several times. In fact, the
Plantagenet had considered this town as one of the most important towns of Normandy. During
Louis XIV time,
Colbert pushed
Alençon against Argentan by economic competition about
lace. By this way, the
Point of Argentan was founded. Argentan became a very important town for traditional industry, moreover for religious power with
Benedictines and convent. Two very impressive churches were built: Saint-Martin and Saint-Germain; Several particular hotels to.
With the
French Revolution, Argentan starting to be more quiet. During the
World Wars, the city suffered: many young men of Argentan died in
Verdun under the 104th infantry regiment in
1916. During the Second World War, the city was almost totally destroyed.
In 1944, during the June 6th bombing preceding the
Allied landings at Normandy, the city was partially destroyed by
B-17s. The majority of the city was, however, destroyed at the end of August the same year. The
U.S. Third Army, under the command of general
George S. Patton liberated Argentan after eight days of violent combats against the 9th Panzer Division and soldiers of the 2nd SS Panzer Division. It was the
U.S. 80th Infantry Division which liberated the city, in the morning of August 20. The city burnt again.
Today the town is developing tourism.
People
Argentan was the birthplace of:
*
François-Eudes de Mézeray (1610-1683),
historian*
Fernand Léger,
painter*
André Mare, painter
*
Michel Onfray (born
January 1,
1959), French
philosopherTwin towns
Argentan is twinned with:
*
Abingdon, Oxfordshire,
England*
Baja,
Hungary*
Rotenburg,
Lower Saxony,
Germany* http://www.argentan.fr/
