Château-Gontier

Château-Gontier
Château-Gontier
	Subprefecture and commune
	Château-Gontier seen from the Europe Bridge
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Château-Gontier Location within Pays de la Loire region Château-Gontier
	Coordinates: 47°49′43″N 0°42′10″W / 47.8286°N 0.7028°WCoordinates: 47°49′43″N 0°42′10″W / 47.8286°N 0.7028°W
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Mayenne
Arrondissement	Château-Gontier
Canton	Château-Gontier
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Philippe Henry
Area1	27.88 km2 (10.76 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	11,025
• Density	400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	53062 /53200
Elevation	26–99 m (85–325 ft) ; (avg. 83 m or 272 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Château-Gontier (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto ɡɔ̃tje]) is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.^[1]

Geography

It is about 30 km (19 mi) south of Laval,^[1] the préfecture of the department of Mayenne. Château-Gontier is home to the Refuge de l'Arche, a refuge for abandoned or mistreated animals.

History

There are chalybeate springs close to the town. Château-Gontier owes its origin and its name to a castle erected in the first half of the 11th century by Gunther, the steward of Fulk Nerra of Anjou, on the site of a farm belonging to the monks of St Aubin d’Angers. On the extinction of the family, the lordship was assigned by Louis XI of France to Philippe de Comines. The town suffered severely during the wars of the League. In 1793 it was occupied by the Vendeans.^[1]

Population and society

People

Conan II, Duke of Brittany was found dead here during the Breton Norman Wars, likely the victim of poisoning.
Claude Pompidou was born here.
General Emile-René Lemonnier was born and buried here.
Louis-François Allard (1735-1819), physician and politician.
Guy de Charnacé (1825–1909), agronomist, writer, musicologist was born here.
Alexis Roger, French composer (1814–1846), was born here

References

INSEE commune file

1 2 3 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Château-Gontier". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 963.

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[EB1911-1] 1 2 3 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Château-Gontier". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 963.