About 4000 years before our era, on a hill overlooking the river Sarthe, there existed a prehistoric colony whose existence was further justified by a standing stone against one of the walls of the Cathdral.
When, in 57 BC, the roman legions invaded the region, the town, occupied by the Celts of the Aulerques tribe, Cénormans, was called VIDUNUM. Theatres, baths & forums were scattered across the sides of the hill from the first centuries.
Around 270 AD Germanic invasions instigated the building of a Gallic-Roman defensive wall, without doubt one of the best preserved in France today. Within these walls the inhabibtants of Vindunum could take refuge & protect themselves against invaders. Here, the town established itself as a medieval settlement, which became an economic centre as well as a place of religious pilgrimage, situated around the first cathedral constructed in the VI century by the Bishop of Saint-Principe.
The wall, which surrounds & protects the town, did not prevent William, the Duke of Normandy, from besieging & blockading Le Mans in 1068. This occupation of the town by his troops was part of the rise of William the Conqueror, until 1070, when the natives of Le Mans (called "les Manceaux") roused a conspiracy called "commune".
In 1129, Geoffry, the son of Foulque V of Anjou & of Eremburge, heir to the county of Maine, established the Plantagenêt dynasty by marrying Mathilde (the daughter of Henry I King of England) in Le Mans. From this newborn union in Le Mans, Henry II was born and married Aliénor of Aquitaine, before becoming King of England, thus his powerful reign extended from Scotland to the Pyrenees.
The son of Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, married Bérengère the Princess of Navarre, on the island of Cyprus. In 1204, Bérengère, now a widow, retired to Le Mans and founded the Epau Abbey ("Abbey de l'Epau").
During 1189 Philippe Auguste seized Le Mans. From that time the town started its evolution leading to the sovereignty of France. Constituting of many attributes, the county of Maine acquired the Valois' & Jean le Valois, the future, Jean le Bon, was born in Le Mans at the Manor of "Gué de Maulny" in 1319.
From 1346 to 1456 the town of Le Mans was significantly damaged during the 100 years war, which destroyed a significant number of the flimsy constructions of the town; taken & retaken by the English, who, for one of the first times, used artillery against its surrounding walls.
It was in 1481, at the time of the transition of the town, that King Louis XI granted Le Mans its first charter which provided the town with a Town Hall & a burgomaster assembly.
The religious wars were cruel & devasting for the inhabitants of Le Mans, during which, at the start of 1560, the reformed church was established. In 1562 the Huguenots seized the town & occupied it from the 3rd April to 11th May. It was not until 1589, when the town was taken by Henry IV, that one of the most diffcult periods for Le Mans came to an end.
In the XVII & XVIII centuries Le Mans became a centre of manufacture & commerce, where cheesecloth, wax & leather were produced and sold to Italy, Spain and the West Indies; further more, Brazil was also involved in the trade negotiations.
A large economic recession linked with the decline of the cheesecloth industry & the decline of the wax demand from 1789 lead the province to a period when Le Mans was reduced to a town of 16000 inhabitants.
The town possessed, in its immediate surroundings, some monasteries, which were destroyed during & after the revolution. In December 1793, at the time of the Vendée war, Le Mans was the site of a terrible battle between republican & vendéan troops.
It was after this animated period that the architect Bruyère started planning many of the towns features: the "Bulle de Greffer", the "Place des Jacobins" & "Avenue de Pontlieue". From then on the commercial & urban centres were no longer in the old town.
In 1855, the outlying districts of Saint-Croix, Siant-Georges, Saint-Pavin des Champs, then Pontlieue in 1865, became part of Le Mans. This resulted in a total population of 40000 inhabitants.
In January 1871, after the fierce combat close to the town from Tertre-Rouge to the camp of Auvours, & the defeat of the Loire army by General Chanzy, Le Mans was occupied by the Prussians for a few months.
During the period of 1873 to 1914, the town underwent an important economic development. It became the birthplace of the automobile, aided by the Bollée family. This family of industrials allowed an american, Wilbur Wright, to construct his biplane & practice his flying attempts at the Hunaudières & at the Auvours camp. This took place from August to the end of December 1908.
The world wars, of 1914-18 & 1939-45, spared the city of Le Mans, which suffered little destruction. Liberated from German occupation on 8 August 1944, the inhabitants of Le Mans, at the end of the 2nd World War, numbered 100000. So Le Mans took its place alongside France's largest cities and now has a population of 150 000 inhabitants.
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