Meung-sur-Loire
Château of Meung-sur-Loire
Château of Meung-sur-Loire
Coat of arms of Meung-sur-Loire
Location of Meung-sur-Loire
Meung-sur-Loire is located in France
Meung-sur-Loire
Meung-sur-Loire
Meung-sur-Loire is located in Centre-Val de Loire
Meung-sur-Loire
Meung-sur-Loire
Coordinates: 47°49′46″N 1°41′57″E / 47.8294°N 1.6992°E / 47.8294; 1.6992
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
DepartmentLoiret
ArrondissementOrléans
CantonMeung-sur-Loire
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Pauline Martin[1]
Area
1
20.35 km2 (7.86 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2021)[2]
6,567
  Density320/km2 (840/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
45203 /45130
Elevation82–113 m (269–371 ft)
(avg. 100 m or 330 ft)
WebsiteOfficial website
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Meung-sur-Loire (French pronunciation: [mœ̃ syʁ lwaʁ]) is a commune in the Loiret department, north-central France.

It was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire in 1429.

Geography

Meung-sur-Loire lies 15 km to the west of Orléans on the north bank of the river Loire at the confluence with the river Mauves. The Mauves, actually three rivers, have their source in the water table of the productive agricultural region of the Beauce.

History

There is evidence of mesolithic settlements at « Mousseau » and « La Haute-Murée ».[3]

A Gallo-Roman fortified village recorded as Magdunum was built in the marais adjoining the river, which in 409 was fired by the invading Alans. The marais was drained, according to tradition by Saint Liphard around the year 520. The canalisation formed the watercourses known as the mauves. He went on to build the chapel which was to become the monastery and the abbey. His relics were deposited in the church in 1104, the year after Louis VI had founded as fortress.

During the 12th century the church was rebuilt in the gothic style, and fortified accommodation for the abbot built alongside. Jeanne d'Arc visited in 1429, and this was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire. The complex was restored in 1570, again during the 19th century and again in 1985.

The river defined the town, in 1857, 38 mills had the right to use the waters of the rivers to power themselves.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 4,116    
1975 4,601+1.60%
1982 5,604+2.86%
1990 5,993+0.84%
1999 6,254+0.47%
2007 6,137−0.24%
2012 6,115−0.07%
2017 6,440+1.04%
Source: INSEE[4]

Fiction

In fiction, it has been described by Alexandre Dumas in The Three Musketeers as the village where d'Artagnan, en route to join the King's Musketeers in Paris, first encounters the villainous Comte de Rochefort. Also in fiction, Meung-sur-Loire is the country home of Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, Georges Simenon's classic crime fiction character. Maigret and his wife Louise eventually retire to their Meung-sur-Loire home, where he spends his time fishing (pike), and she tends, according to her sister, any number of animals.[5]

Points of interest

Notable residents

  • Jean de Meun (c. 1240 – c. 1305), author of the Roman de la Rose
  • Maurice Larrouy (1882–1939), winner of the 1917 Prix Femina, died in Meung
  • Gaston Couté (1880-1911), french libertarian poet and song-writer lived here in his childhood and is buried in Meung. A museum in the local of the library is dedicated to his life and works.
  • Alain Corneau (1943-2010), film director and writer was born in Meung-sur-Loire.

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. Rozoy (Dr J.-G.) – 1978 – Les derniers chasseurs. L'Epipaléolithique en France et en Belgique. Essai de synthèse. Charleville, Rozoy éd., 30 cm, 3 vol., 1500 p., 6500 objets figurés.
  4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  5. Maigret Returns
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