Saumur

For the wine, see Saumur (wine).

For the Canadian Supreme Court decision, see Saumur v. The City of Quebec.

Coordinates: 47°15′36″N 0°04′37″W / 47.260000, -0.076944

Commune of Saumur

The château at Saumur

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City coat of arms from 1699 to 1985

City coat of arms since 1986

Location

Administration

Saumur Loire Développement

Mayor

Jean-Michel Marchand
(2001-2008)

Statistics

Elevation

20–95 m
(avg. 30 m)

Land area^¹

66.25 km²

Population^²
(1999)

29,857

- Density

450.7/km² (1999)

Miscellaneous

INSEE/Postal code

49328/ 49400

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.

The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, which join to the west of the town.

1 History
2 World War II
3 Personalities
4 Twin towns
5 References
6 External links

History

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Saumur is home to the Cadre Noir, the École Nationale d'Équitation (National School of Horsemanship), known for its annual horse shows, as well as the officer school for armored forces (tanks). There is a tank museum, the Musée des Blindés, with more than 850 armored vehicles, wheeled or tracked. Most of them are from France but some were made in other countries such as Brazil, Germany, or the Soviet Union.

The School of Saumur is the name used to denote a distinctive form of Reformed theology taught by Moses Amyraut at the University of Saumur in the 17th century. Saumur is also the scene for Balzac's novel "Eugénie Grandet", written by the French author in 1833 and the title of a song from hard rock band Trust (whose lyrics express their poor opinion of the city: narrow-minded, bourgeois and militaristic).

Saumur was the location of the Battle of Saumur (1793) during the Revolt in the Vendée.

World War II

Saumar was the site of the Battle of Saumur (1940) during World War II, and 1944 Tallboy and Azon bombing targets:

Mission/Target	Date	Result
Bombing of Saumur during World War II
Saumur railway tunnel	June 8/9, 1944^[1]	The first use of Tallboy bombs was against a railway tunnel near Saumur, 125 miles south of the battle area. The hasty night raid was to stop a planned German Panzer Division expected later through the tunnel. No. 83 Squadron RAF illuminated the area with flares by 4 Avro Lancasters and marked the target at low level by 3 de Havilland Mosquitos. 25 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF then dropped their Tallboys with great accuracy; one pierced the roof of the tunnel, brought down a huge quantity of rock and soil, and blocked the tunnel for a considerable period, badly delaying the Panzer IVs.^[2]
Mission 432/Saumur bridge	June 22, 1944	9 of 10 B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces used Azon glide bombs against the Samur^[3] Bridge; escort is provided by 41 of 43 P-51 Mustangs.
Mission 438/Saumur bridge	June 24, 1944	During the morning, 74 B-17 Flying Fortresses are dispatched to the Saumur bridge; 38 hit the primary and 36 hit Tours/La Riche Airfield without loss; escort is provided by 121 of 135 P-51s who claim 4-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.^[3]

Personalities

Saumur was the birthplace of:

Anne Lefèvre (1654–1720), better known during her lifetime as Madame Dacier, scholar and translator of classics
Charles Ernest Beulé (1826–1874), archeologist
Coco Chanel (1883–1971), internationally renowned fashion designer
Yves Robert, (1920–2002), actor, composer, director, writer, producer
Fanny Ardant, (b. 1949), actress
Dominique Pinon, (b. 1955), actor
James Boisseau, (b. 1656), American tobe

Twin towns

twinned with:

Verden, Germany
Warwick, United Kingdom
Havelberg, Germany
Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Ruşeţu, Romania

References

^ "Saumer Tunnel, 9th June 1944". Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. UK Crown. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
^ "Campaign Diary". Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. UK Crown. Retrieved on 2007-05-24. 1944: June, July, August, September, October, November, December
^ ^a ^b "8th Air Force 1944 Chronicles". Retrieved on 2007-05-25. June, July, August, September