Montargis
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The Briare Canal in Montargis
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 Montargis
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Location within Centre-Val de Loire region
Montargis
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| Coordinates: 47°59′52″N 2°44′00″E / 47.9978°N 2.7333°ECoordinates: 47°59′52″N 2°44′00″E / 47.9978°N 2.7333°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Centre-Val de Loire | |
| Department | Loiret | |
| Arrondissement | Montargis | |
| Canton | Montargis | |
| Intercommunality | Montargoise et Rives du Loing | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2001–2008) | Jean-Pierre Door | |
| Area1 | 4.46 km2 (1.72 sq mi) | |
| Population (2012)2 | 14,490 | |
| • Density | 3,200/km2 (8,400/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 45208 /45200 | |
| Elevation | 82–112 m (269–367 ft) (avg. 85 m or 279 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Montargis (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃taʁʒi]) is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France on the Loing river. The town is located about 110 km (68 mi) south of Paris and 70 km (43 mi) east of Orléans in the Gâtinais.
Montargis is the second largest city in the Loiret, after Orléans. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry and farming, including saffron. Due to its numerous canals and bridges, Montargis sometimes bills itself as the "Venice of the Gâtinais." Though quite modern, it retains a medieval charm in its downtown area.
Though the town is known to date to ancient times, during the Renaissance fanciful etymologies were invented to account for the place name Montargis, whether as mons argi, Mount of Argus, the place where the jealous goddess Juno charged Argus Panoptes with guarding her rival Io, or connected with the chieftain Moritas mentioned by Julius Caesar, in his Gallic Wars. Numerous Gallo-Roman artifacts have been found in the area, and many are in the town's Gâtinais Museum.
Later, the town was a stronghold of the Frankish king Clovis I.
Montargis was originally a seat of the house of Courtenay, who fortified a château on a hill overlooking the town. The town was ceded to the king of France in 1188. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it was a royal residence.
In 1427, during the Hundred Years' War, the Earl of Warwick besieged the town with artillery, beginning bombardment on July 15. During the siege, the residents of Montargis sabotaged the dikes of numerous ponds in the district, flooding and drowning many of the besieging Plantagenets. On September 5, a French force of 1600 men broke the siege, led by Jean de Dunois and La Hire, commanders who would go on to lead the army of Joan of Arc. This marked the first important victory by the army of King Charles VII in the war, gratefully remembered by Charles later.
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Wikipedia