Saumur

Coat of arms

Saumur

Location within Pays de la Loire region

Saumur

Coordinates: 47°15′36″N 0°04′37″W / 47.260000°N 0.0769°WCoordinates: 47°15′36″N 0°04′37″W / 47.260000°N 0.0769°W

Country

Saumur Loire Développement

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Michel Apchin

Area¹

66.25 km² (25.58 sq mi)

Population (2012)²

27,523

• Density

420/km² (1,100/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

49328 / 49400

Elevation

20–95 m (66–312 ft)
(avg. 30 m or 98 ft)

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.

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

Saumur (French pronunciation: [so.myʁ]) is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.

The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc. which produce some of France's finest wines.

Its skyline has often been compared with that of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

Early settlement of the region goes back many thousands of years. The Dolmen de Bagneux on the south of the town, is 23 meters long and is built from 15 large slabs of the local stone, weighing over 500 tons. It is the largest in France.

The Château de Saumur was constructed in the 10th century to protect the Loire river crossing from Norman attacks after the settlement of Saumur was sacked in 845. The castle, destroyed in 1067 and inherited by the House of Plantagenet, was rebuilt by Henry II of England in the later 12th century. It changed hands several times between Anjou and France until 1589.

Houses in Saumur are constructed almost exclusively of the beautiful, but fragile, Tuffeau stone. The caves dug to excavate the stone have become tunnels and have been used by the local vineyards as locations to store their wines.

Amyraldism, or 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.

...
Wikipedia