Le Mans is a town in France that is also the center of the Sarthe administrative department. The population of the city estimated 141.4 thousand in 2005.
Once this city has been the capital of Man earldom. It was founded on the place of the Gaelic-Roman settlement. The walls of this settlement have survived until now and they surround the historical center of Le Mans.
The city was ambushed by the Normans in 1063. After the death of Wilhelm II Le Mans was conquered by the Plantagenets. Starting from that period the history of Le Mans was tightly connected with the history of the British dynasty that ruled this place until 1399. The king of France John II Kind was born here.
The local cathedral is also the location of the relics of the Count of Anjou Geoffrey V the Handsome, the father of the king of England Henry II Plantagenet and Queen Verengaria – the wife of Richard the Lion Heart.
As soon as Man earldom joined the territory of France, it had to cope with numerous troubles. First Le Mans was damaged by religious wars, and then it became the arena for bloody battles between the revolutionists and counter-revolutionaries. It was conquered by the Germans in French-Prussian war. Later German troops took Le Mans once again during World War II.
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