Châteaudun () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.department in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War.

Geography

Châteaudun is located about 45 km northwest of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Chartres. It lies on the river Loir, a tributary of the

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the ''Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It had ...

History

Châteaudun (Latin ), which dates from the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

period, was in the middle ages the capital of the

County of Dunois The County of Dunois comprised the old ''pagus Dunensis'', the area surrounding Châteaudun in central France. A county had taken form around Châteaudun (''Castrum Dunense'') in the tenth century. It passed to the counts of Blois, who appointe ...

. The streets, which radiate from a central square, have a uniformity due to the reconstruction of the town after fires in 1723 and 1870.

Employment

The area is rich agricultural land, but a major local employer is the Châteaudun Air Base just to the east of the town, and much larger than the town itself.

Population

Main sights

The town has a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

, founded in the 10th century, known for being the first on the road to Loire Valley from Paris. Châteaundun also has a museum, the . The museum is diverse, the most popular exhibition being the big collection of stuffed birds. In addition, there are often temporary exhibitions, recent examples including the war of Asia, ancient Egypt and insects.

Churches

File:Chateaudun - Église Saint-Valérien (1).jpg, Saint-Valérien File:Chateaudun - Eglise Madeleine (1).jpg, La Madeleine File:Chateaudun - Eglise St Jean de la Chaine (1).jpg, Saint-Jean-de-la-Chaîne File:Chateaudun - Eglise Saint-Lubin (1).jpg, Saint-Lubin ruins File:SaintLubain.jpg, Saint-Lubin ruins File:Chateaudun - Champde 05.jpg, Notre-Dame-du-Champdé chapel (now cemetery entrance) File:Chateaudun - Chapelle de la Boissiere (1).jpg, La Boissière chapel

Medieval houses

File:Chateaudun - Maison angle Cuirasserie Huileries (1).jpg, Cuirasserie street and Huileries street angle File:Chateaudun - Maison angle Cuirasserie Huileries (2).jpg, Cuirasserie street and Huileries street angle File:Chateaudun - Maison St Lubin (1).jpg, Louis Esnault house File:Chateaudun - Maison des architectes (1).jpg, Château's architects' house File:Chateaudun - Maison de la Vierge (2).jpg, Virgin's house File:Chateaudun - Maison de la Vierge (3).jpg, Virgin's house (detail)

Personalities

Châteaudun was the birthplace of: *

Pierre Guédron Pierre Guédron (c. 1570 in Châteaudun – c. 1620 in Paris), was a French singer and composer known for writing ''Airs de cour'' (including ''Cessés mortels de soupirer''). Guédron's ''Est-ce Mars'' (1613) was especially popular and is known i ...

(1570–1620),

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

* Nicolas Chaperon (1612–1656) painter *

Edmond Modeste Lescarbault Edmond Modeste Lescarbault (1814, Châteaudun - 1894), was a French doctor and an amateur astronomer, best remembered for his 1859 supposed observation of the non-existent planet Vulcan. He graduated and obtained his diploma in 1848. He then star ...

(1814),

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

and amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

Romain Feillu Romain Feillu (born 16 April 1984) is a French former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2019. He is the older brother of Brice Feillu, who also competed professionally as a cyclist. Career Feillu was born in Chât ...

(1984) road racing cyclist * Brice Feillu (1985) road racing cyclist

Twin towns - sister cities

Châteaudun is twinned with: *

Arklow Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 re ...

, Ireland *

Kroměříž Kroměříž (; german: Kremsier) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Kroměříž Castle with castle gardens, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town centre with the c ...

, Czech Republic *

Marchena ''Marchena'' is a genus of jumping spiders only found in the United States. Its only described species, ''M. minuta'', dwells on the barks of conifers along the west coast, especially California, Washington and Nevada.Maddison, Wayne. 1995. ...

, Spain *

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

, Germany *

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

, Canada

Gallery

Image:Chateaudun Chateau 03.jpg, Châteaudun (Eure-et-Loir) Donjon and chapel of the château Image:France Eure-et-Loir Chateaudun Place de la mairie.JPG, Fountain and façade of the town hall of Châteaudun Image:Member of the FFI.jpg, A member of the FFI poses with his Bren gun at Châteaudun - 1944