Ligné (; br, Legneg) 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

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in western

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 ...

Location

The commune of Ligné is located 25 km nord-east of

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, 17 km north-west of

Ancenis Ancenis (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former Subprefectures in France ...

and 10 km east of

Nort-sur-Erdre Nort-sur-Erdre (, literally ''Nort on Erdre''; br, Enorzh) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is on the river Erdre north of Nantes. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The ...

. The bordering communes are Les Touches, Mouzeil, Couffé, Le Cellier, Saint-Mars-du-Désert and Petit-Mars. Before 2015, Ligné was the capital of a canton that also included Couffé, Mouzeil and Le Cellier. The canton was split in 2015 and the commune joined the canton of Nort-sur-Erdre.

Etymology

The name of the locality was attested in the Latin form Lingiacum in 11231, Ligiacum in 1128 and Ligneium in 1277. In Breton, she was called ''Polinieg'' by the Office of the Breton Language, name without historical value.

History

Ligné extends over a height commonly referred to as "Ligné Plateau". This plateau forms the watershed between the Erdre and the Loire. In the heart of the village, the chapel Saint-Mathurin (XIIIth Century) was the place of a great pilgrimage. After several damages throughout years, the chaptel has been renovated and transformed into a small exhibition center in 2012.

Governance, culture, and education

List of successive mayors

Population

Twinning

Lignée is twinned with

Presteigne Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with sev ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

since 2004. Cultural exchanges and trips are regularly organized between the two cities.

Culture

Ligné has a few cultural centers. "Le Préambule" is a multipurpose room opened since 2003 that is reconfigurable to host different types of events. Cultural programming is offered every year from September to May. Both rooms are also used to teach artistic practices. The Saint-Mathurin chaptel is since 2012 a small exhibition center dedicated to visual arts. The city also has a municipal library, as well as two sports complexes.

Education

With a young and growing population, Ligné offers a broad educational offer to its inhabitants. The city has two schools, one public and the other private and two high schools that follow the same principle. Private schools are Notre-Dame primary school and Saint-Joseph High School, while public schools are

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

primary school and Agnès Varda High School.

Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist. Her pioneering work was central to the development of the widely influential French New Wave film ...

College was inaugurated in 2011 and named in honor of the director of the same name. It welcomes more than 750 students.