Montmorillon () 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 central-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 ...

, in the

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.department of which it is a sub-prefecture, in

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Montmorillonnaises'' ''and Montmorillonnais''. Montmorillon is a

Book town A book town is a town or village with many used book or antiquarian bookstores. These stores, as well as literary festivals, attract bibliophile tourists. Some book towns are members of the International Organisation of Book Towns. List of boo ...

and it is branded as the "City of Writing". The town has several writing-inspired museums and bookshops covering several genres.

History

left, "Bières de Montmorillon" The town was once known for paper making, but in the nineteenth century the mill and its plentiful supply of clean water was repurposed to making the "Beer of Montmorillon". The beer was made from 1848 and sold to discerning drinkers who rejected the usual drink of red wine. The family-run business continued to 1963, leaving several abandoned buildings. In 2015, the brewery opened again. The clay mineral

montmorillonite Montmorillonite is a very soft phyllosilicate group of minerals that form when they precipitate from water solution as microscopic crystals, known as clay. It is named after Montmorillon in France. Montmorillonite, a member of the smectite gro ...

was named after Montmorillon after its discovery there in 1847.Montmorillonite
. Mindat.org Montmorillon is branded as the "City of Writing" as it has had museums and bookshops with that theme since 2000. The idea that Montmorillon should be a

came from

Régine Deforges Régine Deforges (15 August 1935 – 3 April 2014) was a French author, editor, director, and playwright. Her book ''La Bicyclette bleue'' was the most popular book in France in 2000 and it was known by some to be offensive and to others for i ...

, a local councillor who was a successful, and controversial, author. The town had a history of paper-making, and her idea received local and international support. The old medieval quarter of the town attracted six million euros of funding. It is also known for its

macarons A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and food colouring. The macaron is traditionally held to have been introduced in France by the Ital ...

, and there is another museum dedicated to that. The museum was opened in 2003 by the Maison Rannou-Métivier who are the oldest macaron bakery in Montmorillon, dating back to 1920. The widely popular Coopération pédagogique range of educational posters were produced in Montmorillon, in the 1950s by Éditions Rossignol.

Le Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Montmorillon (MAHM)

The Museum of Art and History in Montmorillon was created in 1936. After closing for several years, the museum reopened in 2018. Located the right bank of the Gartempe, the museum was once a primary school. The museum has a collection of regional paintings of the 19th and 20th century. This collection of paintings comprises works by Raoul Carré, Jehan Berjonneau, Alfred Plauzeau, Raoul-Félix Etève, Jeanne Harry-Lorne and Henri-Pierre Lejeune. The subjects depicted by the artists are varied. The majority are portraits but the landscape of the local area is strongly featured with the artists having drawn inspiration both from the landscape of the region and their wider travels. As well as the painting there are a number of graphic documents, designs by Henri Plisson and water colours by Gratiant Emmanuel.

Population

Sister cities

Wadern Wadern is a municipality in the federal state Saarland, which is situated in the southwest of Germany. It is part of the district Merzig-Wadern. Wadern consists of 13 urban districts with approximately 16.000 inhabitants. With 143 inhabitants per ...

, Germany, since 1968 *

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

, Spain, since 1994 * Safané, Burkina Faso, since 1997 *

Gościno Gościno (; ; formerly german: Groß Jestin) is a small town in Kołobrzeg County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gościno. It lies in Pomerania, approxima ...

, Poland, since 2003 * Putna, Romania, since 2013�
Putna officiellement liée à Montmorillon
», ''

La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest ''La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest'' (), commonly known as ''La Nouvelle République'' (''La NR''), is a French newspaper headquartered in Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. I ...

'', 15 octobre 2013.

Notable people

Étienne de Vignolles Étienne de Vignolles, Sieur de Montmorillon, Chatelain de Longueville (), also known as La Hire (; 1390 – 11 January 1443), was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. Nickname One explanation for his nickname of L ...

, called

La Hire Étienne de Vignolles, Sieur de Montmorillon, Chatelain de Longueville (), also known as La Hire (; 1390 – 11 January 1443), was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. Nickname One explanation for his nickname of La ...

(1390-1443), French military commander during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

Paul de Ladmirault Paul de Ladmirault (17 February 1808, in Montmorillon – 1 February 1898, in Sillars) was a French general active in the French conquest of Algeria and during the wars of the Second French Empire. Life Ladmirault was born on 17 February 1808 ...

(1808-1898) French general and senator, *

Joseph Carré Joseph Paul Adrien Carré (Montmorillon, France, 18 March 1870 – 2 March 1941) was a French architect practicing in Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in S ...

(1870-1941), architect *

(1935-2014), novelist and local councillor. *

Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...

(1984-), Champion Indycar Driver, 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner

References

External links

Tourisme Montmorillon
{{Authority control Communes of Vienne Subprefectures in France Poitou