Ancenis (; ) is a former

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 ...

department 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 ...

. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune

Ancenis-Saint-Géréon Ancenis-Saint-Géréon () is a commune in the department of Loire-Atlantique. It was established on 1 January 2019 from the amalgamation of the communes of Ancenis and Saint-Géréon Saint-Géréon () is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique ...

. It is a former

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

of the department, and was the seat of the former

arrondissement of Ancenis The arrondissement of Ancenis is a former arrondissement of France in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region. In January 2017 it was merged into the new arrondissement of Châteaubriant-Ancenis. At the time of the merger, i ...

. It played a great historical role as a key location on the road to

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 ...

(23 miles to the southwest), the historical capital of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. It was named "the key of Brittany" Chateau d'Ancenis
accessed 25 June 2016 and the door of Brittany.

Population

Sights

Château d'Ancenis The Château d'Ancenis is a castle in the town and ''commune'' of Ancenis in the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' of France. The castle is on the bank of the Loire. History The original castle was built in 990 by Aremburga of Ancenis, widow of ...

, a medieval and Renaissance castle *The Loire river on which Ancenis is located (on the north bank) *

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

of Saint Peter, 15-16-17th century *

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

of the Ursulines *Chapel Notre-Dame de Délivrance *Old quarter with mediaeval houses *

Dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were some ...

at Pierre-Couvretière

Sport

The soccer team is called RCA 44, (''Racing Club D'Ancenis'' 44)

Personalities

Henri Ottmann Henry Ottmann (also Henri Ottmann) (10 April 1877 – 1 June 1927) was a French painter and printmaker. Biography Henry Ottmann was born on 10 April 1877 in Ancenis (Loire-Atlantique). He made his debut at the Salon La Libre Esthétique ...

, painter *

Jordan Veretout Jordan Marcel Gilbert Veretout (born 1 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the France national team. Veretout is a former France youth international, having represented his ...

, French footballer *

William Louiron William Louiron (born March 13, 1978 in Ancenis) is a French professional footballer. He currently plays for FC Rouen. Louiron played at the professional level in Ligue 2 for Angers SCO, Grenoble Foot 38 and Stade Reims Stade de Reims () is ...

, footballer

Twin towns

Ancenis is twinned with the town of Kirkham, in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, UK.

References