La Ferté-Bernard
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La Ferté-Bernard () 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
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 ha ...
department in the Pays de la Loire
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
in north-western
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.


History

La Ferté-Bernard owes its origin and name to a stronghold (''fermeté'') built about the 11th century and afterwards held by the family of Bernard. In 1424 it did not succumb to the English troops until after a four months' siege. It belonged in the 16th century to the family of Guise and supported the League, but was captured by the royal forces in 1590. La Ferté-Bernard was involved in the 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, the world's first motoring Grand Prix. The D97 towards Le Mans and the D1 towards Vibraye and
Saint-Calais Saint-Calais () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. Prior to the French Revolution it was known for its Benedictine abbey named after the Anisola stream (modern Aniole, a tributary of ...
formed two sides of the triangular course.


Population


Notable people

Louise du Pierry, astronomer, was born here on 7/30/1746 or 8/1/1746 as Elisabeth Louise Felicite Pourra de la Madeleine.


Local folklore

La Ferte-Bernard is connected with a mythical dragon called the Peluda, which is said to have terrorized the town in
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
times.


Twin towns

It is twinned with Louth in Lincolnshire.


See also

*
Communes of the Sarthe department The following is a list of the 354 communes of the Sarthe department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Communes of Sarthe Maine (province) {{Sarthe-geo-stub