Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, France, and the capital of the

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department. It is situated between

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

(about west of Paris) and a little over north of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (around 56,000 people in 2018, of which around 26.000 lived in Alençon).

History

The name of Alençon is first recorded in a document dated in the seventh century. During the tenth century, Alençon was a

buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...

between

and the

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

regions. In 1049–1051, William Duke of Normandy, later known as

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

and king of England, laid

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

to the town, which had risen in support of the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

along with two other towns of the Bellême estates, Domfront (then in Maine) and Bellême (held directly from King Henry I of France). According to Duke William's chaplain and panegyrist,

William of Poitiers William of Poitiers (, ; 10201090) was a Norman priest who served as the chaplain of Duke William II of Normandy (William the Conqueror), for whom he chronicled the Norman conquest of England in his ''Gesta Willelmi ducis Normannorum et regis ...

, the defenders of the fortress refused to surrender and mockingly waved animal hides from the castle walls, referencing William's lineage as the grandson of a tanner. In response to this, William had 32 prisoners of the town's hands and feet cut off, prompting a sudden surrender. Upon hearing of this event, the town of Domfront also surrendered. Alençon was occupied by the English during the Anglo-Norman wars of 1113 to 1203. The city became the seat of a dukedom in 1415, belonging to the sons of the King of France until the French Revolution, and some of them played important roles in French history: see

Duke of Alençon Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

. The French Revolution caused relatively little disorder in this area, although there were some royalist uprisings nearby. A long-standing local fabric industry gave birth to the town's famous

point d'Alençon A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

lace in the 18th century. The economic development of the nineteenth century was based on iron foundries and mills in the surrounding region. In the first half of the twentieth century the city developed a flourishing

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

industry. Alençon was home to Sts.

Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin Louis Martin (22 August 1823 – 29 July 1894) and Azélie-Marie "Zélie" Guérin Martin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) were a French Catholic couple and the parents of five nuns, including Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite canonized b ...

, the parents of St.

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; 2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), religious name, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite who is widely v ...

. They were the first spouses in the history of the Catholic Church to be proposed for sainthood as a couple, in 2008. Zélie and Louis were married at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Alençon on 13 July 1858 and spent their whole married life in Alençon, where Thérèse was born in January 1873 and spent her early childhood until the death of her mother in 1877
Beatification of Louis and Zelie Martin - Saint Therese of Lisieux
On 17 June 1940, the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

occupied Alençon. O
12
August 1944 Alençon was the first French city to be liberated by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

under General Leclerc, after minor bomb damage. After the war the population sharply increased and new industries settled. Many of these were related to plastics and the town is now a major plastics educational centre.

Geography

The river

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 ...

flows through the town. Alençon along with another 32 communes is part of a 3,503 hectare,

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

conservation area, called the

Haute vallée de la Sarthe Haute Vallée de la Sarthe translated as the Upper Sarthe Valley is a Natura 2000 conservation area that is 3,503 hectares in size. Geography The area is an Alluvial plain in a valley that commonly floods in winter. It is mainly consisted of spars ...

Climate

Alençon benefits from an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

with mild winters and temperate summers.

Population

Heraldry

Economy

In the seventeenth century, Alençon was chiefly noted for its

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

called

. Today, Alençon is home to a prosperous

plastics industry The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, manufacturing and transpo ...

, and, since 1993, to a plastics engineering school. MPO Fenêtres is a local PVC window company established in Alençon in 1970, is one of the first company in Alençon with around 170 employees (2009) and a turnover of 28 million euros in 2008. It is also the oldest French PVC window company still in business.

Points of interest

Museums

* Musée des Beaux-arts et de la Dentelle d'Alençon a museum dedicated to

and art, that has been open since 1981.

National heritage sites

The Commune has 31 buildings and areas listed as a

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

*Le Château des Ducs is a Castle built in the Middle ages. *Municipal Library was a former

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

chapel built in 1620, it became the city's library in the 18th century. It was registered as a Monument in 1926. *Prout sawmill and steam engine is a former sawmill, built in 1874, it was registered as a monument in 1995. *Café la Renaissance, built in 1855 the cafe, its interior decor is inspired by the second French Renaissance, it was registered as a monument in 2009. *Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Chapel is a seventeenth century chapel, it was registered as a monument in 1975. * Basilica of Notre-Dame d'Alençon is a fifteenth century church, that was registered as a monument in 1862. *Saint-Pierre church in the Montsor district is a church that was built in 1880, it features Mosaics made by the Facchina workshop, it was registered as a monument in 2006. *The Wheat Market (Halle aux blé) was built in 1812, featuring a 1000 m² glass dome, with a circumference of 110 metres, it was registered as a monument in 1975. *Psychiatric hospital was built in 1774, and initially built as a hospital for the sick, the destitute, the prisoners and the mentally ill. After the revolution it was turned into a prison, then becoming a hospice, before finally becoming a psychiatric hospital. It was registered as a monument in 1974. *Le Grand Cerf is a nineteenth century hotel, that was registered as a monument in 2008. *Hotel Libert is a hotel dating back to the 18th century, registered as a monument in 1947. *Hotel Radigue is a hotel dating back to the 18th century, registered as a monument in 1960. The hotel was mentioned in the

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

novel La Vieille Fille. *Hôtel de la préfecture, formerly known as the Hôtel de Guise is a hotel (a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

in France usually means a large building that now houses some sort of office, in this case the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

) dating back to the seventeenth century, registered as a monument in 1903. *The Town Hall dates back to the 17th century and was registered as a monument in 1926. *Saint-Pierre de Montsort Presbytery is a former hotel that might have served as a presbytery, it was built in 1639 and was listed as a monument in 1958. *Saint-Léonard Lodging house is a seventeenth century house, designated as a monument in 1975. *Pesche Pharmacy is a nineteenth century building with neo-classical decor very characteristic of the 1820s-1830s, it was listed as a monument in 1987. *Tribunal de commerce is a fifteenth century building used as a court house for Commercial matters, it was registered as a monument in 1958. *City Ramparts remains of the old sixteenth century ramparts, reworked on in the nineteenth century, they were listed as a monument in 1971. *House of Ozé a fifteenth century house, built entirely from granite. The house was registered as a monument in 1903, and now acts as the Tourist office for the Commune. There are a further eleven private buildings and houses listed as monuments with the commune.

Education

Primary education

Alençon has 16 elementary schools (Écoles élémentaire, these are typical of France, see the article in th
French Wikipedia
, of which 12 are public and 4 are private.

Secondary education

* Alençon has 6 colleges, 4 of which are public and 2 are private. * Alençon also has several ''lycées'', some of which are public and some are private. * There are also 2 schools which provide

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

Higher education

* Alençon has a branch of the

University of Caen Normandy The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

, specifically for law and engineering. * There is also a

technical university An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

. * There is a training institute for teachers (''Institut national supérieur du professorat et de l'éducation'')

Transport

Alençon is linked by the A28 autoroute (motorway/freeway) with the nearby cities of

to the south (

) and

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

(

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

) to the north. The A88 autoroute links the A28 just north of Alençon to the coastal port of

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. The Alençon railway station offers regional services towards Caen, Le Mans and Tours. A comprehensive town bus system operates from 7:00 to 19:00. Aérodrome d'Alençon - Valframbert is an Aerodrome within the commune which is also shared with neighbouring communes of Valframbert and Cerisé that opened in 1936. Its

IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a unique three-letter geocode designating many airports, cities (with one or more airports) and metropolitan areas (citie ...

is XAN and its

ICAO airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published quarterly in ICAO Document 7910: ''Location Indic ...

is LFOF. There is a comprehensive network of cycle paths.

Sport

*Alencon has a football team US Alençon who play at the Jacques Fould stadium. *Hippodrome d'Alençon is a racecourse that specializes in

Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

, it has been in operation since 1825.

Notable people

Anne d'Alençon Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

(1492–1562), marquise of Montferrat * Marie-Catherine de Villedieu (1640–1683), novelist * Pierre Allix (1641–1717), Protestant pastor and author * Jean Castaing (1723–1805), printer, playwright *

Léonard Bourdon Louis Jean Joseph Léonard Bourdon de la Cronière (6 November 1754, Alençon – 29 May 1807, Breslau) was a French politician of the French Revolution. He was president of the National Constituent Assembly and substitute for the procure ...

(1754–1807), revolutionist *

Jacques Hébert Jacques René Hébert (; 15 November 1757 – 24 March 1794) was a French journalist and leader of the French Revolution. As the founder and editor of the radical newspaper ''Le Père Duchesne'', he had thousands of followers known as ''the ...

(1757–1794), editor of the extreme radical newspaper ''

Le Père Duchesne ''Le Père Duchesne'' (; "Old Man Duchesne" or "Father Duchesne") was an extreme radical newspaper during the French Revolution, edited by Jacques Hébert, who published 385 issues from September 1790 until eleven days before his death by gu ...

'' during the French Revolution * Louis de Frotté (1766–1800), Chouan general * Jean Pierre François Bonet, Military commander * Edme Castaing (1796–1824), doctor and murderer * Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755–1834), botanist *

Juste Lisch Jean Juste Gustave Lisch (; 10 June 1828 – 24 August 1910) was a French architect.Raoul Le Mouton de Boisdeffre Raoul François Charles Le Mouton de Boisdeffre, or more commonly Raoul de Boisdeffre (6 February 1839, Alençon – 24 August 1919, Paris) was a French Army general. Biography He studied at the College of Saint Cyr and at the Staff-College. Du ...

(1839–1919), general *

Éléonore-Aglaé-Marie Despierres Éléonore-Aglaé-Marie Despierres (16 January 1843 – 9 November 1895), was a French historian. Éléonore Bonnaire was born on 16 January 1843 at Alençon Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne de ...

(1843–1895), historian * Adolphe Gérard (1844–1900), American restaurateur * Adhémar Leclère (1853–1917), author *

Thérèse de Lisieux Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg * Therese of ...

(1873–1897), Roman Catholic nun and saint, and one of only 33 Doctors of the Church *

Auguste Poulet-Malassis Paul Emmanuel Auguste Poulet-Malassis (16 March 1825 – 11 February 1878) was a French printer and publisher who lived and worked in Paris. He was a longstanding friend and the printer-publisher of Charles Baudelaire. Biography In his short six ...

(1825–1878), publisher and friend of

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, an ...

* Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin (1831–1877), the mother of St. Thérèse of Lisieux who, along with her husband Louis Martin, is one of the few married couples ever to be beatified by the Catholic Church. *

Daniel Balavoine Daniel Xavier-Marie Balavoine (; 5 February 1952 – 14 January 1986) was a French singer and songwriter. He was popular in the French-speaking world in the early 1980s; he inspired many singers of his generation such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, M ...

(1952–1986), singer and songwriter * Louis Barillet (1880–1948), glass blower *

André Couder André Couder (27 November 1897 – 16 January 1979) was a French optician and astronomer. Information From 1925, he worked in the optics laboratory of the Paris Observatory. Between 1952 and 1958 he was vice-president of the International Astrono ...

(1897–1979), astronomer * Alain Lambert (born 1946), politician * Anne Consigny (born 1963), actress * Yoann (born 1971), graphic artist *

Laurence Leboucher Laurence Leboucher (born 22 February 1972 in Alençon, Orne) is a French professional cross-country mountain bike and cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in th ...

(born 1972), cyclist * Lorànt Deutsch (born 1975), actor and writer *

Benoît Tréluyer Benoît Jean-Marie Tréluyer (; born 7 December 1976) is a French professional racing driver. Early career Beginning his motorsport career in motocross and karting, Alençon-born Tréluyer switched to single-seaters in Formula Renault Campus for ...

(born 1976), car racer, two-time winner of the

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with the Monaco Grand ...

* Jonathan Cochet (born 1976), car racer *

Anthony Geslin Anthony Geslin (born 9 June 1980) is a French retired professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2015, for the and teams. Born in Alençon, Geslin won a bronze medal in the road race at the 2005 UCI Road World Cha ...

(born 1980), cyclist *

Orelsan Aurélien Cotentin (; born 1 August 1982), better known by his stage name Orelsan (; sometimes stylized as OrelSan), is a French rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and director. He has released four studio albums: his debut ''Perdu d'av ...

(born 1982), rapper * Arnold Mvuemba (born 1985), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Alençon is twinned with: *

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. The main town is Basingstoke, where the council is based. The district also includes the towns of Tadley and Whitchurch, along with numerous vil ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Quakenbrück Quakenbrück (Northern Low Saxon: ''Quokenbrügge'') is a town in the Osnabrück (district), district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Ar ...

, Germany

Gallery

Halle aux bles Alencon.jpg, ' Chateau des Ducs Alencon.jpg, ' Bibliotheque alencon 670px.jpg, Library

References

External links

Official website
*
Website about the life, writings, spirituality, and mission of St. Therese of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face; information about the life of her family in Alençon and about pilgrimages to Alençon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alencon Communes of Orne Prefectures in France Horse racing venues in France Monuments historiques of Orne Orne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Sport in Orne