Langon (; ; Gallo: ''Langon'') is a commune in the

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

department in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Langon is in the region of Brittany, close to the border with the

Pays de Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital and most populated ...

region. It is located from Redon, from

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 ...

(the capital of Brittany), and from

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and Saint Nazaire. The

Vilaine The Vilaine (; ) is a river in Brittany, in the west of France. The river's source is in the Mayenne ''Département in France, département'' (53), and it flows out into the Atlantic Ocean at Pénestin in the Morbihan ''département'' (56). It is ...

river, which flows through Vitré and

, borders the territory of Langon over a distance of 14 km, then flows on into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Langon has one of the best preserved pastoral countrysides in all of Brittany.

History

The earliest traces of human activity on the territory of present-day Langon date back to around 10,000 BCE, in the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

era. By the end of the 19th century, 35 megalithic groupings had been discovered, many of which have since been razed. The city's Roman heritage is evidenced in the Chapelle de Sainte Agathe, the villa de Balac, and a stretch of paved road. The first Christian communities established themselves in the area starting at the end of the 5th century. The town was built around the chapel. Starting in the 9th century, the history of the village becomes intertwined with that of the

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

of Redon. It is in the records of this Abbey that the name of the parish is written using various Latin spellings ("Langedon", "Langeco", "Lanco", and "Lancon"). Langon found itself at the very edge of Brittany, when the

river became the border between the Breton territory and the French territory. In the 19th century, the arrival of the railroad through town brought a dynamic economic development and prosperity that had never been experienced. It was during this time that the village took on the look and feel that persists in much of the town to this day. World War II brought an abrupt end to this development.

Population

Inhabitants of Langon are called ''Langonnais'' in French.

Sights

Langon is distinctive because of its archeological heritage. Many different eras of history are represented in the surrounding area: the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

with the town's

megaliths A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

, the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

with the Chapelle de Sainte Agathe and a segment of a Roman road in the town, the

Modern Era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

with its numerous mansions, the Corbinières

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

and, 2 kilometres to the north, the Porte de la Roche (a monument commemorating the villagers shot by the retreating German army near the end of World War II). The chapelle Sainte-Agathe, with a history of 18 centuries, is famous for the Roman paintings on the inside. It was originally built as a Gallo-Roman spa at the end of the 2nd century, then converted to a church in the Middle Ages (6th-7th centuries). It was used as a funerary chapel in the 10th century. To this day, a Roman fresco depicting Venus emerging from the water and surrounded by all sorts of fish has survived.R. Royer, "Un monument gallo-romain en Armorique, la chappelle de Langon," ''Archaeologia, tresors des ages'' 1981, no. 157: 16-21. There are a number of megaliths in Langon and in the surrounding area (particularly in the neighboring town of t. Just. One such arrangement has been named the "Demoiselles de Langon", or the "Damsels of Langon". The arrangement consists of around 20 stones, averaging around 1 metre (3 ft) in height. The Corbinieres viaduct spans the

river. More than 30 metres high, it links Langon to Messac. It was completed in 1861. The viaduct has distinctive skewed arches. For this reason, it is considered to be one of the most attractive viaducts in France. In addition, its pillars house an important bat colony.

Bibliography

* Cyrille Chaigneau, Kristell Chuniaud, ''La chapelle Sainte-Agathe de Langon, étude de bâti'', Université François Rabelais de Tours, maîtrise "archéologie préventive", 1994, ( Archives d'I&V - Mémoire 2 J 665). *R. Royer, "Un monument gallo-romain en Armorique, la chappelle de Langon," ''Archaeologia, tresors des ages'' 1981, no. 157: 16-21. * Nicole Rocher, ''Vestiges d'un lointain passé, à Langon en Ille-et-Vilaine'', mémoire de C.P.R. de Rennes, 1967, manuscrit calligraphié, illustré, 55 pages, ( Archives d'I&V - 2 J 1028). * Fernand Daucé, ''Historique des recherches sur le monument funéraire gallo-romain de Langon'', Annales de Bretagne, n° 68, 1, 1961, pp 115–146.

References

External links

Village website (French)

Cultural Heritage

{{authority control Communes of Ille-et-Vilaine