Laval, Mayenne

From Freepedia

Laval is a commune in the Pays-de-la-Loire région of France.

  • Geographic coordinates: 00°46'08" West: 48°04'24" North
  • Arrondissement of Laval
  • Préfecture (capital) of the Mayenne département
  • Postal code: 53000
  • INSEE code: 53130
  • Area: 34.22 km²
  • Altitude: 70 m mean: 42 m min: 122 m max
  • Population: 50,947 inhabitants (Lavallois)
  • Population density: 1,489/km²

Contents

Geography

Laval and is located on the Mayenne River in the region called Pays-de-la-Loire in north-west central France (around the Loire Valley).

History

The lords of Laval are of a dynasty which has made a mark in the history of France. The "old street" was for several centuries one of the principal ways into Brittany. In Laval Cathedral, on the effigy tomb of the bishop, Louis Bougaud 1888, the following inscription may be read:

  • HEIC IN PACE QVIE SCIT
  • LUDOVICVS BOVGAVD EPISCOPUS VALLEGVIDONENSIS DECESSIT VII IDVS NOVEMB AN MDCCCLXXXVIII (1888)
  • ANNOS NATVS LXV.M.V.III.D.VII
  • VIVAS IN DEO

Economy

The town is historically a manufacturer of fine linens. There are foundries. Laval is also home of the Laval and Mayenne Technology Park where firms working in electronics, computing and peripherals, food technology, veterinary pharmaceuticals, virtual reality, audiovisual productions, patents etc, marketing and a resource centre are all to be found in modern buildings.

Administration

Laval is the main town of five cantons:

  • The canton of Laval-East is composed of part of Laval plus the comune of Entrammes (11 732 inhabitants);
  • The canton de Laval-North-East is composed of part of Laval the communes of Changé, Saint-Germain-le-Fouilloux et Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne (14 687 inhabitants);
  • The canton de Laval-North-West is composed of part of Laval (12 022 inhabitants);
  • The canton of Laval-Saint-Nicolas is composed of part of Laval (8 460 inhabitants);
  • The canton de Laval-South-West is composed of part of Laval (12 668 inhabitants).

The Laval agglomeration consists formally of 20 communes

Mayors of Laval

Notable People

Buildings and tourist sites

  • Medieval Château de Laval (tower and building)
  • Cathedral of the Trinity
  • Significant remains of the town walls and of a town gate.

Twin towns

Laval is twinned with:

Arts

As a response to the Douanier Rousseau's having been born in Laval, there is a biennial festival of naive art, the Biennale Internationale d'Art naïf de Laval. It seeks to explore the course of modern primitivism. Pictures are brought from all round Europe.

Sports

References

Wikipedia French page.

Bibliography

External link

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/Laval%2C_Mayenne.html"


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