History of Angers, France

The Fronde was a nationwide military conflict opposing some aristocrats wanting more autonomy and the Royal forces loyal to Anne of Austria as Queen Mother and Regent, and her prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin. Royalist repression in Angers was narrowly averted by Bishop Henri Arnauld, who interceded with the Queen Mother.

In 1789, the city lost its ancient administrative positions, replaced in 1790 by the department of Mayenne-et-Loire, soon renamed "Maine-et-Loire". Anjou, as a political entity, disappeared, although the new department included most of its territory.

In 1794, fierce repression was conducted in the whole region against the Royalists. In Angers, 290 prisoners were shot and 1020 died of illness in jail. The city also welcomed many refugees, mostly Republicans living in Royalist rural areas. Between 19 and 31 May 1793, between 650 and 1000 Republican families sought asylum in Angers.

ANGERS, a town of France, the cap. of the dep. of Maine and Loire; in N lat. 47 28 17, and E long. 0 33 34; 178 m. SW of Paris. It rises on a gentle acclivity on the l. or E. bank of the Maine or Mayenne, 5 m. above its confluence with the Loire. In the older parts of the town the streets are narrow, and the gable-faced houses, built of wood, and covered on the sides as well as roofs with slate, have a singularly gloomy aspect; but the roofs are sometimes projecting, and supported by galleries adorned with vines; and of late years a number of regularly built modern houses have been substituted for these antique structures. The more modern buildings - which occupy the site of the ancient ramparts - are generally substantial and handsome; and the adjacent public walks, especially that which terminates in the Champ-d-Mars, and the Bout-du-Monde are very pleasing. The castle, now used as a prison and powder-magazine occupies a commanding position on the summit of a steep rock, the base of ...

Angers, an’jerz, formerly written Angiers, a fortified city of France, capital of the department of Maine-et-Loire, on the Maine, just below the junction of the Sarthe and the Mayenne, and 4 miles N. of its junction with the Loire, on the railway from Tours to Nantes, 190 miles S.W. of Paris. Lat. of cathedral, 47°28' 17" N.; lon. 0°33'10" W. Among its structures are the ruins of a castle, once the stronghold of the Dukes of Anjou, now a powder-magazine, several fine old churches and dwellings, the cathedral, vestiges of a Roman aqueduct, the Hospice St. Jean, founded by Henry II. of England, and the tower of St. Austin. The Maine divides Angers into an upper and a lower town, and its old walls are converted into boulevards, planted with trees and lined with handsome houses. It has several rich museums, a library of 45,000 volumes, a school of arts and trades, a school of painting, a conservatory of music, and many professional and other schools. It is a bishop's see, and is the seat...