Orleans

Orleans was founded as the main city of the Celtic Karnut tribe, called Zenabum ( lat. Cenabum ). In 52 BC e. destroyed by Caesar and rebuilt in 275 by the emperor Aurelian , in honor of whom from the 5th century Aurelianum began to be called ( Latin Aurelianum , fully - Civitas Aurelianensis, Aureliana civitas "city of Aurelian"). Since then, over the past 1700 years, the name of the city has not changed, only the reading and then the spelling has changed in accordance with the rules of the French language: au = [o], the first -– became “dumb”, and the ending -um underwent reduction (dead) in the early Middle Ages ; thus, as a result of phonetic evolution, -Aurelianum> [orleã]> Orléans (modern) (see Jacques Debal, Cenabum, Aurelianis, Orléans, Lyon, PUL, coll. "Galliae civitates", 1996. ).

In 451, the leader of the Huns Attila tried to capture and plunder the city, but at the last moment was stopped by the arriving army under the joint command of the Visigoth king Theodorich I and the Roman commander Aetius . Part of the Alans also joined the Alans , who came with the vandals and settled in the vicinity of the city since 408. According to the testimony of the Gothic historian Jordan , the Alans were placed in the center of battle formations in the battle on the Catalunian fields under the leadership of their king Sangiban , which brought victory to Rome. In the historical province of Orleans, there are about a hundred settlements reminiscent of the stay of this people ( Alain , Alainville ; it is likely that the French name Alain originates from sources from the 6th century AD). True, a few years after the battle, the Aurelian Alans were conquered by the Visigoths and became part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse.

In 511 , 532 , 541 , 549, church cathedrals were held in Orleans. For a while, Orleans was the capital of the Orleans kingdom , which was formed after the division of the Frankish kingdom, in which Chlodomyr ruled ( November 27, 511 - June 25, 524 ). During the reign of Charlemagne, the city ​​became the scientific center of the Frankish state .

In the X-XI centuries, Orleans was the second most important city of royal lands after Paris . In the X century it became an important fortress. In 1306, a university was founded in the city.

The siege of Orleans in 1428-1429 is one of the most important events of the Hundred Years War . After a seven-month siege, the city was liberated on May 8 by troops led by Joan of Arc , after which she became known as the Orleans maiden .

During the Religious Wars of the 16th century, Orleans was one of the centers for the spread of Calvinism , but after the events that followed Bartholomew’s night in 1572 , when about 1 thousand Huguenots were killed in the city, the influence of Catholics increased. In 1560, the General States convened in the city - for the first time after a 76-year hiatus.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, Orleans after the siege was twice captured by the Prussian army.

During the Second World War, the city ​​was ruled by Nazi troops since 1940 , liberated in 1944 . During the war, the city was badly damaged by the bombing of the US Air Force in May 1944, many architectural monuments were destroyed.

Orleans has a temperate maritime climate with mild winters and warm summers.

Back in the early Middle Ages, getting an education in Orleans was considered prestigious. In the VI century, the son of the king of Burgundy, Guntramn Gundobad, studied here. Charlemagne and then Hugo Capet sent their eldest sons to Orleans to study. In the XI - mid XIII centuries, the educational institutions of the city were widely known, the fame of them spread to Italy and England , from where people came to get an education.

In 1230 , when the teachers of the Paris Sorbonne were temporarily dissolved, some of them found refuge in Orleans. When, in 1298, Pope Boniface VIII published the sixth decree collection, he ordered the doctors of Bologna and Orleans to accompany them with commentary. Saint Ivo of Kermartensky (1253-1303), considered the patron saint of lawyers, notaries, lawyers and judges, studied civil law in Orleans.

Pope Clement V studied law and literature here. Bull , published by him on January 27, 1306 in Lyon , announced the creation of a university in Orleans - one of the oldest in France and Europe. The next 12 popes provided the university with new privileges. In the XIV century, about 5 thousand students from France, Germany, Lorraine , Burgundy, Champagne , Picardy , Normandy , Touraine , Guyenne , Scotland studied there. In 1793, the university was abolished by the Convention , recreated in 1962 . Johann Reichlin , Jean Calvin , Etienne de La Boesy , Pierre Fermat , Moliere , Charles Perrault , Jean de Labruyere and others studied at the university at different times.

• Gothic Cathedral of Saint Croix (Cathedral of the Holy Cross) (built from the 13th century, the facade of the 18th century). The first church was built on this site in 330, back in the days of the Roman Empire. The modern construction of the cathedral was severely damaged in 1568 during the unrest of Protestants. At the expense of Protestant King Henry IV of Navarre , who was trying to restore religious tolerance, the temple was reconstructed (at the turn of the 16th – 17th centuries). St. Croix Cathedral - the cathedral, the center of the Orleans diocese. Built in the Gothic style. It is the property of the state. Open to public visits. Recognized as a historical monument in 1862. Located in the square of the same name (Place Saint Croix).
• Church of St. Evert (since 1170, rebuilt in the XV and XVII centuries).
• Renaissance church of Notre Dame de Recuvrance (1513-19).
• The Gothic-Renaissance Old Town Hall (1513-1519) is now the Museum of Fine Arts .
• Royal Street (1752-1760).
• Museum of History .

Residential buildings of the late Gothic , Renaissance , Baroque and classic styles. During the Second World War, the old quarter of the city with wide boulevards and embankments along the Loire was severely destroyed. After the war, it was rebuilt with the preservation of the style of buildings of the XVIII century, but the reconstruction also took into account the need for a modern transport system. In the 1970s, new areas of the city appeared along old boulevards and freeways.

Orleans is a large industrial center. Mechanical engineering (production of parts for cars and tractors, electric motors, agricultural machines), pharmaceutical, food (flour, canning, vinegar), clothing industry. Within 50 km from the city there are 2 nuclear stations: Dampierre and Saint-Laurent .

Orleans is an important road and rail transport hub in France.

The city's public transport is represented by buses and a tram (opened in 2000 , see Orleans Tram ).

• Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
• "Orléans". Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite (2007).

• Orleans Municipality Official Website (French) (English) (Chinese)