Top, from left to right:24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race at night; Le Mans Justice Department Office Middle: View ofSarthe River and historic area, including the Palais of Comtes du Maine Bottom, from left to right:Le Mans tramway in Gambetta Street; Facade of Le Mans Commerce Center;Saint Julien Cathedral
Its inhabitants are calledManceaux (male) andMancelles (female). Since 1923, the city has hosted the24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest active endurance sports car race. The event is among the most attended andprestigious motor sports events in the world.
First mentioned byClaudius Ptolemy,[3] theRoman cityVindinium was the capital of theAulerci, a sub tribe of theAedui. Le Mans is also known asCivitas Cenomanorum (City of theCenomani), orCenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancientRoman province ofGallia Lugdunensis. A 3rd-centuryamphitheatre is still visible. Thethermae were demolished during thecrisis of the third century when workers were mobilized to build the city's defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits ofGallo-Roman city walls to survive.[4]
As the use of the French language replaced lateVulgar Latin in the area,Cenomanus, withdissimilation, became known asCelmins.Cel- was taken to be a form of the French word for "this" and "that", and was replaced byle, which means "the".
In the 13th century Le Mans came under the control of the French crown. It was subsequently invaded by England during theHundred Years' War.[6]
Industrialization took place in the 19th century which saw the development of railway and motor vehicle production as well as textiles and tobacco manufacture.[6]
Wilbur Wright began official public demonstrations of the airplane he had developed with his younger brotherOrville on 8 August 1908, at the Hunaudières horse racing track near Le Mans.[7]
Just outside Le Mans city centre there used to be anairfield, built to protect theRenault factory.
Soon after Le Mans was liberated by the U.S.79th and90th Infantry Divisions on 8 August 1944,[8] engineers of theNinth Air Force Engineering Command began construction of a combatAdvanced Landing Ground on a location the Germans had used a simple airfield. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as "A-35". It was used by several American fighter and transport units in additional offensives across France; the airfield was closed in November 1944.[9][10]
Le Mans has a well-preserved old town (Cité Plantagenêt, also calledVieux Mans) and theCathédrale St-Julien, dedicated toSt Julian of Le Mans, who is honoured as the city's first bishop.
Remnants of aRoman wall are visible in the old town and Roman baths are located by the river. These walls are highlighted every summer (July and August) evening in a light show that tells the history of the town.
Part of the former Cistercian abbey de l'Epau, founded byQueen Berengaria and currently maintained in extensive grounds by the Département de la Sarthe.
Le Mans has a temperateoceanic climate (Cfb) influenced by the mild Atlantic air travelling inland. Summers are warm and occasionally hot, whereas winters are mild and cloudy. Precipitation is relatively uniform and moderate year round.
Climate data for Le Mans (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1944-present)
As of 2018[update], there were 367,082 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire d'attraction) of Le Mans, with 143,252 of these living in the city proper (commune).[14] In 1855 Le Mans absorbed four neighbouring communes.[15] The population data for 1851 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1855 borders.
TheGare du Mans is the main railway station of Le Mans. It takes 1 hour to reach Paris from Le Mans byTGV high speed train. There are also TGV connections to Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Brest. Gare du Mans is also a hub for regional trains. Le Mans inaugurated a newlight rail system on 17 November 2007.[17]
Since the 1920s, the city has been best known for its connection with motorsports. There are two official and separate racing tracks at Le Mans, though they share certain portions. The smaller is theBugatti Circuit (named afterEttore Bugatti, founder of thecar company bearing his name), a relatively short permanent circuit, which is used for racing throughout the year and regularly hosts theFrench motorcycle Grand Prix. The longer and more famousCircuit de la Sarthe is composed partly of public roads. These are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing. Since 1923, this route has been used for the famous24 Hours of Le Manssports car endurance race. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race, selling merchandise and promoting products for cars.
The "Le Mans start" was formerly used in the 24-hour race: drivers lined up across the track from their cars, ran across the track, jumped into their cars and started them to begin the race.
The1955 Le Mans disaster was a large accident during the race that killed eighty-four spectators.
^Combs, Harry (1979).Kill Devil Hill: Discovering the Secret of the Wright Brothers. Englewood: TernStyle Press, Ltd. pp. 266–281.ISBN0940053020.
^Blumenson, Martin,Breakout and Pursuit, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1989, pp. 436–8
^Johnson, David C. (1988),U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
^Maurer, Maurer.Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983.ISBN0-89201-092-4.
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![Le Palais des Comtes du Maine[n 1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPalais_des_comtes_du_Maine_-_Le_Mans.jpg)
