Châteaudun (French pronunciation: [ʃɑtodœ̃]) is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War.
Geography
Châteaudun is located about 45 km northwest of Orléans, and about 50 km south-southwest of Chartres. It lies on the river Loir, a tributary of the Sarthe.
History
Châteaudun (Latin Castrodunum), which dates from the Gallo-Roman period, was in the middle ages the capital of the County of Dunois.[3]
The streets, which radiate from a central square, have a uniformity due to the reconstruction of the town after fires in 1723 and 1870.[3]
Employment
The area is rich agricultural land, but a major local employer is the Châteaudun Air Base just to the east of the town, and much larger than the town itself.
Population
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Main sights
The town has a château, founded in the 10th century,[3] known for being the first on the road to Loire Valley from Paris. Châteaundun also has a museum, the "Musée des beaux arts et d'histoire naturelle". The museum is diverse, the most popular exhibition being the big collection of stuffed birds. In addition, there are often temporary exhibitions, recent examples including the war of Asia, ancient Egypt and insects.[6]
Churches
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Saint-Valérien -
La Madeleine -
Saint-Jean-de-la-Chaîne -
Saint-Lubin ruins -
Saint-Lubin ruins -
Notre-Dame-du-Champdé chapel (now cemetery entrance) -
La Boissière chapel
Medieval houses
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Cuirasserie street and Huileries street angle -
Cuirasserie street and Huileries street angle -
Louis Esnault house -
Château's architects' house -
Virgin's house -
Virgin's house (detail)
Personalities
Châteaudun was the birthplace of:
- Pierre Guédron (1570–1620), composer
- Nicolas Chaperon (1612–1656) painter
- Edmond Modeste Lescarbault (1814), doctor and amateur astronomer
- Romain Feillu (1984) road racing cyclist
- Brice Feillu (1985) road racing cyclist
Twin towns - sister cities
Châteaudun is twinned with:[7]
Arklow, Ireland
Kroměříž, Czech Republic
Marchena, Spain
Schweinfurt, Germany
Trois-Rivières, Canada
Gallery
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Châteaudun (Eure-et-Loir) Donjon and chapel of the château -
Fountain and façade of the town hall of Châteaudun -
See also
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Châteaudun". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 962–963.
- ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Châteaudun, EHESS (in French).
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ Museum website
- ^ "Villes en coopération". chambery.fr (in French). Châteaudun. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
External links
- Official website (in French)
- Tourist office website Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in English and French)
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