Saumur

First attested in the Medieval Latin form of Salmuri in 968 AD, the origin of the name is obscure. Albert Dauzat hypothesized a pre-Celtic unattested element *sala 'marshy ground' (cf. Celtic salm 'which jumps and flows'), followed by another unattested element meaning "wall". Many places in Europe seem to contain *Sal(m)- elements, which may share Old European roots.

The Dolmen de Bagneux on the south of the town, is 23 meters long and is built from 15 large slabs of the local stone, weighing over 500 tons. It is the largest in France.

The Château de Saumur was constructed in the 10th century to protect the Loire River crossing from Norman attacks after the settlement of Saumur was sacked in 845. The castle, destroyed in 1067 and inherited by the House of Plantagenet, was rebuilt by Henry II of England in the later 12th century. It changed hands several times between Anjou and France until 1589.

Houses in Saumur are constructed almost exclusively of Tuffeau stone. The caves dug to excavate the stone are now often used as commercial wine cellars.{{cite web |url=http://cromwell-intl.com/travel/france/saumur-megaliths/ |title=Megaliths in France |publisher=cromwell-intl.com}}

Amyraldism, or the School of Saumur, is a distinctive form of Reformed theology taught by Moses Amyraut at the University of Saumur in the 17th century. Saumur is also the scene for Balzac's novel Eugénie Grandet, written in 1833.

Prior to the French Revolution, Saumur was the capital of the {{ill|Sénéchaussée de Saumur|fr}}, a bailiwick which existed until 1793. Saumur was the location of the Battle of Saumur during the Revolt in the Vendée. It hosted a state prison under Napoleon. The town was an equestrian centre with both the military cavalry school from 1783 and later the Cadre Noir equestrian team.

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During the Battle of France in World War II, Saumur was the site of the Battle of Saumur (1940); the town and south bank of the Loire were defended by the teenage cadets of the cavalry school.{{cite book |first=Roy |last=Macnab |title=For Honour Alone |year=1988 |publisher=Robert Hale |isbn=978-0709033318}}

In 1944 it was the target of the first Tallboy and the fourth Azon bombing raids by Allied planes. On 8/9 June 1944,{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/saumur.html|title=Saumur Tunnel, 9th June 1944|work=Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary|access-date=2007-05-24|publisher=UK Crown|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040929000607/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/saumur.html|archive-date=29 September 2004|df=dmy-all}} {{cvt|12000|lb|kg|disp=flip}} Tallboy "earthquake" bombs were first used, against a railway tunnel near Saumur. The hastily organized night raid was to stop a planned German Panzer Division, travelling to engage the newly landed allied forces in Normandy. The panzers were expected to use the railway to cross the Loire. No. 83 Squadron RAF illuminated the area with flares from four Avro Lancasters and marked the target at low level by three de Havilland Mosquitos. 25 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron RAF, the "Dambusters" then dropped their Tallboys from {{cvt|18000|ft|disp=flip}} with great accuracy. They hit the approaches to the bridge, blocked the railway cutting and one pierced the roof of the tunnel, bringing down a huge quantity of rock and soil which blocked the tunnel, badly delaying the German reinforcements moving towards Normandy, especially 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jun44.html|title=Campaign Diary June 1944|work=Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary|access-date=2007-05-24|publisher=UK Crown|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611023020/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jun44.html|archive-date=11 June 2007|df=dmy-all}}[http://www.dambusters.org.uk/Saumar.html Saumur Railway Tunnel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323102117/http://www.dambusters.org.uk/Saumar.html |date=23 March 2013 }} dambusters.org.uk quoting AIR27/2128 The damaged tunnel was quickly dug out to make a deeper cutting, resulting in the need for a second attack.

On 22 June, nine Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces used the new Azon {{cvt|1000|lb|kg|disp=flip}} glide bombs against the Saumur rail bridge;{{cite web|url=http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1944.php |title=8th Air Force 1944 Chronicles |access-date=2007-05-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912155604/http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1944.php |archive-date=12 September 2007 }} escorted by 43 North American P-51 Mustangs. They failed to destroy the bridge. During the morning of 24 June, 38 American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses with conventional bombs attacked the bridge; escort was provided by 121 of 135 P-51s. The bridge was damaged.

The town of Saumur was awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm for its resistance and display of French patriotism during the war.

Saumur is home to the Cadre Noir,{{cite web|last=Official Website of The French national horse riding school|title=The French national horse riding school|url=http://www.cadrenoir.fr/en/accueil-ene}} the École Nationale d'Équitation (National Equestrian School), known for its annual horse shows, as well as the Armoured Branch and Cavalry Training School, the officer school for armored forces (tanks).

There is the national tank museum, the Musée des Blindés, with more than 850 armored vehicles, wheeled or tracked. Most of them are from France, though some come from other countries such as Brazil, Germany, and the Soviet Union, as well as axis and allied vehicles of World War Two.

The annual military Carrousel takes place in July each year, as it has done for over 160 years, with displays of horse cavalry skills, historic and modern military vehicles.{{cite web |url=http://www.ot-saumur.fr/LE-CARROUSEL-DE-SAUMUR_a23877.html |title=LE CARROUSEL DE SAUMUR |date=29 December 2022 |publisher=Saumur}}

Amongst the most important monuments of Saumur are the great Château de Saumur itself which stands high above the town, and the nearby Château de Beaulieu which stands just 200 metres from the south bank of the Loire River and which was designed by the architect Jean Drapeau. A giant sequoia tree (which is protected) stands in the grounds of Château de Beaulieu. The Dolmen de Bagneux is on the old road going south.

The architectural character of the town owes much to the fact that it is constructed almost exclusively of Tuffeau stone.{{cite book|author=Augustus John Cuthbert Hare|title=South-western France|url=https://archive.org/details/southwesternfra02haregoog|access-date=21 February 2011|year=1890|publisher=G. Allen|pages=[https://archive.org/details/southwesternfra02haregoog/page/n98 84]–}}

The wine industry surrounds Saumur, many utilising the tunnels as cellars with the hundreds of domaines producing white, red, rosé and sparkling wines. Visits to producers and the annual Grandes Tablées du Saumur-Champigny is an annual event held in early August with over 1 km of tables set up in Saumur so people can sample the local foods and wine.{{cite web |url=http://france.fr/fr/agenda/grandes-tablees-saumur-champigny-saumur |title="Les Grandes Tablées du Saumur-Champigny" à Saumur |publisher=france.fr}}

Saumur has a weekly market every Saturday morning with hundreds of stalls open for business in the streets and squares of the old town, from before 8am.

File:Puente Cessart sobre el rio Loira en Saumur.jpg in Saumur]]

{{See also|Category:People from Saumur}}

Saumur was the birthplace of:

• Gabriel Dugrès (fl. 1643), French Huguenot grammarian
• Anne Le Fèvre Dacier (1654–1720), scholar and translator of classics
• Jeanne Delanoue (1666-1736), made a Roman Catholic Saint in 1982
• François Bontemps (1753–1811), General of the French Revolutionary Wars
• Charles Ernest Beulé (1826–1874), archeologist
• Coco Chanel (1883–1971), fashion designer
• Jean de La Brète (pen name of Alice Cherbonnel; 1858–1945), novelist
• Marie Adrien Persac (1823–1873), Franco-American lithographer and photographer
• Yves Robert (1920–2002), actor, composer, director, writer, producer
• Jack le Goff (1931-2009), equestrian
• Fanny Ardant (b. 1949), actress
• Dominique Pinon (b. 1955), actor
• Youna Dufournet (b. 1993), French artistic gymnast

Other:

• The French mathematician Abraham de Moivre initially studied logic at Saumur.
• Marquis de Sade was briefly imprisoned in the Château de Saumur (then a prison) in 1768.
• Jehan Alain (1911-1940), organist and composer, was killed during the Battle of Saumur.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}

Saumur is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Jumelages|url=https://www.ville-saumur.fr/jumelages|website=ville-saumur.fr|publisher=Saumur|language=fr|access-date=2021-03-12}}

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Formigine, Italy
• {{flagicon|GER}} Verden an der Aller, Germany
• {{flagicon|ENG}} Warwick, England, United Kingdom
• {{flagicon|USA}} Asheville, North Carolina, US

In 1973 Saumur absorbed four neighbouring communes. The population data for 1968 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1973 borders.

{{Historical populations| 1793| 12300 | 1800| 9585 | 1806| 9984 | 1821| 10454 | 1831| 10652 | 1836| 12020 | 1841| 12258 | 1846| 12566 | 1851| 14119 | 1856| 14505 | 1861| 14079 | 1866| 13663 | 1872| 12552 | 1876| 13822 | 1881| 14186 | 1886| 14187 | 1891| 14867 | 1896| 16440 | 1901| 16233 | 1906| 16392 | 1911| 16198 | 1921| 15956 | 1926| 16210 | 1931| 16532 | 1936| 17158 | 1946| 17635 | 1954| 18169 | 1962| 20773 | 1968| 21551 | 1975| 32515 | 1982| 32149 | 1990| 30131 | 1999| 29857 | 2007 | 28113 | 2012 | 27523 | 2017 | 26734

|source = Cassini{{Cassini-Ehess|35529 |Saumur }} and INSEE[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-49328#ancre-POP_T1 INSEE: Population en historique depuis 1968]

|cols=2

|graph-pos=bottom

|title=Historical population of Saumur

|align=none

}}

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Saumur (Montreuil-Bellay) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1986–present)

|Jan record high C = 16.5

|Feb record high C = 22.0

|Mar record high C = 25.0

|Apr record high C = 29.0

|May record high C = 32.6

|Jun record high C = 40.5

|Jul record high C = 40.9

|Aug record high C = 39.7

|Sep record high C = 36.0

|Oct record high C = 31.4

|Nov record high C = 22.9

|Dec record high C = 19.6

|Jan record low C = -14.1

|Feb record low C = -12.8

|Mar record low C = -10.1

|Apr record low C = -3.3

|May record low C = 0.2

|Jun record low C = 4.3

|Jul record low C = 7.2

|Aug record low C = 4.6

|Sep record low C = 2.4

|Oct record low C = -3.3

|Nov record low C = -8.6

|Dec record low C = -9.7

|Jan high C = 8.8

|Feb high C = 10.2

|Mar high C = 13.8

|Apr high C = 16.9

|May high C = 20.6

|Jun high C = 24.3

|Jul high C = 26.4

|Aug high C = 26.6

|Sep high C = 23.0

|Oct high C = 17.9

|Nov high C = 12.5

|Dec high C = 9.3

| year high C = 17.5

|Jan mean C = 5.8

|Feb mean C = 6.4

|Mar mean C = 9.1

|Apr mean C = 11.6

|May mean C = 15.2

|Jun mean C = 18.6

|Jul mean C = 20.4

|Aug mean C = 20.4

|Sep mean C = 17.2

|Oct mean C = 13.5

|Nov mean C = 9.0

|Dec mean C = 6.2

| year mean C = 12.8

|Jan low C = 2.9

|Feb low C = 2.5

|Mar low C = 4.4

|Apr low C = 6.2

|May low C = 9.8

|Jun low C = 12.8

|Jul low C = 14.4

|Aug low C = 14.3

|Sep low C = 11.4

|Oct low C = 9.0

|Nov low C = 5.5

|Dec low C = 3.2

| year low C = 8.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 56.1

|Feb precipitation mm = 43.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 44.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 50.9

|May precipitation mm = 54.0

|Jun precipitation mm = 42.7

|Jul precipitation mm = 43.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 41.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 47.2

|Oct precipitation mm = 67.5

|Nov precipitation mm = 65.5

|Dec precipitation mm = 59.8

|year precipitation mm = 616.3

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 10.7

| Feb precipitation days = 9.4

| Mar precipitation days = 9.2

| Apr precipitation days = 9.1

| May precipitation days = 9.0

| Jun precipitation days = 7.3

| Jul precipitation days = 6.5

| Aug precipitation days = 6.6

| Sep precipitation days = 7.2

| Oct precipitation days = 9.8

| Nov precipitation days = 11.8

| Dec precipitation days = 11.7

| year precipitation days =108.4

|source 1 = Meteociel{{cite web

|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=49215002

|title=Normales et records pour Mont-Bellay-Inra (49)

|publisher=Meteociel

|access-date=20 November 2024}}}}

• Musée des Blindés
• Battle of Saumur (1940)
• National Equestrian School

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Saumur}}

• [https://www.ville-saumur.fr/ Official website] (in French)
• [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01700c.htm Notre Dame des Ardilliers] - Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia about a Catholic pilgrimage center in the town
• [http://www.museedesblindes.fr/ Tank Museum of Saumur (Musée des Blindés)]
• [http://www.chateaudebeaulieu.fr/ Chateau de Beaulieu]
• [http://www.sequoias.eu/Pages/Geo/loire.htm#2/ Les séquoias géants en Pays-de-la-Loire]
• [http://perso.orange.fr/saumur-jadis/lieux/chateau.htm Chateau of Saumur] (in French)
• [http://www.ifce.fr/en/cadre-noir/ Cadre Noir]
• [http://saumur-cricket.com/about-us/ Saumur Cricket Club]

{{Loire Valley communes}}

{{Maine-et-Loire communes}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Communes of Maine-et-Loire

Category:Subprefectures in France