Description:

Sarthe department (72), which takes its name from the river of the same name, was created during the French Revolution on 4th March 1790. For the most part, Sarthe forms a part of the former province of Maine. Maine was divided into two departments, the eastern portion becoming Sarthe and the western part becoming Mayenne. The southern portion of Sarthe around the towns of La Flèche, Le Lude and Château-du-Loir formerly formed part of the province of Anjou.

 

The chief town and prefecture of Le Mans is best known today for the 24 hour endurance race but Le Mans is one of the most historically significant cities in France.

 

Steeped in History

Le Mans was originally settled by the Gauls around the 4th century BC. Subsequently, Le Mans became an important Roman centre and many Roman  ruins remain. Much as it is today, Le Mans, (known as Suindinum or Vindinum in Roman times) was the gateway to western Gaule with a number of Roman roads converging on Le Mans from Angers, Chartres, Jublains, Orléans, Sées and Vendôme. The old town of Le Mans, within the fortifications, is known as the Cité Plantagenêt. The Plantagenet connection dates back to the time of Geoffroy V of Anjou (Geoffrey Plantagenet) (1113-1151), the Count of Anjou and Maine and later the Duke of Normandy who married Mathilde the daughter of Henry I of England. Their union founded the Plantagenet dynasty and their son became King Henry II of England.

 

Le Mans’ association with England was to last until 1328 which marked the start of the One Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Le Mans (and what is now Sarthe department) played a pivotal role seeing many battles and sieges involving a number of towns including Mamers, Beaumont-sur-Sarthe, Ballon, La Ferté-Bernard and Sillé-le-Guillaume.

 

Later, on 11 January 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, one of the most significant battles (and one of the costliest in terms of casualties) took place at Le Mans-Champagné near Le Mans.

 

Geography

The department of Sarthe is at the southern edge of the Armorican Massif which stretches inland from Brittany in the west. The north of the department contains the Alpes Mancelles, a picturesque range of hills bordering the adjoining departments of Mayenne and Orne.

 

There are three principal rivers within Sarthe department, namely, the Sarthe which flows through Le Mans and Sablé-sur-Sarthe, the Huisne flowing past La Ferté-Bernard, Connerré and Le Mans and finally the Loir which flows through La Flèche. The Sarthe and Mayenne rivers join to become the river Maine near Angers, ultimately flowing into the river Loire. A number of interesting villages are situated along the valley of the river Vègre, a tributary of the Sarthe.

 

Most of Sarthe is rural in character in contrast to the chief town of Le Mans. Criss-crossed by a maze of minor roads linking numerous small villages, the agricultural landscape is interspersed with a number of large forests notably Perseigne, Bercé and Bois de Changé.

 

Climate

Sarthe tends to be less wet and windy than Normandy to the north and Brittany to the west. At times there can be something of a contrast between the weather in the north and south of the Sarthe department with the south coming under the influence of the micro-climate of the Loire valley and being comfortably warm enough for vineyards. Average minimum winter temperature (January and December) is about 2°C whilst the summer average maximum daytime temperature (July and August) is about 25°C. On average, Le Mans enjoys 1825 hours of sunshine per annum.

 

Demographics

Approximately 315,000 people, comprising more than half of Sarthe department's population, live in the Le Mans conurbation. The rest of Sarthe retains its rural character with Sablé-sur-Sarthe and La Flèche being the only towns (apart from Le Mans) whose population exceeds 10,000.

 

Economy

In rural Sarthe, the economy is dominated by agriculture and related industries such as dairy produce and meat processing. Sarthe is a major centre of (free range) poultry and egg production particularly in and around the town of Loué which is geared towards quality production which carries the Label Rouge badge. Unsurprisingly, Sarthe is a major producer of its famed potted pork dish Rillettes du Mans.

 

With its strategic position, Le Mans has become an important logistics hub but the city also has a major university with associated research facilities. Le Mans also has important service industries notably the insurance giant MMA. The annual Le Mans 24 hour road race attracts over 250,000 visitors each year and generates a vast amount of business for tourist and service industries in Sarthe.

 

Wine production in Sarthe is confined to about 15 communes in the south east of the department bordering the river Loir. There are two appellations, Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir, the latter area stretching into the adjoining Indre et Loire department in Centre region. The Jasnières is a white wine ideal for serving with goats’ cheese or rillettes. The Coteaux-du-Loir can be white, rosé or red.

 

Tourism

Sport plays a major part in Sarthe’s tourist attractions. The annual Le Mans 24 hour race has generated a number of spin-offs – all Sarthe based. Apart from the annual Le Mans 24, there are now motorcycle and even truck equivalents. Bi-annually, there is a more laid-back 24 Heures du Mans in the shape of the Le Mans Classic a retro event involving cars from earlier eras. On 29th January 2011 the local football club Le Mans FC (currently in France’s Ligue 2) moved to their new stadium at the MMArena, a 24000 seater multi-purpose arena which will be used for concerts and exhibitions as well as football.

 

In Sarthe, there are a number of festivals and events throughout the year. In October Le Mans hosts a major international book festival Heure du Livre with authors in attendance and writers’ workshops. During August, there is a spectacular light show at Le Mans La Nuit des Chimères when the old city ramparts and building are lit up by huge holographic projections.

 

Towards the end of May Le Festival Artec is held at La Ferté-Bernard when robot makers from all over France converge to display their robotic gadgets and machines. In the latter half of May there is the classical music Festival de l’Epau centred on the ancient Abbey of Epau near Le Mans. In November Le Mans is again host to the Europa Jazz Festival.

 

There are many chateaux, abbeys and old buildings to be explored in Sarthe. One of the largest abbeys in Europe is located at Solesmes a short distance from Sablé-sur-Sarthe. The Abbaye Sainte-Cécile de Solesmes dominates the adjoining river Sarthe and cannot be missed from the old bridge connecting Juigné-sur-Sarthe with Solesmes.The abbey itself is home to a closed order but part is open to the public.

 

Many hours can be spent exploring Le Mans’ old quarter dominated by Le Mans Cathedral whose spires are visible from miles around.

 

The Chateau du Lude at le Lude was originally built as a medieval castle. It was reconstructed during the Renaissance period and is one of the best examples of early Renaissance architecture in France.

 

There are zoological gardens at Spay, Le Breil-sur-Mérize, and La Flèche. The largest zoo is at La Flèche which has a number of rare species and is one of the top five in France attracting more than 300,000 visitors each year.

 

As it names suggests, the town of Sablé-sur-Sarthe sits on the banks of the river Sarthe. The town gave its name to the famous sablé  biscuits and is an important boating centre. Regular trips can be taken from here along the Sarthe river and cruising boats can be hired from here to explore the waterways of Pays de la Loire, many of the rivers being canalised with locks.

 

This short film from Tourisme Sarthe provides a taste of some of the delights of Sarthe waiting to be discovered

 

 

 

Gastronomy

 

Sarthe is perhaps most famous for production of Rillettes du Mans, a delicious moist cross between potted meat and pâté, made from pork, and best served with a crisp fresh baguette. Rillettes can be bought fresh at any charcuterie (pork-butchers) and are readily available in tubs in supermarkets. Watch out for Rillettes badged with a medal - each year there is a national contest with various awards for best rillettes amongst those engaged in both food processing and individual charcuteries. Rillette production is big business. In 2010 over 10,000 tonnes of rillettes were produced in Sarthe by the food processing industry and another 500 tonnes or so by high street charcuteries.

 

Transport

There are frequent TGV services connecting Sarthe’s departmental capital of Le Mans with Rennes, Angers and Nantes to the west and south west, and Paris and Lille to the east. Some TGV services run directly to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. There are regular (though less frequent) direct TGV services to a number of other major cities such as Marseille.  Local trains (TER) connect with other important centres.

 

Within Le Mans there is a tramway service and park and ride tickets for a car and passengers can be purchased at a very modest cost.

 

A number of autoroutes converge on Le Mans, a strategic point in the French autoroute network, known as l’étoile à cinq branches – the five pointed star. The A11 runs east towards Orleans and ultimately Paris. The A28 runs north, splitting north of Alençon, with one route connecting to Caen and the other heading north east towards Rouen then on to Calais. To the south of Le Mans, the continuation of the A28 heads to Tours to join with the A10 towards Bordeaux. To the east of Le Mans, the A81 (a dual carriageway Route Nationale after Laval) heads west towards Rennes and Brittany. The A11 leaves Le Mans in a south westerly direction connecting to the Loire Valley and Saumur, Angers and Nantes.

 

Within Sarthe department itself, Le Mans has a small regional airport with regular flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle to connect with flights to the UK. In close proximity to Sarthe, however, the there are flights to Dinard (from Stansted) and Rennes (Southampton with connections elsewhere in the UK). Both these airports, situated in adjoining Brittany, are about 2 hours and 1 hour 30 minutes from Le Mans respectively.  Nantes Atlantique airport in the Loire-atlantique department is a larger airport with regular flights to a number of UK and Irish destinations. Travelling time from Nantes to Le Mans is about 2-2½ hours.  The airport at Tours (about 1 hour south of Le Mans) has regular flights to London Stansted. Most of these airports offer services from low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Flybe.

 

 

 

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