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For other uses, see Poitier. Poitier may refer to Sidney Poitier (*1927 a Bahamian-American actor film director and author

Commune of Poitiers
The town of Poitiers with its many medieval churches, viewed from Les Dunes
Location
Administration
Country France
Region Poitou-Charentes
Department Vienne (préfecture)
Arrondissement Poitiers
Canton Chief town of 7 cantons
Intercommunality Communauté
d'agglomération
de Poitiers
Mayor Alain Claeys (PS)
(2008-2014)
Statistics
Elevation 65 m–144 m
(avg. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Poitou-Charentes is an administrative region in central western France comprising four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division This article is about the French department Do not confuse with the Austrian capital Vienna. A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The arrondissement of Poitiers is an arrondissement of France located in the Vienne département, in the Poitou-Charentes The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The Socialist Party ( Parti Socialiste, PS is the largest left-wing political party in France. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 75 m)
Land area¹ 42. 11 km²
Population²
(2006)		 90,000
 - Density 2,037/km² (2004)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code 86194/ 86000
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE to identify various entities including communes Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. C D E
France

Poitiers is a town on the Clain River in west central France. The Clain is a 144 km long River in western France, left tributary of the river Vienne. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It is a commune and the capital (préfecture) of the Vienne département and of the Poitou-Charentes région. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' This article is about the French department Do not confuse with the Austrian capital Vienna. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Poitou-Charentes is an administrative region in central western France comprising four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, The town is picturesque; and its streets are interesting for their remains of ancient architecture, especially of the Romanesque period, and the memories of great historical events. Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which

Contents

Geography

Poitiers is strategically situated on the Seuil du Poitou, a shallow zone joining the Armorican to the Central Massif and connecting the Aquitaine Basin to the Paris Basin. The Massif Central ( Occitan: Massís Central / Massís Centrau) is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of Mountains and The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France having developed since the Triassic on a basement formed by the Variscan orogeny. The site of Poitiers is a vast promontory between the valleys of Boivre and Clain. The old town occupies the slopes and summit of a plateau which rises 130 feet (40 m) above the level of the streams by which it is surrounded on three sides.

People in Poitiers are called Poitevins (masculine) and Poitevines (feminine) and 1 of every 3 people in Poitiers is under the age of 30 and 1 of every 4 people in Poitiers is a student.

History

Poitiers was founded as Limonum before Roman influence by the Pictones tribe, whose name it later adopted. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The Pictones (or Pictavi were a tribe inhabiting a region along the Bay of Biscay in what is now western France Christianity was introduced in the 3rd century, and the first bishop of Poitiers, from 350 to 367, was Saint Hilarius. Hilarius or Saint Hilary (ca 300 – 368 was Bishop of Poitiers ('Pictavium' and considered an eminent doctor of the Western Christian Fifty years later the city had fallen into the hands of the Arian Visigoths, and became one of the principal residences of their kings. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Alaric II, one of their number, was defeated by Clovis I at Vouillé, not far from Poitiers, in 507, and the town became a part of the Frankish dominion. Alaric II, also known as Alarik Alarich and Alarico in Spanish and Portuguese or Alaricus in Latin (d Clovis I (c 466 &ndash 27 November 511) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler

Until 1857 Poitiers contained the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre more extensive than that of Nimes; remains of Roman baths, constructed in the 1st and demolished in the 3rd century, were laid bare in 1877; and in 1879 a burial-place and the tombs of a number of Christian martyrs were discovered on the heights to the south-east — the names of some of the Christians being preserved in paintings and inscriptions. An amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is an open-air venue for spectator sports concerts rallies or theatrical performances Nîmes ( Provençal Occitan: Nimes in both classical and Mistralian norms is a city in southern France. Not far from these tombs is a huge dolmen (the "Pierre Levée"), 22 feet (6. A dolmen (also known as cromlech, anta, Hünengrab, Hunebed, Goindol, quoit, and portal dolmen) is a type of 7 m) long, 16 feet (4. 9 m) broad and 6 or 7 feet (2. 1 m) high, around which used to be held the great fair of St. Luke.

The first decisive Christian victory over Muslims — Battle of Tours — was fought by Charles Martel's men in the proximity of Poitiers on October 10, 732. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Battle of Tours (October 10 732 also called the Battle of Poitiers and in معركة بلاط الشهداء (ma‘arakat Balâṭ ash-Shuhadâ’ Battle of Court Charles "The Hammer" Martel (Carolus Martellus Charles "the Hammer" (ca Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated For the area code see Area code 732. Events By Place Europe October 10 — Battle of It was one of the world's pivotal moments. Professor of religion Huston Smith says in The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions: "But for their defeat by Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours in 733 [sic], the entire Western world might today be Muslim. Huston Cummings Smith (born May 31, 1919) is among the preeminent Religious studies scholars in the "

In the Early Middle Ages, the town was the capital of Poitou, the region governed by the Counts of Poitiers. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Among the men who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (or Poitou, in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became Eleanor of Aquitaine frequently resided in the city, which she embellished and fortified, and in 1199 entrusted with communal rights. For other Eleanors of England see Eleanor of England (disambiguation Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine (1122&ndash1 April 1204 The Battle of Poitiers was fought at Poitiers on September 19, 1356, during the Hundred Years' War. This article covers the battle during the Hundred Years' War. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. The Hundred Years' War (Guerre de Cent Ans was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne vacant with the extinction of the senior

In 1418, the royal parliament moved from Paris to Poitiers, where it remained in exile until the English withdrew from the capital in 1436. During this interval (1429) Joan of Arc was subjected to a formal inquest in the town. Joan of Arc (c 1412 Joan asserted that she had visions from God that told her to recover her homeland from English domination late in the Hundred Years' The University of Poitiers was founded in 1431. The University of Poitiers (Université de Poitiers is a University located in Poitiers, France. Also, John Calvin had numerous converts at Poitiers. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and Of the violent proceedings which attended the Wars of Religion, the city had its share. The French Wars of Religion (1562 to 1598 between French Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots involved both civil infighting In 1569 it was defended by Gui de Daillon, comte du Lude, against Gaspard de Coligny, who after an unsuccessful bombardment retired from the siege at the end of seven weeks. Gaspard de Coligny ( February 16, 1519 &ndash August 24, 1572) Seigneur (Lord de Châtillon held the office of

Poitiers is closely associated with the life of François Rabelais and with the community of Bitards. Bitards is a brotherhood of inveterate revellers of the order of bitards ( L'ordre des Bitards) (LST Rented is devise" who maintain their headquarters in Poitiers Many Acadians or Cajuns living in North America can trace ancestry to this region as their descendants left from here in the 17th century. This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Michel Aco, the explorer, was also born here. Michel Aco (fl1680&ndash1702 also known as Michel Accault) was a French explorer who along with René Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle and Father [1] Poitiers was bombed heavily during the World War II, particularly the area round the railway station. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Among the 20th-century natives of the city was the influential French philosopher Michel Foucault. Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist.

One of the more recent famous Frenchwomen to come from the area is Florence Largeau more famous for her rendition of the ageless French classic the Connemara.

1500s

The type of political organisation existing in Poitiers during the late medieval / early modern period can be glimpsed through a speech given on 14 July 1595 by Maurice Roatin, the town's mayor. He compared it to the Roman state, which combined three types of government: monarchy (rule by one person), aristocracy (rule by a few), and democracy (rule by the many). He said the Roman consulate corresponded to Poitiers' mayor, the senate to the town's peers and echevins, and the democratic element in Rome corresponded to the fact that most important matters "can not be decided except by the advice of the Mois et Cent [broad council]. 1 The mayor appears to have been an advocate of a mixed constitution; we should note that not all Frenchmen in 1595 would have agreed with him, at least in public; many spoke in favour of absolute monarchy. We should also note that the democratic element was not as strong as the mayor's words may seem to imply: in fact, Poitiers was similar to other French cities, Paris, Nantes, Marseille, Limogues, La Rochelle, Dijon, in that the town's governing body (corps de ville) was "highly exclusive and oligarchical": a small number of professional and family groups controlled most of the city offices. In Poitiers many of these positions were granted for the lifetime of the office holder. 2

The city government in Poitiers based its claims to legitimacy on the theory of government where the mayor and échevins held jurisdiction of the city's affairs in fief from the king: that is, they swore allegiance and promised support for him, and in return he granted them local authority. Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing This gave them the advantage of being able to claim that any townsperson who challenged their authority was being disloyal to the king. Every year the mayor and the 24 échevins would swear an oath of allegiance "between the hands" of the king or his representative, usually the lieutenant général or the sénécheusée. For example, in 1567, when Maxient Poitevin was mayor, king Henry III came for a visit, and, although some townspeople grumbled about the licentious behaviour of his entourage, Henry smoothed things over with a warm speech acknowledging their allegiance and thanking them for it. 2

In this era, the mayor of Poitiers was preceded by sergeants wherever he went, consulted deliberative bodies, carried out their decisions, "heard civil and criminal suits in first instance", tried to insure that the food supply would be adequate, visited markets. 2

In the 1500s, Poitiers impressed visitors because of its large size, and important features, including "royal courts, university, prolific printing shops, wealthy religious institutions, cathedral, numerous parishes, markets, impressive domestic architecture, extensive fortifications, and château. "3

Attractions

Église St-Hilaire-le-GrandPoitiers
Église St-Hilaire-le-Grand
Poitiers

Demography

Change in Population
1936 1954 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2004 2006
44 269 52 681 62 178 71 129 81 313 79 350 78 894 83 448 87 400 90 000
From the year 1962 on: population without double counting — residents of multiple communes (e. The Baptistère Saint-Jean ( Baptistery of St John is a religious edifice in Poitiers, France. The Palace of Justice in Poitiers (French Palais de justice de Poitiers) began its life as the seat of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine The Duke of Aquitaine ( French: Duc d'Aquitaine) ruled the historical region of Aquitaine under the supremacy of the Frankish and later the Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope is a French Theme park based upon Multimedia, cinematographic and audio-visual techniques Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. g. students and military personnel) only counted once.


Transport

Poitiers has a railway station on the TGV route between Paris and Bordeaux. The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate The station is in the valley to the west of the old town centre. Services run to Angoulême, Limoges and La Rochelle in addition to Paris and Bordeaux. Angoulême is a commune in western France, capital of the Charente department. Limoges ( Lemòtges / Limòtges in the Limousin dialect of Occitan language) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture La Rochelle is a city in western France, and a Seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. By direct TGV it takes 1h30 to go to Paris : Montparnasse station. Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred on the intersection of the Boulevard du Montparnasse

Poitiers - Biard Airport is located 2. Poitiers - Biard Airport is an Airport located 24 km west of Poitiers, a commune of the département 4 km (1. 5 mi) West of Poitiers and offers flights to Lyon and London-Stansted. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. London Stansted Airport is a passenger Airport located in the Uttlesford District of the English County of Essex about 38 miles (61

Education

The city of Poitiers had a very old university tradition. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem acc of traditio which means "a giving up delivering up surrendering" and is used in a number of The University of Poitiers has been established in 1431 and had welcome many famous thinkers ( François Rabelais; René Descartes; Francis Bacon ), it's the second oldest university in France. The University of Poitiers (Université de Poitiers is a University located in Poitiers, France. Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author Poitiers is nowadays one of the biggest student cities of France, it has more students per inhabitant than any other city in France. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. There are more than 27000 university students with near 4000 foreign sudents from 117 countries. The University covers all major fields such as sciences, geography, history, languages. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them It had engineering (ENSMA; ESIP) and business schools (ESCEM; IAE). The École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d'Aérotechnique, or ENSMA,is a Grande Ecole located in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou near Poitiers, A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to The ESCEM School of Business and Management is a Business school in France.

The law degree is one of the best in France, rank 2nd by Etudiant magazine in 2005. A Law degree is the degree conferred on someone who successfully completes studies in law Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally

Since 2001, city of Poitiers welcome the first cycle of "South America, Spain and Portugal" from the Paris Institute of Political Studies. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula.

Sister cities

Poitiers is twinned with:

Famous people

This is a list of famous people or artists who are born or lived in Poitiers:

Notes

  1. Archives communales de Poitiers, reg. This article is about Northampton in England for other places of the same name see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton ( is a large Market The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Marburg is a city in Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Lafayette is a City in and the Parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Coimbra (kuˈĩbɾɐ is a city and a municipality in Portugal, former capital of the country during the first dynasty period and home to the University of Coimbra Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Yaroslavl (Яросла́вль is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located north-east of Moscow. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Iaşi (pronunciation in Romanian: /jaʃʲ/ or Jassy, is a city and municipality in north-eastern Romania. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Moundou is the capital of the region of Logone Occidental. The city lies on the Logone River some 300 miles south of the capital N'Djamena Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de Blessed Marie Louise Trichet also known as Marie-Louise de Jésus was a French Catholic figure who with Saint Louis de Montfort, founded St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, was a French Priest and Catholic Saint, born on 31 January, 1673 in the small Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Joël Robuchon (born 7 April 1945 in Poitiers, France) is a French Chef and Restaurateur. A chef is a person who cooks professionally In a professional kitchen setting the term is used only for the one person in charge of everyone else in the kitchen the executive A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. Brian Joubert (born September 20, 1984) is a French figure skater. Ice is a Solid phase, usually crystalline, of a Non-metalic substance that is liquid or gas at Room temperature, such as Ammonia A champion (identical to the French from the late Latin campio) is one who has repeatedly come out first among contestants in challenges (especially the winner of a tournament Jean-Pierre Raffarin (born 3 August 1948 is a French conservative Politician and senator for Vienne. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. This article is about the French department Do not confuse with the Austrian capital Vienna. Charles "The Hammer" Martel (Carolus Martellus Charles "the Hammer" (ca The Battle of Tours (October 10 732 also called the Battle of Poitiers and in معركة بلاط الشهداء (ma‘arakat Balâṭ ash-Shuhadâ’ Battle of Court 54, pp. 211-213; in Harry J. Bernstein, Between Crown and Community: Politics and Civic Culture in Sixteenth-Century Poitiers. 2004, Ithica N. Y. , USA: Cornell University Press, p. 22.
  2. Harry J. Bernstein, Between Crown and Community: Politics and Civic Culture in Sixteenth-Century Poitiers. 2004, Ithica N. Y. , USA: Cornell University Press, p. 22-30.
  3. ibid. , p. 2.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

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