Stage town for the 3rd time
Prefecture of Mayenne (53)
Population: 49,800 (Lavallois and Lavallaises), and 17,301 in the 34 communes of the Laval Community of Agglomerations.
Personalities: Ambroise Paré (surgeon), Henri Rousseau (painter), Alfred Jarry (playwright), Alain Gerbault (sailor), Ousmane Dabo, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (football), Franck Rénier, Ludovic Turpin (cycling).
Specialities: Pommeau of Maine, Sabot de Pégase (chocolate), M (cake), Veritable Trappe (cheese from the nuns of Laval)
Sport: Étoile Lavalloise MFC (D1 indoor football), Stade lavallois Mayenne FC (football, National), Stallions (US football), Laval Water-Polo (N3A), Francs Archers Laval, Stade lavallois hockey (N2), etc.
Events: Boucles de la Mayenne (cycling, June), Grand National du Trot (horse racing, June)
Economy: Dairy industry, electronics, chemicals.
Culture: Laval Virtual (innovation, new technologies, April), First Novel Festival (April), 3 Elephants Festival (contemporary music, May), Chaînon Manquant (artistic events, September), Lights of Laval (illuminations, December)
Motto: "Eadem mensura", the motto of the de Laval family, meaning "of the same measure".
Labels: Ville à vélo (1 bicycle) / Ville fleurie (3 flowers) / Ville active et sportive (3 laurels) / Ville d'Art et d'Histoire / French Capital of Virtual Reality / Ville handi-accueillante / Ville amie des aînés / French Tech
Websites: www.laval-tourisme.com / www.laval.fr / www.agglo-laval.fr / www.lamayenne.fr / www.m-mayenne.fr / www.mayenne-tourisme.com
LAVAL AND CYCLING
Laval made Tour de France history in 2021, the last time the race came to town for an individual time trial in which Tadej Pogacar demonstrated all his TT qualities to win and get closer to the Yellow Jersey that he would eventually bring back to Paris for the second time. Until then, Laval had only hosted the Tour de France in 1999 for a stage that started in Nantes and was won in a sprint by Tom Steels, now sports director of the Soudal-Quick Step team. It was the second of three stage wins for the four-time Belgian champion in this edition and the sixth of his nine victories in the Tour. The prefecture of Mayenne has given birth to many riders who have taken part in the Tour de France. Foremost among them is Jacky Durand, winner of three stages in 1994, 1995 (Yellow Jersey for two days) and 1998, and twice winner of the Most Aggressive Rider Prize in 1998 and 1999, a year in which he finished bottom of the race. Jacky has become a notorious cycling consultant for Eurosport. Ludovic Turpin has taken part in five Tours de France in the colours of Ag2R, while Frank Rénier took part in the event four times between 2001 and 2004 in Jean-René Bernaudeau's teams. Marcel Duchemin, the best French amateur rider of the 1970s who never turned professional despite his three victories in the Peace Race, and the father and son Dalibards, Philippe and Antoine, should also be added to this list. Laval is also the finishing town for the Boucles de la Mayenne, where Mathieu Van der Poel, winner in 2017 and 2018, has made a name for himself.
SIGHTS
Château de Laval
Construction: 11th to 20th centuries.
Style: medieval and Renaissance.
History and characteristics: the history of Château de Laval is closely linked to that of the House of Laval, which began with Guy I, the castle's founder. The monument bears witness to the many alliances entered into by this family, as well as its growing power from the 11th century until its demise at the end of the Renaissance. The Vieux-Château (Old Castle) is remarkable for its 12th-century chapel and its imposing main tower, topped by a 13th-century wooden hourd, an exceptional example of medieval military architecture. The richly carved bays of the medieval dwellings, built in the early 16th century, and the gallery of the Château Neuf (New Castle), dating from the 1540s, are striking Renaissance features that demonstrate the evolution of architecture at that time. Since the relocation of the judicial services in 2000, Château Neuf has been awaiting conversion. Vieux-Château, which served as a prison from the French Revolution until 1911, has been open to the public since the 1920s.
Current purpose: since 1967, the château has been home to the Museum of Naive Art and Singular Arts.
Listed as: historical monument in 1840.
www.patrimoine.laval.fr
Museum of naive and unusual art - MANAS
Since 1967, the Laval Museum has been enthusiastically exploring naïve and singular creations and boasts the finest collection of naïve art in Europe in homage to Laval-born Henri Rousseau. The museum has works by Jules Lefranc, Séraphine de Senlis and many others. It keeps a watchful eye on non-standard creation and is recognised at national level as a discoverer and supporter of artists who are far from the mainstream.
www.musees.laval.fr
Shower baths
Built in: 1925.
Style: Art Deco.
History and characteristics: the need to promote personal hygiene in a town where the possession of a toilet was exceptional at the time, led the town council to commission its architect Léon Guinebretière to design a building to be used as a public bath. Construction began in 1925 and the building opened to the public in 1927. The exterior was modest but modern. It draws on the art deco repertoire in a spirit reminiscent of the Viennese Secession. The geometric lines were softened by the use of Egyptian motifs. Comprising sixteen showers and six baths, the shower room is dominated by the blue of the mosaics commissioned from artist Isidore Odorico, who also designed the Rennes swimming pool. This jewel of Art Deco architecture now regularly hosts temporary exhibitions and cultural events.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 2014.
www.patrimoine.laval.fr
Saint-Julien Washboat
Built in 1904 for laundryman Alphonse Fouquet, this large wooden boat with two decks is 28-metres long and 5.10-metres wide. With its twenty or so washing boards protected by a zinc canopy, its flat-bottomed hull served as a washhouse for the forty or so washerwomen who washed and rinsed their clothes there. The central section still contains the two boilers that supplied hot water to the vats above. In addition to the large basins in which the laundry was boiled, the upstairs contains the living quarters of the laundryman and his family. Listed since 1993, the washboat is currently closed for renovation.
Cité du Lait (City of Milk)
It's no coincidence that the entrance to the Cité du Lait museum is through the façade of the Société laitière de Laval A. Besnier et Cie. It was here, at the end of the old rue du Moulin, that in the 1950s the collection lorries arrived loaded down with cans of milk. Since 1933, in the wake of André Besnier, the company's founder, Lactalis has witnessed and played a key role in the metamorphosis of this profession. The Cité du Lait tells this story, starting with an immersion in the atmosphere of the 1950s. This reconstruction provides an insight into the environment and organisation of the dairy at the time. The first floor of the museum then presents the Lactalis Group, a small Laval company that is now a market leader with a presence on five continents.
A living primary school museum
The museum, located exactly on the site of the former Henri Chantrel school, sets the tone by faithfully presenting the atmosphere of a primary school from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in one of its permanent rooms. At its peak, the school had seven classes. Competing with the school in the Hilard district, it closed for good in 1970. It remains the property of the City of Laval. In 1982, the centenary year of the secular laws and public education, the idea of creating a school museum was born. It opened to the public in 1991 thanks to a group of volunteers who, in 1988, set up an association under the 1901 law to manage it and make it a living, evolving museum.
TO EAT
Le sabot de Pégase (Pegasus Hoof)
A Mayenne speciality, Sabot de Pégase, presented in a 380g box, is a chocolate sweet created by pastry chef Moïse Derval as a tribute to his home town. Pegasus, the winged horse, is the symbol of Mayenne, a department known for its many stud farms and famous horse races. Sabot de Pégase comes in the form of half a horse's hoof and is available in white and milk chocolate.
