Ancenis

Ancenis (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃s.ni]; Breton: Ankiniz) is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former sub-prefecture of the department, and was the seat of the former arrondissement of Ancenis.

Ancenis
Part of Ancenis-Saint-Géréon
From top to bottom, left to right: The Château d'Ancenis, the flags above the town hall, the town hall, the Ancenis Bridge, St. Peter's Church, the Halles in Ancenis, and a panoramic view of Ancenis.
Coat of arms
Location of Ancenis
Ancenis Ancenis
Coordinates: 47°22′24″N 1°17′37″W
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Loire-Atlantique
Arrondissement	Châteaubriant-Ancenis
Canton	Ancenis-Saint-Géréon
Commune	Ancenis-Saint-Géréon
Area 1	20.07 km2 (7.75 sq mi)
Population  (2016)	7,656
• Density	380/km2 (990/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC 01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	44150
Elevation	5–41 m (16–135 ft) (avg. 13 m or 43 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It played a great historical role as a key location on the road to Nantes (23 miles to the southwest), the historical capital of Brittany. It was named "the key of Brittany" and the door of Brittany.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1793 3,295 —     1800 2,923 −11.3% 1806 2,945 0.8% 1821 3,888 32.0% 1831 3,749 −3.6% 1836 3,667 −2.2% 1841 3,802 3.7% 1846 3,824 0.6% 1851 3,689 −3.5% 1856 4,198 13.8% 1861 4,628 10.2% 1866 4,148 −10.4% 1872 4,358 5.1% 1876 5,177 18.8% 1881 5,361 3.6% 1886 5,544 3.4% 1891 5,141 −7.3% 1896 5,048 −1.8%

Year Pop. ±% 1901 5,199 3.0% 1906 4,998 −3.9% 1911 5,013 0.3% 1921 4,222 −15.8% 1926 3,942 −6.6% 1931 4,040 2.5% 1936 4,149 2.7% 1946 4,815 16.1% 1954 5,050 4.9% 1962 5,102 1.0% 1968 5,648 10.7% 1975 6,997 23.9% 1982 7,076 1.1% 1990 6,896 −2.5% 1999 7,009 1.6% 2006 7,407 5.7% 2009 7,543 1.8%

Sights

• Château d'Ancenis, a medieval and Renaissance castle
• The Loire river on which Ancenis is located (on the north bank)
• Church of Saint Peter, 15-16-17th century
• Chapel of the Ursulines
• Chapel Notre-Dame de Délivrance
• Old quarter with mediaeval houses
• Dolmen at Pierre-Couvretière

Sport

The soccer team is called RCA 44, (Racing Club D'Ancenis 44)

Personalities

• Henri Ottmann, painter
• Jordan Veretout, French footballer
• William Louiron, footballer

Twin towns

Ancenis is twinned with both the town of Kirkham in Lancashire, UK and Bad Brückenau, a spa town in Bad Kissingen district, northern Bavaria which is situated in the Rhön Mountains in Germany.

See also

• Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
• Hortense Clémentine Tanvet Sculptor