Loudun
title: "Loudun" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["communes-of-vienne-(department)"] topic_path: "general/communes-of-vienne-department" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudun" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox French commune"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Loudun |
| commune status | Commune |
| website | www.ville-loudun.fr |
| image coat of arms | Heraldique Blason ville fr Loudun.svg |
| image | Loudun Porte Martray.jpg |
| caption | Porte du Martray in Loudun |
| arrondissement | Châtellerault |
| canton | Loudun |
| INSEE | 86137 |
| postal code | 86200 |
| mayor | Joël Dazas |
| term | 2020–2026 |
| intercommunality | Pays Loudunais |
| coordinates | |
| elevation m | 90 |
| elevation min m | 47 |
| elevation max m | 120 |
| area km2 | 43.77 |
| population | |
| population date | |
| population footnotes | |
| :: |
|name = Loudun |commune status = Commune |website = www.ville-loudun.fr |image coat of arms = Heraldique Blason ville fr Loudun.svg |image coat of arms size = |image = Loudun Porte Martray.jpg |caption = Porte du Martray in Loudun |arrondissement = Châtellerault |canton = Loudun |INSEE = 86137 |postal code = 86200 |mayor = Joël Dazas |term = 2020–2026 |intercommunality = Pays Loudunais |coordinates = |elevation m = 90 |elevation min m = 47 |elevation max m = 120 |area km2 = 43.77 |population = |population date = |population footnotes =
Loudun (; ; Poitevin: Loudin) is a commune in the Vienne department and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France.
It is located 30 km south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars. The area south of Loudun is the place of origin of a significant portion of the Acadians, one of the early settlers of New France in Canada.
Demographics
|source = INSEE |percentages = pagr |align = none |graph-pos = right |1968 |7094 |1975 |8035 |1982 |8120 |1990 |7854 |1999 |7704 |2007 |7173 |2012 |6819 |2017 |6747
Sights
Loudun, an ancient town, contains numerous old streets, buildings and monuments of which five are Government-listed monuments. It is also the location of a vicus type archaeological site.
History
- The Treaty of Loudun, negotiated and signed in Loudun on May 3, 1616, temporarily resolved the power struggle for control of the French government between the Prince of Condé (next in line for Louis XIII's throne) and queen mother Marie de Medici's favorite Concino Concini, Marquis of Ancre.
- Loudun was also the site of mass hysteria surrounding the supposed mass possession of Ursuline nuns by the Devil in 1634 (see Loudun possessions).
Loudun in art
- Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz's 1942 (published in 1946) short story which transposes the story to Poland
- Eyvind Johnson's 1949 novel Drömmar om rosor och eld was based on the Loudun possessions.
- Aldous Huxley's 1952 non-fiction novel The Devils of Loudun was also based on the Loudun possessions.
- John Whiting's 1961 theatre play The Devils, commissioned by Sir Peter Hall for the Royal Shakespeare Company, was based on Aldous Huxley's novel.
- A Polish film, Mother Joan of the Angels (1961), is based on Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz short story.
- Krzysztof Penderecki's 1969 opera The Devils of Loudun (Die Teufel von Loudun), which premiered at the Hamburg State Opera, was based on Huxley's novel and Whiting's play.
- Ken Russell's 1971 film The Devils was based on Huxley's novel and Whiting's play.
Notable people
Loudun is the birthplace of:
- Jean Salmon Macrin (1490–1557), Neo-Latin poet
- Théophraste Renaudot (1586–1653), medical practitioner, inventor of the French written press, journalist, and philanthropist
- Ismaël Bullialdus (1604–1694), astronomer
- Jean-Charles Cornay, martyr.
- Marie Besnard, accused of poisoning in the 1950s in what was a very mediatized trial; her story was the subject of a successful TV movie and several books
- René Monory, mayor of Loudun, senator of Vienne, president of the French Senate, Minister of Education, president of the Vienne General Council, and founder of the Futuroscope Park of Poitiers
- Nicolas Ghesquière (born 1972), creative director of the French fashion house Balenciaga was born in 1972 in Comines, Nord-Pas-de-Calais but was always raised in Loudun where his parents own a golf course.
Loudun is the place of death of:
- Urbain Grandier (18 August 1634), French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft.
- André Andrejew (16 March 1967), French-Russian classic film production designer, built decor for movies produced in Germany, France, England and the US.
Twin towns
- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Audun le Tiche, France
- Shippagan, Canada
- Leuze, Belgium
- Burgos, Spain
- Thibodaux, USA
Climate
|collapsed= Y |location = Loudun (1991–2020 averages) |metric first = Y |single line = Y |Jan record high C = 16.6 |Feb record high C = 22.5 |Mar record high C = 24.5 |Apr record high C = 29.4 |May record high C = 32.2 |Jun record high C = 41.1 |Jul record high C = 40.8 |Aug record high C = 40.2 |Sep record high C = 35.3 |Oct record high C = 30.9 |Nov record high C = 22.7 |Dec record high C = 18.0 |year record high C = 41.1 |Jan high C = 8.3 |Feb high C = 9.6 |Mar high C = 13.3 |Apr high C = 16.3 |May high C = 20.0 |Jun high C = 23.7 |Jul high C = 26.0 |Aug high C = 26.1 |Sep high C = 22.3 |Oct high C = 17.3 |Nov high C = 11.9 |Dec high C = 8.7 |year high C = 17.0 |Jan mean C = 5.5 |Feb mean C = 6.0 |Mar mean C = 8.8 |Apr mean C = 11.1 |May mean C = 14.7 |Jun mean C = 18.1 |Jul mean C = 20.1 |Aug mean C = 20.2 |Sep mean C = 16.9 |Oct mean C = 13.2 |Nov mean C = 8.6 |Dec mean C = 5.8 |year mean C = 12.4 |Jan low C = 2.7 |Feb low C = 2.3 |Mar low C = 4.2 |Apr low C = 5.9 |May low C = 9.3 |Jun low C = 12.5 |Jul low C = 14.2 |Aug low C = 14.2 |Sep low C = 11.4 |Oct low C = 9.1 |Nov low C = 5.4 |Dec low C = 3.0 |year low C = 7.9 |Jan record low C = -14.0 |Feb record low C = -14.3 |Mar record low C = -9.6 |Apr record low C = -3.3 |May record low C = 0.2 |Jun record low C = 3.5 |Jul record low C = 7.1 |Aug record low C = 6.8 |Sep record low C = 2.7 |Oct record low C = -3.7 |Nov record low C = -8.0 |Dec record low C = -10.5 |year record low C = -14.3 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 56.4 |Feb precipitation mm = 46.6 |Mar precipitation mm = 44.9 |Apr precipitation mm = 50.3 |May precipitation mm = 53.9 |Jun precipitation mm = 48.5 |Jul precipitation mm = 45.1 |Aug precipitation mm = 44.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 46.7 |Oct precipitation mm = 63.7 |Nov precipitation mm = 66.5 |Dec precipitation mm = 64.1 |year precipitation mm = 631.5 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 10.1 |Feb precipitation days = 9.2 |Mar precipitation days = 8.7 |Apr precipitation days = 9.5 |May precipitation days = 8.8 |Jun precipitation days = 7.6 |Jul precipitation days = 6.5 |Aug precipitation days = 6.4 |Sep precipitation days = 7.3 |Oct precipitation days = 9.4 |Nov precipitation days = 11.2 |Dec precipitation days = 11.3 |year precipitation days = 106.0 |Jan sun = 69.9 |Feb sun = 105.3 |Mar sun = 156.1 |Apr sun = 197.5 |May sun = 228.8 |Jun sun = 247.2 |Jul sun = 260.0 |Aug sun = 237.4 |Sep sun = 206.1 |Oct sun = 130.2 |Nov sun = 86.8 |Dec sun = 77.6 |year sun = 2002.7 |source = Meteociel
References
References
- (13 September 2022). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
- Gregory M. W. Kennedy, ''Something of a Peasant Paradise? Comparing Rural Societies in Acadie and the Loudunais, 1604-1755'' (MQUP 2014).
- [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-86137#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
- Örjan Lindberger (1990) ''Människan i tiden. Eyvind Johnsons liv och författarskap 1938-1976'', Bonniers {{ISBN. 91-0-047904-7
- "James Wierzbicki / Krzysztof Penderecki".
- "Normals and records for Loudun (86)". [[Meteociel]].
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