Editing Angers (section)

=== Urban morphology ===

[[File:Angers vers 1850.jpg|thumb|Angers around 1850, with the river Maine at the middle, the [[Château d'Angers|castle]] and the medieval town on the right bank and La Doutre and its river port on the left bank]]
The oldest streets and buildings in Angers are located on the promontory where the [[Château d'Angers|Angers castle]] stands. The urban structure there dates back from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fasti Ecclesiae Gallicanae - Extrait du volume d'Angers |url=http://fasti.univ-paris1.fr/extrait_angers.php |website=fasti.univ-paris1.fr}}</ref>

A military presence there was attested from the 3rd century<ref>[http://www.archives49.fr/histoire-de-lanjou/il-etait-une-fois-lanjou/iiie-siecle/ Archives 49 : il était une fois l'Anjou] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712202540/http://www.archives49.fr/histoire-de-lanjou/il-etait-une-fois-lanjou/iiie-siecle/ |date=12 July 2014 }}.</ref> and some remains of an antique city wall are still visible on the castle grounds.<ref>Angers, le château, Inventaire général des monuments et richesses artistiques de la France, 1991</ref> This wall was built to protect the city from the Germanic invasions of AD&nbsp;275 and 276.

During the Middle Ages, the castle was the core of the city's defence system, composed of tall city walls and river chains which prevented enemy ships from going up the Maine. The walls were last reconstructed between 1230 and 1240, by order of [[Louis IX of France|King Louis IX]].<ref>''Historique du château d'Angers'', Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel</ref> Today, portions of the wall are still visible in Rue Toussaint and on Boulevard Carnot, as are some towers, like the ''Tour Villebon'' and the ''Tour des Anglais''.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Before the first [[cadastre]] (1810), the city had not extended much beyond its medieval limits: on and around the castle promontory, with some dwellings on the other bank of the Maine in a neighbourhood called ''La Doutre''. That part of the city developed quickly during the industrial revolution and became a big river port. Industry was encouraged by firms like Bessonneau (textile factories) and [[Cointreau]] (distillery).{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

After 1850, many suburbs appeared around the train stations and the slate quarries to the south in [[Trélazé]]. Despite the port in La Doutre, demographic growth and urban extension were more significant on the eastern bank of the Maine, where the former Juliomagus had been founded.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

The medieval city center was redeveloped and expanded from 1791. The ''Place du Ralliement'', the main square, was then built in place of three churches destroyed during the [[French Revolution]] and, later, ring boulevards planted with trees replaced the city walls.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

The architectural style used is mainly [[Haussmann's renovation of Paris|Haussmanian]], but there are also some [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]], [[Art Nouveau]] or [[Art Deco]] buildings.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

After 1945 and the [[Second World War]], several large [[council estate]]s made of tower blocks were built around the city center, the first of them being Belle-Beille in 1953. Industrial activity changed drastically: port activity declined while new factories, such as [[Technicolor SA]] in 1957, were built. During the 1970s, the collective approach to urban development gave way to more individual houses being built for the [[middle class]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

As the metropolitan area continued to grow, commuting became more common. New shopping areas were constructed close to the villages which had been subsumed into the city. Because of the floodplains that surround the city north and south, Angers can only grow significantly on an east–west axis.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

<gallery class="center">
File:Tour des anglais, Angers (1).jpg|The ''Tour des Anglais'', a remaining part of the medieval city walls
File:Ardoise d' Angers.jpg|Traditional slated roof
File:Angers Oisellerie.jpg |Half-timbered houses in rue de l'Oisellerie
File:Vue sur la Doutre, Angers.jpg|View of La Doutre; the industrial port has become a marina
File:Angers - Tramway - Place du Ralliement.jpg|The Place du Ralliement
File:Nouvelles Galeries (Angers).jpg|A department store on a 19th-century street
File:Facade-hlmroseraieangers.jpg|A council estate in La Roseraie
</gallery>