Cholet
Cholet | |
|---|---|
Location of  | |
| Country | France |
| Arrondissement | Cholet |
| Canton | Chief town of 3 cantons |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 49099 / |
Cholet (probably from Latin cauletum, "cabbage") is a town in western France, capital of an arrondissement in the Maine-et-Loire département, Pays-de-la-Loire région, 41 miles south-east of Nantes. Population (1999): 54,204. In 1906, the population was 16,554.
Geography
Cholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which used to be crossed by a bridge from the 15th century.
History
The town owes the rise of its prosperity to the settlement of weavers there by Édouard Colbert, count of Maulevrier, a brother of the great Jean-Baptiste Colbert. It then became an estate of Gabriel François, Count de Rougé and Marquess of Cholet, who developed the city and its economy. The main commercial mall being built this year is named after him: The "Arcades Rougé".
Sights
A public garden occupies the site of the old castle; the public buildings and churches, for example the Church of the Sacred Heart (1939), are modern.
Megalithic monuments are numerous in the neighborhood. [citation needed]
A textile museum (Musée du Textile) exists to conserve the traditional machines used to create the famous handkerchiefs made in this town, as well as the techniques used to make them and the oral and local history associated with the industry.
Economy
There are granite quarries in the vicinity of the town. The chief industry is the manufacture of linen and linen handkerchiefs, which is also carried on in the neighboring communes on a large scale. Woollen and cotton fabrics are also produced, and bleaching and the manufacture of preserved foods are carried on. Cholet is the most important centre in France for the sale of fat cattle, sheep and pigs, for which Paris is the chief market.
Miscellaneous
The public institutions include the sub-prefecture, a tribunal of first instance, a chamber of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, and a communal college.
Twin towns
Cholet is twinned with:
- Oldenburg, Germany since 1985
- Dorohoi, Romania
- Solihull, United Kingdom
- Denia, Spain
- Sao, Burkina Faso - cooperation
- Le Bas-Richelieu Regional County Municipality (Quebec, Canada) - twinning of the communauté d'agglomération
Notable people
External links
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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