LOUDUN

'Loudun' ('''Loudùn''' in Poitevin-Saintongeais language) is a small town and ''commune'' of approximately 9,000 inhabitants in the Vienne ''département'' and in the Poitou-Charentes ''région'' of France. It is located 30 km south of the town of Chinon and 25km to the east of the town Thouars.

Contents

Geography

Sights

Miscellaneous

Famous ''Loudunois''

See also

External links

Geography

★ Approximate Latitude= 46-47 degrees N. Latitude

★ Approximate Longitude= 0-1 degrees E. Longitude

Sights

An ancient town, Loudun contains numerous old streets, and buildings and monuments of which five are Government-listed monuments. It is also the location of a vicus type archaeological site.

Miscellaneous

The 1952 book titled ''The Devils of Loudun'' by Aldous Huxley tells the story of the trial of Urbain Grandier, priest of the town who was tortured and burned at the stake in 1634. He was accused of being in league with the devil and having seduced an entire convent of nuns, in what is seen by many scholars as one of the most sensational cases of mass possession and sexual hysteria in recorded history.
Based on Huxley's book, in 1969, Krzysztof Penderecki created an opera of the same name. The following year, Ken Russell directed the film ''The Devils'', also based on Huxley's book, and a play by John Whiting (although the surrealistic depiction of Loundon in the film bears no resemblance to the actual town).

Famous ''Loudunois''

Loudun is the birthplace of:

★ Jean Salmon Macrin (1490-1557), Neo-Latin poet

★ Théophraste Renaudot (1586-1653), medical practitioner, inventor of French written press, journalist, philanthropist

★ Ismaël Bullialdus (1604-1694), astronomer

★ Marie Besnard, accused of poisoning in the '50s in what was a very mediatized trial; her story was the subject of a successful tv movie and of several books

★ René Monory, mayor of Loudun, senator of Vienne, president of the French Senate, Minister of Education, president of the Vienne General Council, fonder of the Futuroscope park of Poitiers

★ Nicolas Ghesquière (1972 - ), creator at the head 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:

★ André Andrejew (March 16, 1967), French-Russian classic film production designer, built decors for movies produced in Germany, France, England and the US.

See also

★ Lugus

External links

★ Tourisme Loudun (in French)