Mont-Saint-Aignan (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ sɛ̃t‿ɛɲɑ̃]) is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the region of Normandy, northwestern France.

Mont-Saint-Aignan
The church in Mont-Saint-Aignan
The church in Mont-Saint-Aignan
Coat of arms of Mont-Saint-Aignan
Location of Mont-Saint-Aignan
Map
Mont-Saint-Aignan is located in France
Mont-Saint-Aignan
Mont-Saint-Aignan
Mont-Saint-Aignan is located in Normandy
Mont-Saint-Aignan
Mont-Saint-Aignan
Coordinates: 49°27′47″N 1°05′18″E / 49.4630°N 1.0883°E / 49.4630; 1.0883
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentSeine-Maritime
ArrondissementRouen
CantonMont-Saint-Aignan
IntercommunalityMétropole Rouen Normandie
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Catherine Flavigny[1]
Area
1
7.94 km2 (3.07 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
20,066
 • Density2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
76451 /76130
Elevation44–171 m (144–561 ft)
(avg. 145 m or 476 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the town of Mont-Saint-Aignan are called Mont-Saint-Aignanais in French.[3]

Due to the presence of higher education institutions (notably the University of Rouen and the NEOMA Business School) and the city's relatively small population, Mont-Saint-Aignan is considered the French city that has the largest proportion of students relative to its population (students represented in 2014 25,61% of the total population).[4]

Geography edit

The town is the fifth-largest suburb of the city of Rouen and lies directly adjacent to the north side of Rouen at the junction of the D121 and D43. In addition to its population of 21,265, there are also around 20,000 students at the University and the various Grandes Écoles.

History edit

The town is ultimately named for the ancient Saint Aignan of Orleans.

The parishes of Saint-Aignan (Latin: Sanctus Anianus) and Mont-aux-Malades (Monte Infirmorum, which takes its name from a hospital) are mentioned in documents dating back to the 12th century. Henry II built a church there dedicated to Thomas Becket in 1176 in an attempt to make up for his unwitting role in the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The modern commune of Mont-Saint-Aignan was created in the early 19th century (1815–1819) out of the merger of the communes of Monts-aux-Malades, Saint-Aignan and (partly) Saint-Denis-de-Bondeville.

Heraldry edit

 
Arms of Mont-Saint-Aignan
Arms of Mont-Saint-Aignan are blazoned :
Or, a leopard gules within a laurel wreath vert, and on a chief indented azure, 3 fleurs de lys and 2 half ones Or



People edit

Population edit

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 625—    
1800 976+6.57%
1806 754−4.21%
1821 1,617+5.22%
1831 1,929+1.78%
1836 2,116+1.87%
1841 2,382+2.40%
1846 2,369−0.11%
1851 2,567+1.62%
1856 2,603+0.28%
1861 2,888+2.10%
1866 3,045+1.06%
1872 2,909−0.76%
1876 2,985+0.65%
1881 3,115+0.86%
1886 3,408+1.81%
1891 3,379−0.17%
1896 3,729+1.99%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 4,151+2.17%
1906 4,242+0.43%
1911 4,316+0.35%
1921 4,942+1.36%
1926 5,262+1.26%
1931 5,588+1.21%
1936 5,845+0.90%
1946 6,585+1.20%
1954 7,358+1.40%
1962 9,989+3.90%
1968 16,031+8.20%
1975 19,146+2.57%
1982 19,736+0.43%
1990 19,961+0.14%
1999 21,265+0.71%
2007 20,207−0.64%
2012 19,798−0.41%
2017 18,850−0.98%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968–2017)[6]

Places of interest edit

  • The church of St. Jacques, dating from the eleventh century, used as a workshop after the Revolution
  • The church of St. Thomas, dating from the twelfth century
  • The sixteenth century church of St. Aignan
  • The nineteenth century church of St. André
  • The modern church of Notre-Dame-de-Miséricorde (1970)
  • The chapel of the Petit-Séminaire (1862)
  • Several ancient houses

Colleges and universities edit

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Mont-Saint-Aignan is twinned with:[7]

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Seine-Maritime, habitants.fr
  4. ^ (in French) Classement des villes étudiantes Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Mont-Saint-Aignan, EHESS (in French).
  6. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  7. ^ "Jumelages". montsaintaignan.fr (in French). Mont-Saint-Aignan. Retrieved 2019-11-20.

External links edit