Every year, before exams, students invoke Saint Radegonde before the sarcophagus which contains the relics of this Merovingian queen of the 6th century. If successful, they deposit one of these ex-votos which contribute to the notoriety of the saint. Among the thousands of plaques that adorn the church bearing his name, the visitor can read: “Pour un bac”, “Pour Sciences Po” or even this thank you from Edgard de Montjou for his election as deputy in 1902… Even Anne d Austria, in 1658, grateful, had a statue erected there for the healing of her son Louis XIV.
Proud of its past, Poitiers has many stories to tell. If the city is known today for its Futuroscope, it has long been, as the capital of Aquitaine, one of the largest cities in France. In 1569, Admiral de Coligny, at the head of a Protestant coalition, wanted to conquer it, besieging and bombarding it. By chance, one of its cannonballs stuck on the cathedral, a few centimeters from the stained glass window of the choir, a medallion of which represents Henri Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine, a precious portrait because it is the only one made during the Queen’s lifetime.
A lively and young city center
Joan of Arc stays there
One of the most student cities in France
In 1431, King Charles VII created the University of Poitiers to reward the city for its loyalty, and also because the occupation of Paris during the Hundred Years War disrupted the functioning of the Sorbonne. 590 years later, Poitiers receives around 30,000 students, which makes it one of the most student cities in France. Francis Bacon, a 16th century philosopher, and the former president of Côte d’Ivoire Henri Konan Bédié studied there. In 2005, the city hosted the first Confucius Institute in France, thus concretizing the role of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the most Chinese of Poitevins.
When the city was the capital of Belgium
In May 1940, Belgium was invaded by the German army. The Belgian government in exile took refuge in Poitiers on May 22 and took up residence in the hotels of the city, thus making Poitiers the capital of Belgium for three weeks. Learning of the capitulation of Leopold III, the Council of Ministers notes there “the impossibility of reigning” of the king and decides to continue the fight. On June 18, part of the government reached London. In 1950, Belgium offers Poitiers one of the six official copies of the Manneken-Piswhich still sits today in the lobby of the police station.
Sainte Radegonde
Germanic princess, Radegonde was born around 520 in Thuringia. After the invasion of this province in central Germany by Clotaire I, son of Clovis, the King of the Franks kidnapped her and married her around 538 against her will. Humble and devout, she flees this violent husband and takes refuge in Poitiers. Clotaire ends up submitting and builds a monastery for him. Having become the object of a real cult, she has been resting in the Sainte-Radegonde church since 587.
#Walk #Poitiers #beautiful #Aquitaine
