Aubigné-Racan

Aubigné-Racan is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France.

Aubigné-Racan
Commune
The ruins of the theatre
Coat of arms
Location of Aubigné-Racan
Aubigné-Racan Show map of France Aubigné-Racan Show map of Pays de la Loire
Coordinates: 47°41′29″N 0°16′07″E
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Sarthe
Arrondissement	La Flèche
Canton	Le Lude
Intercommunality	CC Sud Sarthe
Government
• Mayor (2014-2020)	Philippe Leguet
Area ^1	32.03 km^2 (12.37 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[1]	2,120
• Density	66/km^2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	72620 /72800
Elevation	37–118 m (121–387 ft) (avg. 31 m or 102 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Sights

In the surrounding countryside, one can find prehistoric standing stones, or dolmens ("dolmen de la Pierre" and "dolmen du Colombier").

Aubigné-Racan is also the site of the archeological excavation of Cherré, a Gallo-Roman complex of 20 hectares from the 1st to the 3rd centuries. The site was likely a rural centre of commercial and religious activity before the Roman conquest. Excavations in 1977 by C. Lambert and J. Rioufreyt discovered an ancient theatre, two temples, Roman thermae, a forum and an aqueduct.

The town has a Romanesque church from the 11th century.

People

Aubigné-Racan is the birthplace of the 17th century poet and dramatist Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan. His birthplace, the Manoir de Champmarin, is still standing.

See also

• Communes of the Sarthe department

References

1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.