Mirebeau

Mirebeau
Coat of arms
Mirebeau
Location within Poitou-Charentes region Mirebeau
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Vienne
Arrondissement	Poitiers
Canton	Mirebeau
Intercommunality	Mirebalais
Government
• Mayor	Daniel Girardeau
Area1	13.84 km2 (5.34 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	2,256
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	86160 / 86110
Elevation	89–158 m (292–518 ft) (avg. 152 m or 499 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Mirebeau is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.

History

Fulk Nerra (970-1040), Count of Anjou conquered Mirebeau and built a castle there. His son, Geoffrey of Anjou, defeated William VI, Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou at the battle of Moncontour on September 20,1033, and from that date Mirebeau belonged to the county of Anjou until 1790, and the replacement of the old provinces by departements during the French revolution.

In mid-July 1202, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was blocked there by the army of the King of France commanded by Arthur, Duke of Brittany, a grand-son of Eleanor's. The latter took the city, and was about to storm the castle when Eleanor managed to flee, rescued by the arrival of her son John Lackland on August 1st. John, attacking from the rear, annihilated Arthur's troops and captured his nephew, whom he would kill in prison in April 1203 (one of the versions of the death of Arthur).

Demographics

Historical population of Mirebeau

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
Population	2072	2142	2270	2379	2299	2254	2256

Twin towns

• Bassemyam, Burkina Faso
• Membrilla, Spain
• Regen, Germany
• Saint-raymond, Quebec

See also

• Communes of the Vienne department

References

• INSEE