Laval

Laval, capital of the department of Mayenne, and one of the most picturesque towns of France, is situated on the river Mayenne, 46 miles by rail E. of Rennes. Its chief buildings, both dating from the 12th century, are the cruciform cathedral and the old ducal castle of the Trémouilles (a prison now), in whose courtyard young Philip de la Trémouille, Prince de Talmont, was guillotined by the Republicans in 1794. Since the 13th century, when Flemish weavers settled here, the town has been the centre of a district noted for its linen-manufactures—linen, ticking, sacking, &c. In the vicinity the Vendéans defeated the Republicans in 1793. Pop. (1872) 24,255; (1891) 38,405.