Aubigné-Racan

Aubigné-Racan
Commune
The ruins of the theatre
Coat of arms
Location of Aubigné-Racan
Aubigné-Racan Aubigné-Racan
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 (2020–2026)	Nicolas Mourier
Area 1	32.03 km2 (12.37 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	2,103
• Density	66/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	72013 /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 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Aubigné-Racan (French pronunciation: [obiɲe ʁakɑ̃]) is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,858	—
1975	1,942	+0.63%
1982	1,923	−0.14%
1990	2,103	+1.12%
1999	2,100	−0.02%
2007	2,077	−0.14%
2012	2,144	+0.64%
2017	2,120	−0.22%
Source: INSEE

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