Baugé

Baugé lies in the wooded country of eastern Anjou, where the castle of René of Anjou overlooks a small town and its river valley. The duke's residence recalls a period when the rulers of Anjou maintained courts and hunting estates beyond their principal city of Angers.

In March 1421 a Franco-Scottish army defeated English forces near Baugé. Thomas, Duke of Clarence and brother of Henry V, was killed, giving the French and their allies a notable victory during the Hundred Years' War. More than two centuries later, in 1650, the Hôtel-Dieu opened to care for the sick and poor of the town and surrounding country, founded through the efforts of Marthe de la Beausse and Anne de Melun with the support of hospital sisters.