Orléans

Orléans stands at the northern bend of the Loire, where a bridge carries the road between Paris and the lands to the south. A city of churches, merchants and scholars, it grew wealthy from the traffic of the river. Its university was renowned for the study of law, while the cathedral of Sainte-Croix dominated the city’s skyline.

During the Hundred Years’ War, English forces surrounded Orléans in 1428. Joan of Arc reached the city the following spring, and French attacks on the English positions broke the siege in May 1429. The victory opened the way for Charles VII’s coronation at Reims and made Joan’s deliverance of Orléans central to the city’s memory. Its inhabitants commemorated the lifting of the siege with an annual procession.