Laval, Mayenne

Laval is a town in western France, about 300 km (190 mi) west-southwest of Paris, and the capital of the Mayenne department. Its inhabitants are called Lavallois. The commune of Laval proper, without the metropolitan area, is the 9th most populous in the Pays de la Loire region. A part of the traditional province of Maine before the French Revolution, which now split between two departments, Mayenne and Sarthe, Laval also lies on the threshold of Brittany and is not far from Normandy and Anjou. It was thus an important stronghold in northwestern France during the Middle Ages. Laval became a city during the 11th century, and was the cradle of the House of Laval, one of the most powerful families in Maine and Brittany. The counts of Laval developed a textile industry around 1300 and made Laval a significant centre for the French Renaissance a century later. The linen industry remained the principal activity in Laval until the 20th century, when milk processing became more profitable.