Saumur

Town in Maine-et-Loire département, France, on the left bank of the River Loire 43 km/28 mi southeast of Angers; population (1990) 31,900. The cavalry school (the Cadre Noir), founded in 1768, has since 1942 also been a training school for the French armed forces. The area produces wines, especially the sparkling Vins de Saumur, as well as mushrooms and other vegetables.

Electrical goods, hosiery, rosaries, and enamels are manufactured here. It is a tourist centre, and nearby are caves with the dolmen of Bagneuz (a prehistoric tomb) and other Celtic remains. Saumur was historically a stronghold of the Huguenots (French Protestants).