CHATEAU-GONTIER, a town of western France in the arrondissement of Laval in the department of Mayenne on the Mayenne, 18 m. S. by E. of Laval. Pop. 5,97o. Château Gontier owes its origin and its name to a castle erected in the first half of the 11th century by Gunther, the steward of Fulk Nerra of Anjou, on the site of a farm belonging to the monks of St. Aubin d'Angers. On the extinction of the family, the lordship was assigned by Louis XI. to Philippe de Comines. The church of St. Jean, a relic of the castle, dates from the ' 1th-12th cen turies. The town suffered severely during the wars of the League. In 1793 it was occupied by the Vendeans. It manufactures serge and flannel and is an agricultural market.