ORLEANS, an important commercial t. of France, capital of the department of Loiret, and formerly capital of the old province of Orlcannais, which now forms the greeter part of the departments of Loiret, Eure-et-Loir, and Loir-et-Cher, is situated on the right bank of the Loire, here crossed by a bridge of 9 arches, and is 754 m. S.S.W. of Paris by railway. Close to- the city is the forest of Orleans, one of the largest in the country, consisting of 94,000 acres, planted with oak and other valuable trees. Orleans stands on the verge of a magnificent plain sloping toward the Loire, and watered by the Loire and Loiret, and is surrounded on the land-side by a wall and dry ditches, on either side of which there are pleasantly shaded boulevards. Around it are eight prosperous and populous suburbs. Among its principal buildings are the cathedral, with two lofty and elegant towers, one of the finest Gothic edifices in the country; the tower; bishop's residence; the houses of Joan of Arc, of Agnes Sorrel, of Diane de Poitiers, of Francois I., of Pothier; the churches and hospitals, which are numerous; the mtmge, the theater. etc. The town contains three statues of Joan of Arc, of which the equestrian one was.
inaugurated in 1855. The situation of the town has many commercial advantages, arising from its position on a navigable river, on lines of railway which connect it with Paris and the great trading towns in the s. of France, and on the canal which connects the Loire with the Seine. Hosiery, cotton and linen goods, refined sugar, vinegar, bleached wax, leather, etc., are manufactured; and the trade is chiefly in stockings, sheepskins, wine, brandy, corn, and sugar. Pop. '76, 49,896.
Orleans, originally called Genabum, afterward Aureliani (probably from the emperor Aurelian), of which the modern name is only a corruption, was besieged by Attila in 451, hut relieved by the Romans, who here defeated Attila. It afterwards passed into the hands of the Franks, was taken by the Northmen in 855. and again in S65. In 1423 it was besieged by the English under the duke of Bedford, but was delivered by Joan of Arc (q.v.), therefore named the Maid of Orleans. In the wars of the 16th c., Orleans suffered severely. It was taken by the Germans in 1870, and was their center of opera tions against the French army of the Loire.