Hôtel de Ville, Orléans

Cenabum, Gaul (sometimes written Cenabaum or Genabum) was the name of the capital city of the Carnutes, located near the present French city of Orléans. Cenabum was an oppidum and a thriving commercial town on the Loire river. In 52 BC, during the Gallic Wars, the town was taken by Roman general Julius Caesar and integrated into the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. Acts of resistance from the locals who refused to submit to Roman law were severely repressed and resulted in several massacres and the near-total destruction of the town. In the 3rd century, emperor Aurelian visited Cenabum and decided to have it rebuilt (273-274), and named it after himself: Urbs Aurelianorum. In the 9th century, it took the name Aurelianum, the name later evolved into Orléans.In 498, the city was conquered by Germanic invaders, the Salian Franks and brought into the kingdom of Merovingian king Clovis I.

The Battle of Orléans took place in the year 463 pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Soissons, under the command of the magister militum Aegidius, against those of the Visigoths who were commanded by the Visigoth King Theodoric II and his brother Federico.

Orléans (UK: ; US: , French: [ɔʁleɑ̃] ) is a city in north-central France, about 120 kilometres (74 miles) southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the department of Loiret and of the region of Centre-Val de Loire. Orléans is located on the river Loire nestled in the heart of the Loire Valley, classified as a World Heritage Site, where the river curves south towards the Massif Central. In 2020, the city had 117,026 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries. Orléans is the center of Orléans Métropole that has a population of 290,346. The larger metropolitan area has a population of 454,208, the 20th largest in France.The city owes its development from antiquity to the commercial exchanges resulting from the river. An important river trade port, it was the headquarters of the community of merchants frequenting the Loire. It was the capital of the Kingdom of France during the Merovingian period and played an important role in the Hundred Years' War, particularly known for the role of Joan of Arc during the siege of Orléans. Every first week of May since 1432, the city pays homage to the "Maid of Orléans" during the Johannic Holidays which has been listed in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage in France. One of Europe's oldest universities was created in 1306 by Pope Clement V and re-founded in 1966 as the University of Orléans, hosting more than 20,000 students in 2019.The Île d'Orléans in Quebec, Canada, takes its name from Orléans, as do Orléans, Ontario and the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Second Battle of Orléans was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. It took place on December 3 and 4, 1870 and was part of the Loire Campaign. The Germans recaptured Orléans, which had been retaken by the French on November 11, 1870 after the Battle of Coulmiers, and divided the French Army of the Loire in two. Future king of Serbia, Peter, took part in the battle on the French side. The French lost 20,000 men in two days of combat, including 18,000 captured or missing, as well as 74 guns and four gunboats. German manpower losses amounted to 2,000, of which 400 killed and 1,600 wounded. The Germans lost 368 horses, including 175 killed, 183 wounded and 10 missing.

The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) marked a turning point of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by French forces inspired by the arrival of Joan of Arc. The French would then regain the initiative in the conflict and began to recapture territories previously occupied by the English. The city held strategic and symbolic significance to both sides of the conflict. The consensus among contemporaries was that the English regent, John of Lancaster, would have succeeded in realising his brother the English king Henry V's dream of conquering all of France if Orléans fell. For half a year the English and their French allies appeared to be on the verge of capturing the city, but the siege collapsed nine days after Joan of Arc arrived.

The Musée des beaux-arts d'Orléans is a museum in the city of Orléans in the Loiret department and the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. Founded in 1797, it is one of France's oldest provincial museums. Its collections cover European arts from the 15th to 20th century. The museum owns circa 2,000 paintings (with works by Correggio, Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Sebastiano Ricci, Diego Velázquez, Anthony van Dyck, Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Hubert Robert, Eugène Delacroix (Head of a Woman), Gustave Courbet, 700 sculptures (Baccio Bandinelli), more than 1,200 pieces of decorative arts, 10,000 drawings, 50,000 prints and the second largest collection of pastels in France after that of the Louvre.

The siege of Orléans was the final key military engagement of the first French Wars of Religion. Having lost the Battle of Dreux the rebel Huguenots fell back with their remaining forces to the city. François, Duke of Guise, the only non captive royal commander, moved to lay siege to the town, hoping its capitulation would bring about a total victory for the crowns forces. However, despite reducing the suburbs, he would be assassinated at the siege before he could bring it to a conclusion. As a result the captive Louis, Prince of Condé and Anne de Montmorency at Catherine de' Medici's direction were able to negotiate a compromise end to the first war in the Edict of Amboise.

Orléans Cathedral (French: Basilique Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans) is a Roman Catholic church located in the city of Orléans, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Orléans. It was originally built from 1278 to 1329. It was partially destroyed in 1568 by the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion, but was rebuilt between 1601 and 1829. The edifice is in the Gothic architectural style. During the Siege of Orléans, the cathedral was visited frequently by Joan of Arc. The cathedral's stained glass windows now depict the story of Joan's actions that contributed to the lifting of the siege.

The First Council of Orléans was convoked by Clovis I, King of the Franks, in 511. Clovis called for this synod four years after his victory over the Visigoths under Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The council was attended by thirty-two bishops, including four metropolitans, from across Gaul, and together they passed thirty-one decrees. The bishops met at Orléans to reform the church and construct a strong relationship between the crown and the Catholic episcopate, the majority of the canons reflecting compromise between these two institutions. The 511 Council of Orléans was the first national Merovingian church council. It was an important milestone in creating a unified Gallic Church under Frankish rule, and accordingly the matters addressed at the council reflected the concerns of the Catholic episcopate in this new political context. The council established a Merovingian conciliar tradition, being the first of ‘no less than forty-five provincial and national Church councils’ in the sixth century.

The canton of Orléans-4 is an administrative division of the Loiret department, central France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Orléans.It consists of the following communes: Orléans (partly)

The Orléanais Historical and Archaeological Museum (French - Hôtel Cabu - Musée d'Histoire et d'Archéologie) is a local history museum at 22 rue de Charles Sanglier in Orléans. It was founded in 1823 by André Gaspard Parfait, count of Bizemont-Prunelé and assistant mayor of Orléans and includes the Neuvy-en-Sullias Hoard, a collection of medieval objects and other objects on the history of the city and area. It is a Museum of France.

Orléans station (French: Gare d'Orléans) is a railway station serving the city Orléans, Loiret department, central France. It is situated on the Paris–Bordeaux railway. The Gare d'Orléans is a terminus station, and therefore TGV and most other long-distance trains only serve the nearby Les Aubrais station.