Orléans
The Siege of Orléans
In 1429, a months-long English siege of Orléans was broken in days after Joan of Arc arrived to rally the exhausted French garrison, a turning point that reversed the course of the Hundred Years' War.
From the source
Orléans (Frankrijk), waar het beleg op 8 mei 1429 werd opgeheven na het ingrijpen van Jeanne d'Arc.
Editorial reading
By the time Joan of Arc reached Orléans in late April 1429, English forces had encircled the city for over six months, anchored by a ring of fortified bastides. Her arrival galvanized the demoralized defenders, and within little more than a week the key English strongpoints had fallen and the siege was lifted on 8 May 1429 — a date still celebrated in the city today as the Fêtes de Jeanne d'Arc, recognized in 2018 by France as part of its national inventory of intangible cultural heritage. The victory restored French morale and opened the way for Charles VII's coronation at Reims later that year.
Recommendation
Orléans marks the anniversary each May with the Fêtes johanniques, a historical procession and festival tracing the city's deliverance, while its historic core still reflects the medieval street plan the siege once threatened to erase.