akes the form of a series of cupolas, and that of the choir and
transept is similar. The chief treasures of the church are its rich
stained glass (12th, 13th and 15th centuries) and valuable tapestry
(14th to 18th centuries). The bishop's palace which adjoins the
cathedral contains a fine synodal hall of the 12th century. Of the
other churches of Angers, the principal are St. Serge, an abbey-church
of the 12th and 15th centuries, and La Trinite (12th century). The
prefecture occupies the buildings of the famous abbey of St. Aubin; in
its courtyard are elaborately sculptured arcades of the 11th and 12th
centuries, from which period dates the tower, the only survival of the
splendid abbey-church. Ruins of the old churches of Toussaint (13th
century) and Notre-Dame du Ronceray (11th century) are also to be
seen. The castle of Angers, an imposing building girt with towers and
a moat, dates from the 13th century and is now used as an armoury.
The ancient hospital of St. Jean (12th century) is occupied by an
archaeological museum; and the Logis Barrault, a mansion built about
1500, contains the public library, the municipal museum, which has
a large collection of pictures and sculptures, and the Musee David,
containing works by the famous sculptor David d'Angers, who was a
native of the town. One of his masterpieces, a bronze statue of Rene
of Anjou, stands close by the castle. The Hotel de Pince or d'Anjou
(1523-1530) is the finest of the stone mansions of Angers; there are
also many curious wooden houses of the 15th and 16th centuries. The
palais de justice, the Catholic institute, a fine theatre, and
a hospital with 1500 beds are the more remarkable of the modern
buildings of the town. Angers is the seat of a bishopric, dating
from the 3rd century, a prefecture, a court of appeal and a court of
assizes. It has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal of commerce,
a board of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce, a branch of
the Bank of France and several learned societies. Its educational
institutions include ecclesiastical seminaries, a lycee, a preparatory
school of medicine and pharmacy, a university with free faculties
(_facultes libres_) of theology, law, letters and science, a higher
school of agriculture, training colleges, a school of arts and
handicrafts and a school of fine art. The prosperity of the town
is largely due to the great slate-quarries of the vicinity, but the
distillation of liqueurs from fruit, ca