On May 26, 2026, the French postal service, La Poste, will issue a stamp in its tourist series featuring the medieval town of Sainte-Suzanne, nicknamed the "Pearl of Maine."
Nestled in a landscape of verdant hills, the medieval town of Sainte-Suzanne, nicknamed the "Pearl of Maine," has forged its reputation as a rebellious town through a unique history, largely shaped by its geography. Perched on a rocky spur with steep slopes, on the edge of the Coëvrons mountains and the Anjou plain, the village overlooks the Erve River, which flows 70 meters below.
In the Middle Ages, a ring of ramparts was built to reinforce this natural defense, capable of slowing down attackers. It was against this obstacle that William the Conqueror would encounter resistance. From 1083 to 1086, the Duke of Normandy and King of England besieged Sainte-Suzanne, held by Hubert de Beaumont, Viscount of Maine. From his keep, he valiantly resisted the Norman troops for four years. The Viscount's tenacity prevailed over the English, who then lifted the siege. Sainte-Suzanne remains in the annals as the only town to have resisted William the Conqueror!
The imposing 11th-century keep still stands, as does the castle's main building, an elegant sandstone and tufa stone structure with a slate roof, perched on the edge of the cliff. It was built in the 17th century by Fouquet de La Varenne, a former minister to Henry IV, for Marguerite of France, known as "Queen Margot." It now houses the Coëvrons-Mayenne Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Centre.
Still sheltered behind its ramparts, the village has preserved its medieval charm along its cobbled streets, lined with stone facades and adorned with flowers. On the banks of the Erve River, the paper mill, with its creaking wood, perpetuates a tradition dating back to the 13th century. All these assets have earned this emblematic town of the Mayenne region the distinction of being both a "Small Town of Character" (since 1992) and one of the "Most Beautiful Villages of France," much to the delight of its 350,000 annual visitors.
