Tours

Tours (pop. 133,400), city in west-central France along the Loire River. Established by the Romans in 50 B.C., it served in medieval times as a center for Christian learning. The great Battle of Tours was fought nearby in 732 by the Christian Franks and Muslim armies, effectively stopping the Moorish advance in Europe. During World War II the city became the French government's headquarters. Today Tours is an important wine market and tourist and business center, with banking, insurance, medical- and electrical-equipment manufacturing industries.