Bayeux
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Please expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French Wikipedia. (December 2008) After translating, {{Translated|fr|Bayeux}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance.Translation instructions · Translate via Google |
Coordinates: 49°16′46″N 0°42′10″W / 49.279445°N 0.702778°W
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Commune of Bayeux |
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  Bayeux Cathedral |
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| Location | |
  Bayeux
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Basse-Normandie |
| Department | Calvados |
| Arrondissement | Bayeux |
| Canton | Bayeux |
| Intercommunality | Bayeux Intercom |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 32–67 m (100–220 ft) |
| Land area1 | 7.11 km2 (2.75 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 14,961 (1999) |
| - Density | 2,104 /km2 (5,450 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 14047/ 14400 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Bayeux (French pronunciation: [bajø]) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in north-western France.
Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the oldest surviving complete tapestries in the world.[1]
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[edit] Administration
Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados. It is the seat of the arrondissement of Bayeux and of the canton of Bayeux.
[edit] Location
Bayeux is located seven kilometres from the coast of La Manche (English Channel) and 30 km north-west of Caen. The city, with elevations varying from 32 to 67 meters above sea level – with an average of 46 meters above sea level – is bisected by the river Aure. Bayeux is located at the crossroads of RN 13 and the train route Paris-Caen-Cherbourg. The city is the capital of the Bessin, which extends north-west of Calvados.
[edit] History
The area around Bayeux is called the Bessin, which was a province of France until the French Revolution. The name of the city and the region come from the Celtic tribe inhabiting the Bajocasses region. During the Second World War, Bayeux was the first city in France to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy, and on 16 June 1944 General Charles de Gaulle made his first major speech in Bayeux in which he made clear that France sided with the Allies. The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy, the German forces being fully involved in defending Caen from the Allies.
The Bayeux War Cemetery with its memorial includes the largest British cemetery dating from the Second World War in France. There are 4648 graves, including 3935 British and 466 Germans. Most of those buried there were killed in the invasion of Normandy.
[edit] Heraldry
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the arms of Bayeux are blazoned : |
[edit] Natural features
The river Aure flows through Bayeux, offering panoramic views from a number of locations. The Aure has a relatively high level of turbidity and the speed of its brownish water is moderate because of the slight slope of the watercourse, although where it is narrow in places like the center of Bayeux, higher surface speeds are generated. In the center of Bayeux near the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, pH levels were measured at 8.35 and the electrical conductivity of water was tested at 37 microsiemens per centimeter. Turbidity was measured at 13 centimeters by the Secchi disk method. At this point of reference, flows are generally of the order of 50 cubic feet per second.[2]
[edit] Sights
Bayeux is a major tourist attraction, best known to British and French visitors for the Bayeux tapestry, made to commemorate events in the Norman Conquest of England in1066. The tapestry was made by Reine Mathilde, wife of William the Conqueror, and may have been woven in England.[3] It is displayed in a museum in the town centre. The large Norman-Romanesque Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux,[4] consecrated in 1077, was arguably the original home of the tapestry.
The Jardin botanique de Bayeux is a botanical garden dating from 1864.
[edit] People connected with Bayeux
- Muriel Barbery (born 1969), writer
- Berengar II of Neustria (died 896 AD), Count of Bayeux
- Roger Bésus (1915-1994), sculptor and writer
- Frédéric Born (born 1975), footballer
- Alain Chartier (1392-1430), politician and poet
- Pierre Du Bosc (1623-1692), preacher
- Franck Dumas (born 1968), footballer and coach Stage Malherbe de Caen
- Jean-Léonce Dupont (born 1955), senator and former mayor
- Arcisse de Caumont (1801-1873), archaeologist, founded the Societé des Antiquaires de Normandy
- François de Caumont (1768-1848), designer and painter
- Miss George (1787-1867), actress and mistress of Napoleon
- Lenepveu Georges (1857-1923), inventor and master glassmaker
- François Gérard (1770-1837), painter and member of Bayeux
- Jean Grémillon (1901-1959), film director
- Rupalley Joachim (1718-1780) painter
- Alfred Lair of Beauvais (1820-1869), organist and composer
- Robert Lefèvre (1755-1830), painter
- Lionel Lemonchois (born 1960), navigator
- Cieux Léon (1821-1873), violinist
- Damien Letulle (born 1973), Olympic archer
- Rupalley Gabriel Narcisse (1745-1798), painter
- Saint Marcouf (died 588 AD), saint born in Bayeux, best known for the healing of scrofula
- Eric Navet (born 1959), jockey
- Poppa of Bayeux, daughter of Berengar II, wife of Rollo
- Saint Vigor (died 537 AD), bishop of Bayeux from 513 to 537, destroyed a pagan temple in Bayeux
- William the Conqueror/Duke of Normandy, Conqueror of England in 1066
[edit] Demographics
- The inhabitants of Bayeux are called Bayeusains [bajøˑsɛ̃] or Bajocasses [bajokas].
[edit] See also
 Near the Centre Guillaume le Conquérant |
 Streets of Bayeux |
 Main entrance to Bayeux War Cemetery |
 The Cross of Sacrifice in cemetery |
[edit] References
- ^ Bayeux Tapestry description
- ^ http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux
- ^ World Book Encyclopedia, p. 177, World Book Inc.
- ^ Cathedral of Bayeux: France Tourism Summaries
[edit] External links
- Minosh Photography
- Official Web site
- Tourist office Web site
- Satellite photo on Google Maps
- British War Cemetery
- Bayeux Tapestry Generator
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