Bricquebec

Bricquebec
Château de Bricquebec
Bricquebec
Location within Lower Normandy region  Bricquebec
Administration
Country	France
Region	Lower Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Cherbourg
Canton	Bricquebec
Mayor	Henri-Louis Védie (PR) (2008–2014)
Statistics
Land area1	32.66 km2 (12.61 sq mi)
Population2	4,442  (1999)
- Density	136 /km2 (350 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	50082/ 50260
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Bricquebec, a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.

Inhabitants are referred to as Bricquebétais.

History

As revealed by the etymology of its name, the origin of Bricquebec (from the Scandinavian bekkr, a course of water; in turn from brekka, slope) is connected to the Viking colonisation of the Cotentin peninsula at the beginning of the 10th century. Tradition attributes the foundation of the château to the Norman, Anslech. The dukes of Normandy made Bricquebec one of their strongholds.

Heraldry

The arms of Bricquebec are blazoned : Or, a lion vert armed and langued gules.

Monuments

• Château (XII^e), with polygonal ramparts, towers and turret (historical monument class).
• Château des Galleries (XVI^e/XVII^e)
• Abbaye Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (Cistercian) (XIX^e)
• Château Saint-Blaise (XVII^e/XIX^e)

Events

• Market every Monday morning
• La Sainte Anne traditional fair on the last weekend in July

People

• Jean Le Marois (1776–1836), a general under Napoléon, député of la Manche.
• Armand Le Véel (1821–1905), statue sculptor
• Aristide Frémine (1837–1897), writer
• Roger Lemerre, soccer player, born in 1941, selected for national team of France, 1998–2002

Sources

• The French Wikipedia article this one was translated from on January 26, 2006

See also

• The Trappe de Bricquebec cheese
• The Trappiste de Bricquebec cheese