Bayeux
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Bayeux |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Basse-Normandie |
| Department | Calvados |
| Arrondissement | Bayeux |
| Canton | Bayeux |
| Intercommunality | Bayeux Intercom |
| Statistics | |
| Land area¹ | 7.11 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
14,961 |
| 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. | |
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Bayeux (pronounced /bajø/) is a commune in the Calvados département, in Normandy in northwestern 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-préfecture of Calvados. It is the seat of the arrondissement of Bayeux and of the canton of Bayeux.
[edit] Location
Bayeux is located just a few kilometres from the coast of the English Channel, and between the city of Caen to the east and the base of the Cotentin Peninsula to the west. The River Aure runs through the town of Bayeux.
[edit] History
The area around Bayeux is called the Bessin which was a province of France until the French Revolution. The name of the town and of its region come from the Celtic tribe of Bajocasses who inhabited the area. During the Second World War Bayeux was one of the first French towns to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy, and on 16 June 1944 General Charles de Gaulle made his first important speech on liberated French soil in Bayeux. The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy as the German forces defending the town were pulled away to help defend Caen. The town hosts the largest British war cemetery in Normandy.[2]
[edit] Natural features
The River Aure flows through Bayeux and affords scenic views from a number of locations. The Aure river has relatively high turbidity and its brownish water is moderate in velocity due to the slight gradient of the watercourse, although the narrow channel in locations like Bayeux centre engenders higher surface velocities; pH levels have been measured at 8.35 in the centre of Bayeux near the Bayeux Tapestry Museum[3] and electrical conductivity of the waters have tested at 37 micro-siemens per centimetre. Turbidity has been measured at 13 centimetres by the Secchi disc method. At this reference location of Bayeux centre, summer flows are typically in the range of 50 cubic feet per second.
[edit] Sights
Bayeux is a major tourist attraction, best known to British and French visitors for the Bayeux tapestry, made to commemorate the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The tapestry is believed to have been woven in England.[4] It is displayed in a museum in the town centre. The large Norman-Romanesque Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux,[5] consecrated in 1077, was the original home of the tapestry.
[edit] Miscellaneous
The inhabitants of Bayeux are called Bayeusains /bajøˑsɛ̃/ or Bajocasses /bajokas/.
The communauté de communes Bayeux Intercom has a population (2004) of 28,366.
[edit] Bishops
Bishops of Bayeux include:
[edit] Births
Bayeux was the birthplace of:
- Saint Marcouf
- Berengar of Rennes
- Alain Chartier (c. 1392-c. 1430), poet and political writer
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bayeux Tapestry description
- ^ The Battle of Normandy:The Memory
- ^ Hogan, C. Michael, Water quality of freshwater bodies in France, Lumina Technologies Press, Aberdeen, Scotland (2006)
- ^ World Book Encyclopedia, p. 177, World book Inc.
- ^ Cathedral of Bayeux: France Tourism Summaries
[edit] External links
- Minosh Photography
- City council website
- Tourist office website
- Satellite photo, via Google Maps
- Panoramic photos and Quicktime movies of the British War Cemetery here
- Bayeux Tapestry Generator
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