Bayeux
Bayeux (pronounced ) is a small town and
commune in the
Calvados département, in
Normandy, northwestern
France.
Bayeux is a
sous-préfecture of Calvados. It is the chief-town of the
arrondissement of Bayeux and of the
canton of Bayeux.
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 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
June 14,
1944 General
Charles de Gaulle made his first important speech on liberated French soil in Bayeux. The town hosts the largest British war cemetery in Normandy.
[The Battle of Normandy:The Memory] |
Bayeux Cathedral |
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. It is displayed in a museum in the town centre. The town also has a large Norman-Romanesque cathedral, consecrated in
1077, which was the original home of the tapestry.
The inhabitants of Bayeux are called
Bayeusains or
Bajocasses .
The
Communauté de communes Bayeux Intercom has a population (2004) of 28,366.
Bishops
Bishops of Bayeux include:
*
Odo of BayeuxBirths
Bayeux was the birthplace of:
*
Saint Marcouf*
Alain Chartier (c.
1392-c.
1430),
poet and political
writer*
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
