Lisieux

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Lisieux is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France.

Geography

Lisieux lies in the bottom of the valley of the river Touques and on the road from Paris to Caen (RN13).

Administration

Lisieux amalgamated with the commune of Saint Jacques in 1960. The old INSEE code for the old commune was 14594.

The Communauté de communes Lisieux Pays d'Auge includes 24 communes and has a population of 36,085 inhabitants (as of 2004).

The city is chief town of three cantons. They cover 30 communes and have a total population of 37,792 inhabitants:

• The Canton of Lisieux-1 consists of part of Lisieux and communes of Beuvillers, Cordebugle, Courtonne la Meurdrac, Fauguernon, Firfol, Fumichon, Glos, Hermival les Vaux, L'Hôtellerie, Marolles, Le Mesnil Guillaume, Moyaux, Ouilly du Houley, Ouilly le Vicomte, Le Pin and Rocques (12,011 inhabitants);

• The canton of Lisieux-2 consists of part of Lisieux and the commune of Saint Martin de la Lieue (13,362 inhabitants);

• The canton of Lisieux-3 consists of part of Lisieux and communes of La Boissière, La Houblonnière, Lessard et -Chêne, Le Mesnil Eudes, Le Mesnil Simon, Les Monceaux, Le Pré d'Auge, Prêtreville, Saint Désir, Saint-Germain de Livet, Saint Jean de Livet and Saint Pierre des Ifs (12,419 inhabitants).

Demography

Lisieux has a population of 24,080 inhabitants (1999). The population without double accounts is 23,166 inhabitants (1999). The metropolitan area has a population of 45,065.

History

The Lexovians were the tribes of Lisieux in the Gallic times. This is where the commune name comes from. It was known as Noviomagus or Noviomagus Lexoviorum in ancient times.

• 1906: The first takeoff of a helicopter, produced by Paul Cornu.
• June6, 1944: Bombardment of Lisieux (more than 800 victims), the city is partially destroyed.
• August 23, 1944: Liberation by the allied troops

Ecclesiastical history

The first known Bishop of Lisieux is Theodibandes, mentioned in connexion with a council held in 538. The most celebrated among his successors were Freculfus (d. 850), a pupil of the palace school founded by Charlemagne, and author of a universal history; Arnoul (1141-81), statesman and writer; Nicole Oresne (1378-82), philosopher, mathematician, and tutor to Charles V; Pierre Cauchon (1432-42), concerned in the condemnation of Joan of Arc; Thomas Basin (1447-74), the historian of Charles VII, and one of the promoters of the rehabilitation of Joan of Arc; Guillaume du Vair (1618-21), the well-inown philosopher who left the bench for the Church. The see of Lisieux maintained the Collége de Lisieux at Paris for poor students of the diocese.

At the Concordat of 1862, the ancient diocese of Lisieux was united to the neighbouring bishopric of Bayeux. A pontifical Brief, in 1854, authorized the Bishop of Bayeux to call himself Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux.

Religion

Catholic devotion to Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, who lived in the Carmel de Lisieux, makes it the most significant pilgrimage site in France after Lourdes.

Sites of interest

• Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Built between 1170 and the middle of the 13^th century. The front of the building is three portals mounted by two towers. The right hand tower was built in the XVI^th century and is moutned by a 17^th century arrow. Buttresses were added on the south face in the 15^th century.
• Basilique Sainte-Thérèse was consacrated on 11 July 1954. The Campagnile's construction ended in 1975 and is 45 m tall.
• Carmel
• Jardin de l'Evêché (Jardin Public) built in the second quarter of the XIX^th century and bordered by Cour Matignon, rue Condorcet and Boulevard Carnot.

Transport

Lisieux-Gare Principale is on the railway line from Gare Saint-Lazare to Cherbourg, it is served by regular Intercity and regional rail services to both Paris, Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie. There are two stations in Lisieux, the second station Lisieux-Grands Jardins, is only served by regional services to and from Trouville-Deauville.

See also

• Lisieux is also the name of an eminent school in Coimbatore, India.
• Lisieux is also the name of a small village in Saskatchewan, Canada.

External links

• [Lisieux website] (in French)
• [Tourism website] (in French, English, and German)

 

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