Bayeux

Bayeux is a commune. It is found in the region Basse-Normandie in the Calvados department in the Northwest of France.

Bayeux
Bayeux Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location of Bayeux
Bayeux Bayeux
Coordinates: 49°16′46″N 0°42′10″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Bayeux
Canton	Bayeux
Intercommunality	Bayeux Intercom
Area 1	7.11 km2 (2.75 sq mi)
Population  (1999)	14,961
• Density	2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14047 /14400
Elevation	32–67 m (105–220 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The town is famous for its tapestry. It is one of the oldest complete tapestries in the world.

The inhabitants are called Bajocasses ou Bayeusains. Bayeux is a sous-préfecture of the Calvados department.

History

Heraldry

Blason de Bayeux A Gules tincture with a Golden leopard and the letters B and X.

Origin

Bayeux is the capital of the Bessin which was called Bajocasses before. Bessin was a province of France before the French Revolution. The name of the city comes from the Celtic tribe which lived in the Bajocasses region.

Middle Ages

The Vikings distroyed the town in 890, but it was rebuilt by Bothon at the beginning of the 10th century. The bishop Hugues II, and his successor, Odon de Conteville (Guillaume le Conquérant's half brother) insisted the town needed a new cathedral. In 1077, a new one was built. However it is around that time that the town lost a lot of influence. Guillaume le Conquérant decided to make Caen his capital, in 1050. The Bayeux Tapestry was made around that time

The Renaissance didn't really mark the town. The most notable building from that period is the Saint-Patrice Church. It was built between 1544 and 1548.

Second World War

Bayeux was the first city in France to be liberated after the Battle of Normandy. On 16 June 1944, General Charles de Gaulle made his first major speech in Bayeux. The buildings were not damaged much during the Battle of Normandy as the German forces were defending Caen at the same time.

The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest British cemetery dating from the Second World War in France. There are 4648 graves: 3935 are British and 466 are German.

Geography

Location

Bayeux is seven kilometres from the English Channel and the D-Day Landing Beaches. It is about 30 kilometres northwest of Caen. The town's elevation varies from 32 to 67 metres (with an average of 46 metres). The river Aure passes through it.

Climate

Town	Sunlight	Rain	Snow	Storm	Fog
Paris	1,797 h/year	642 mm/year	15 d/year	19 d/year	13 d/year
Nice	2,694 h/year	767 mm/year	1 d/year	31 d/year	1 d/year
Strasbourg	1,637 h/year	610 mm/year	30 d/year	29 d/year	65 d/year
Bayeux	1,764 h/year	711 mm/year	14 d/year	17 d/year	54 d/year
National Average	1,973 h/year	770 mm/year	14 d/year	22 d/year	40 d/year

The table below gives the temperatures and precipitation for 2007 (Recorded at the station Caen-Carpiquet) :

Month	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Average high (°C)	10,1	11,1	11,8	17	17,3	20,1	21,3	21	19,3	15,3	11,5	7,9
Average low (°C)	4,7	5,5	3,5	6,3	9,4	11,5	12,9	12,6	10,3	7,3	5,2	1,9
Average (°C)	7,4	8,3	7,6	11,6	13,3	15,8	17,1	16,8	14,8	11,3	8,3	4,9
Precipitation (mm)	45	83	90	23	91	83	135	49	56	39	44	81
Source: Météo France

The table below gives the minimum and maximum temperatures for each month :

Month	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Record high (°C)	16,1	20,8	24,4	26,4	30,4	34,1	36,6	38,9	33,5	27,6	19,9	17,2
\_ year of the maximum T°.	1993	1960	1946	1984	1953	2001	1952	2003	1961	1985	1982	1989
Record Low (°C)	-19,6	-16,5	-7,4	-5,7	-0,8	1	4,7	4	1,8	-3,7	-6,8	-11
\_ year of the minimum T°.	1985	1956	1965	1978	1955	1962	1962	1974	1948	1997	1989	1948
Source: Météo France and Lameteo.org

Transport

La Bayeux Train station is on the Paris-Saint-Lazare>Cherbourg line. The TER line is from Caen to Rennes.

The Bybus goes around the town and to the communes of Saint-Martin-des-Entrées and Saint-Vigor-le-Grand. There is one main line (Chojnice / St-Martin-des-Entrées) and three minor one's toward the different districts. The Bus verts invented by the Conseil général is a way to get to the surrounding communes (lines 30, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74). 3000 parking spaces in the town center make it an easy place to park. Furthermore, most car parks are free. The By-pass is Bayeux's ring road. The first part was built after the Battle of Normandy by British soldiers. The roads in the town center were too narrow for the Tanks to get through. The By-pass used to be the Route nationale 13 until a motorway was built (A13 autoroute).

The closest airport is in Caen (21 km away) and the closest ferry to England (32 km away) leaves in Ouistreham.

Twin and sister towns

• Dorchester (United Kingdom)
• Lübbecke (Germany)
• Chojnice (Poland)
• Eindhoven (the Netherlands)
• Viborg (Denmark)

Demographics

Date of Population
(Source: Cassini et INSEE)

1793 1800 1806 1820 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851 10 578 9 600 10 419 - 10 281 10 303 10 242 9 840 9 765 9 360

1856 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896 9 667 9 483 9 138 8 536 8 614 8 357 8 347 8 102 7 912

1901 1906 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 7 806 7 736 7 638 7 206 7 525 7 351 7 637 10 246 10 077

1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2004 - - 9 678 11 451 13 457 14 721 14 704 14 961 - - - For the census of 1962 to 1999 the official population corresponds with the population without duplicates according to the INSEE.

Bayeux is the fourth biggest town in Calvados by population. The three biggest are Caen, Hérouville-Saint-Clair and Lisieux.