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
Bayeux Cathedral
Coat of arms of Bayeux
Coat of arms
Location of Bayeux
Bayeux is located in France
Bayeux
Bayeux
Bayeux is located in Normandy
Bayeux
Bayeux
Coordinates: 49°16′46″N 0°42′10″W
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentCalvados
ArrondissementBayeux
CantonBayeux
IntercommunalityBayeux Intercom
Area
1
7.11 km2 (2.75 sq mi)
Population
 (1999)
14,961
 • Density2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
14047 /14400
Elevation32–67 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.[1]

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
TownSunlightRainSnowStormFog
Paris1,797 h/year642 mm/year15 d/year19 d/year13 d/year
Nice2,694 h/year767 mm/year1 d/year31 d/year1 d/year
Strasbourg1,637 h/year610 mm/year30 d/year29 d/year65 d/year
Bayeux[2]1,764 h/year711 mm/year14 d/year17 d/year54 d/year
National Average1,973 h/year770 mm/year14 d/year22 d/year40 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[3]

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[2]

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

Demographics
Date of Population
(Source: Cassini[4] et INSEE[5])
1793180018061820182118311836184118461851
10 578 9 600 10 419 - 10 281 10 303 10 242 9 840 9 765 9 360
185618611866187218761881188618911896
9 667 9 483 9 138 8 536 8 614 8 357 8 347 8 102 7 912
190119061911192119261931193619461954
7 806 7 736 7 638 7 206 7 525 7 351 7 637 10 246 10 077
1962196819751982199019992004--
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.

References
  1. "Bayeux Tapestry description". Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  2. Statistics from INSEE and Lameteo.org for Caen Archived 2010-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Météo France Statistics
  4. http://cassini.ehess.fr/ Population par commune avant 1962 (résultats publiés au journal officiel ou conservés aux archives départementales)
  5. INSEE : Population depuis le recensement de 1962
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