Bernay () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the west of the Eure department in Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 2012, Bernay was designated one of the

French Towns and Lands of Art and History Since 1985, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication has pursued a policy of preserving and promoting France's heritage. Historic towns and districts have been designated ''Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire'' ("Towns and Lands of Art and H ...

Geography

Bernay is in the valley of the

Charentonne The Charentonne is a 63 km long river in Normandy, left tributary of the Risle. The river begins in pays d'Ouche (Orne), in the forest of Saint-Évroult, in the south of the Saint-Évroult-Notre-Dame-du-bois village and the ruins of the abbey ...

, a tributary of the

Risle The Risle (; less common: ''Rille'') is a long river in Normandy, left tributary of the Seine. The river begins in the Orne department west of L'Aigle, crosses the western part of the department of Eure flowing from south to north and out into ...

, about west from

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. Geography The city is on the Iton river. Climate History In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named ...

. The city is on the border of the

Pays d'Ouche The Pays d'Ouche (, literally ''Land of Ouche'') is an historical and geographical region in Normandy. It extends from the southwest of Évreux up to Bernay and Beaumont-le-Roger as a northern limit, and down to L'Aigle and to Gacé in the south. ...

and the

Lieuvin The Lieuvin () is a plateau region in the western part of the Eure ''département'' in Normandy, France. The plateau consists of typical Norman ''bocage'' and is bounded by the Seine estuary to the north, the Risle valley to the east, the Char ...

Bernay station The Gare de Bernay is the train station for the town of Bernay, Eure. It was built by Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest in 1855. It is situated on the Mantes-la-Jolie–Cherbourg railway. The station was, like most stations on the line to Cherbourg, buil ...

has rail connections to Caen, Évreux, Paris, Rouen, Deauville and Lisieux.

History

The name Bernay is rooted in 5th century Roman settlement Brinnacu, from the Latin ''Brinnacum'' ("braided"), reflecting the marshy

braided river A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''. Braided streams tend to occur in rivers with high sediment l ...

land that the original settlement was built on.François de Beaurepaire, ''Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de l'Eure'', éditions Picard, 1981. The city has expanded around the River

, shielded by the incline to highlands ("les Monts") at the top of the Charentonne valley. The town has grown to encompass a portion of the smaller Cosnier, a tributary of the Charentonne. Between 996 and 1008, Duke of Normandy Richard II offered this area in dowry to his wife, Judith of Brittany, who then provided for the building of a

Benedictine abbey , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. The monks used the rivers flowing through the area for industry, for example cleansing, mills and fisheries. The abbey still stands, an example of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

. To cover their expenses and to assure their protection, the monks yielded a part of the property in 1048. The veneration of "Notre-Dame de la Couture" (13th century) is the starting-point of important pilgrimages, which attract people from across Normandy; the diocesan

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

pilgrimage still takes place each

Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. I ...

. The town is known for its cloth industry. Because of the diversity and abundance of the agricultural produce of the area, the town has a history of hosting market fairs, such as the "Foire Fleurie" each

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

. Bernay holds a large street market each Saturday, which takes over much of the old part of the town. During the 19th century, when the road system was modernized, most industrial development moved to the outskirts of the town. During the 20th century, the arrival of new industries continued the outward expansion of Bernay, which now includes the slopes overlooking the historical city centre, which has maintained many of its original buildings. In August 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the First Canadian Army advanced east towards the Seine following the successful

Operation Tractable Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Fal ...

. The Canadians liberated Bernay, which escaped damage from the Canadian bombardment of the area thanks to a thick layer of cloud, thus preserving the historical city centre.

Population

People

Romuald Boco Romuald Boco (born 8 July 1985) is a footballer who last played as a midfielder for Leyton Orient. Born in France, he has represented Benin at full international level. Club career Accrington Stanley Born in Bernay, Eure, Boco signed for Accrin ...

, soccer player *

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

, singer, lived with Bernay-based grandmother shortly after her birth *

Olivier Picard Olivier Picard (4 March 1940, Bernay) is a French Hellenist. He was director of the French School at Athens and is a member of the Institut de France. Biography A student at the École normale supérieure (1960), Olivier Picard obtained his ...

, archaeologist

Sister cities

Bernay has four international

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

: * Haslemere *

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...

Jennings, Louisiana Jennings is a city in, and the parish seat of, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. The city is 68 percent white. Jennings i ...

Canal Winchester, Ohio Canal Winchester is a city in Fairfield and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The city is one of the suburbs that make up the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. History Canal Winchester was foun ...

References