Bois-Guillaume () 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

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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 ...

Geography

The town is a wealthy, residential hilltop suburb of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, semi-rural, semi-

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

with a little

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and some

light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

. It is considered part of Greater Rouen, being just to the northeast, at the junction of the D43 and the D928 roads.

History

Bois-Guillaume was originally a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

settlement of which few traces remain. Local legend claims that in 1040 William the Conqueror's mother built a country house on the hill and the area thus came to be known variously as Boscum Guillelmi or Bosco Willelmi, later becoming Bois-Guillaume. There is, however, no serious evidence of any link to William the Conqueror; this derivation of the town's name is therefore in all likelihood a folk etymology. By the late 19th century, nearby Rouen had expanded to such an extent that parts of Bois-Guillaume had become urbanized. This led to tensions between the urban neighborhoods closest to Rouen (such as Bihorel) and the rest of the commune, which had remained more rural. The situation came to a head in 1892, when Bihorel split from Bois-Guillaume and became a commune in its own right. As a result of the split, the commune of Bois-Guillaume saw its territory reduced by 22% and its population reduced by 38%. In 2010, the municipal councils of Bois-Guillaume and Bihorel began to cooperate more closely, with a view to merging in order to become a single commune once again. In July 2011, despite opposition among residents of both communes, the merger was approved by the two municipal councils and ratified by prefectoral order on 29 August 2011. The new commune of Bois-Guillaume-Bihorel came into being on 1 January 2012. Following an appeal, however, the prefectoral order was repealed on 18 June 2013, and the new commune was disbanded on 31 December 2013; on 1 January 2014, the two former communes of Bois-Guillaume and Bihorel were reinstated.

Activities

Bois-Guillaume is well known for its tranquility. No bars are open at night-time; people tend to go out in Rouen (city center). Bois-Guillaume's leisure amenities include several parks (Parc Anderson, Parc des Cosmonautes, and a dedicated play area called La Plaine de Jeux des Portes de la Forêt), a forest area (La Forêt Verte), and two cycle routes that pass through the town (Cailly–Robec and Plaine de la Ronce). There are also a number of

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

pitches (in particular in the Parc des Cosmonautes), which are available for use by local schools and sports clubs.Ville de Bois-Guillaume – Parcs, sentes et forêts

Heraldry

Population

Places of interest

* The church of the Trinity, dating from the fifteenth century. * The church of Notre-Dame, dating from the nineteenth century. * The Château des Cinq-Bonnets. * A

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Health

There are different hospitals and clinics in Bois-Guillaume. The Bois-Guillaume hospital is one of the facilities of the Rouen University Hospital Center. There are also the Cedar Clinic, St. Anthony Clinic and the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public u ...

, with Bois-Guillaume Hospital and Training Institute.

Sports

In Bois-Guillaume, there are several riding clubs, a football club, a tennis club, volleyball, table tennis, judo, aikibudo and a golf training course.

Notable people

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

, politician, former French President, born 1954 * Grégory Tafforeau, footballer, born 1976

Twin towns

Uelzen Uelzen (; officially the ''Hanseatic Town of Uelzen'', German: ''Hansestadt Uelzen'', , Low German ''Ülz’n'') is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Torgiano Torgiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 10 km southeast of Perugia. Torgiano borders the following municipalities: Bastia Umbra, Bettona, Deruta, Perugia. History Prob ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Kegworth Kegworth () is a large village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, in the East Midlands region, England. It forms part of the border with Nottinghamshire and is situated 6 miles north of Loughborough, ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Baix Camp Baix Camp () is a comarca of Catalonia. It is one of the three comarques into which Camp de Tarragona was divided in the comarcal division of 1936. Baix Camp is located on the coast, between Tarragonès to the northeast and Baix Ebre to the south ...

, Espagne *

Rouko Rouko is a town in the Rouko Department of Bam Province in northern-central Burkina Faso. It is the capital of the Rouko Department Rouko is a department or commune of Bam Province in north-western Burkina Faso. Its capital lies at the town of R ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

* Tikare,