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
Calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...
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 northwestern
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 ...
. It is known for
Pont-l'Évêque cheese
Pont-l'Évêque (, ) is a French cheese, originally manufactured in the area around the commune of Pont-l'Évêque, between Deauville and Lisieux in the Calvados ''département'' of Normandy. It is probably the oldest Norman cheese still in pro ...
, a type of soft
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
, the oldest Normandy cheese in production.
During World War II, the town was severely damaged by a two-day battle in August 1944. On 1 January 2019, the former commune of Coudray-Rabut was merged into Pont-l'Évêque.
The town serves as the setting for Gustave Flaubert's story ''Un cœur simple'' and features heavily in the book ''13 - Lucky For Some'' which is about the history of the
13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion
The 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was formed in May 1943 by the conversion of the 2/4th Battalion, South L ...
. There are many then and now photographs as well as maps and diagrams of battles that took place in the region.
Geography and toponymy
The river Touques flows through Pont-l'Évêque, which takes its name from a bridge (''pont'') built over the river. Starting in the 10th century, the local bishop (''évêque'') took responsibility for building and repairing the bridges and roads in France. Pont-l'Évêque thus means "Bishop Bridge". It was Latinised as ''Pons-Episcopi''.Pont-l'Évêque station has rail connections to Paris, Deauville, Évreux and Lisieux.
Population
Transport
*
A13 autoroute
Autoroute 13, or ''L'Autoroute de Normandie'' links Paris to Caen, Calvados.
The motorway starts in Paris at the Porte d'Auteuil, a former gate of the Paris walls, and ends at Mondeville's Mondeville 2 (Porte de Paris) exchange junction on the ...
Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest
The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest), often referred to simply as ''L'Ouest'' or ''Ouest'', was an early French railway company which operated from the years 1855 through 1909.
History
Birth of the company
The Compa ...
Twin Towns
*
Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, Fair ...
, United Kingdom (since 1977)
*
Veitshöchheim
Veitshöchheim is a municipality in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, northwest of Würzburg. Veitshöchheim has a population just under 10,000. It includes two villages: Veitshöchheim ...
, Germany (since 1994)
Personalities
Pont-l'Évêque was the birthplace of:
*
Roger de Pont L'Evêque
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...
(c.1115-1181),
Archdeacon of Canterbury
The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of ...
, and later
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
* Dière de Dièreville (c.1670-?) - surgeon, botanist and writer who wrote about his voyage (1699-1700) to
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
Ferdinand Alphonse Hamelin
Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin (2 September 1796 – 10 January 1864), French admiral, was born in Pont-l'Évêque, Normandy. He was the nephew of Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, a successful rear admiral in the French Navy of the Napoleonic era ...
(1796–1864)- Navy officer, Admiral and Minister of Marine