Verneuil-sur-Avre (, literally ''Verneuil on

Avre Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE), also known as Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers is the title given to a series of armoured military engineering vehicles operated by the Royal Engineers (RE) for the purpose of protecting engineers during ...

'') is a former

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

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune

Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton (, literally ''Verneuil of Avre and of Iton'') is a commune in the department of Eure, northern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Verneuil-sur-Avre Verneui ...

History

Following the revolt of the nobles of 1118-1120, Verneuil-sur-Avre was founded in 1120 by

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

, the fourth son of William the Conqueror. Some of the main rebels were Richer de l'Aigle,

Robert de Neubourg Robert I de Neubourg (died 1159) was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat. He was the fourth son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick, and inherited his father's Normandy lands, holding Neubourg (today Le Neubourg, near Louviers, Eure) from Waleran ...

and Eustace of Breteuil who all possessed territory in the surrounding area. Once these rebels submitted to Henry I, the fortifications in Verneuil-sur-Avre were intended to control the region. In August 1424, during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

the

battle of Verneuil The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy between an English army and a combined Franco- Scottish force, augmented by Milanese heavy cavalry. The battle was a sig ...

was fought just to the north of the town. An English army of 9,000 men beat a joint Franco-Scottish army of 15,000 men and as a result gained control of Normandy and

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

and destroyed Scottish participation in the war. The town was recaptured in 1449.

Main sights

There are several landmarks in Verneuil-sur-Avre that are worthy of interest: * the ' (St Mary Magdalene Church, built between the 12th and 16th centuries), which was labelled a “''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

”'' (national heritage site) in 1862, has become the emblem of the city. Its tower is a well-known example of the late-gothic style (called Flamboyant Gothic Style, literally “flaming”). The tower culminates at 56 metres (approximately 61 yards), and is visible from the entire surrounding countryside and, in winter, from as far away as the

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

. This building has been compared to the '' Tour du Beurre'' (“Tower of Butter”) of the Rouen Cathedral and the lantern-tower of the '' Abbaye Saint-Ouen de Rouen'' (St

Ouen Audoin (AD 609 – on 24 August 684; also spelled ''Audoen'', ''Ouen'', ''Owen''; la, Audoenus; known as Dado to contemporaries) was a Frankish bishop, courtier, hagiographer and saint. Life Audoin came from a wealthy aristocratic Frankish fami ...

Church), also in Rouen, despite being smaller. This tower is known to be one of the sources of inspiration for the ''

Tribune Tower The Tribune Tower is a , 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built between 1923 and 1925, the international design competition for the tower became a historic event in 20th-cen ...

'' in Chicago, a 141-metre-high skyscraper built in 1925 (approximately 154 yards). * the ''Eglise Notre-Dame'' (Notre-Dame Church, 12th-19th centuries) * the ''Tour Grise'' (Grey Tower, 13th century) was erected by the French king

Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

. It was named for the stones used in its construction, which are brown and called “''grison''” (“gris” meaning “grey” in French). * the ''Abbaye Saint-Nicolas'' (St Nicholas Abbey, 17th century) * the ''Espace Saint-Laurent'' (St Lawrence Hall), a former church currently used as an exhibition hall * the ruins of the ''Eglise Saint-Jean'' (St John Church), which was bombed during

WWII 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 ...

, in 1944 * the building that currently houses the '' Jerôme Carcopino'' Municipal Library (15th century), named for an historian from Verneuil-sur-Avre. This building has been labelled a “''monument historique''”. Besides these landmarks, Verneuil-sur-Avre has examples of regional architectural style and

half-timbered houses Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

traditional to Normandy. File:Verneuil-sur-Avre (27) Église de la Madeleine Tour.jpg, Tower of St Mary Magdalene Church File:Verneuil sur Avre - Tour grise.jpg, Grey Tower File:Verneuil-sur-Avre (27) Maison de la renaissance.jpg, Municipal Library building (15th century)

Demography

International relations

The town is twinned with

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 road (Great Britain), A14 trunk ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

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 ...

References

Former communes of Eure Perche Populated places established in the 12th century 1120 establishments in Europe {{Eure-geo-stub

History

Main sights

Demography

International relations

See also

References