Lisieux basilica.jpg

Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.

Name

The name of the town derives from the la, Noviomagus Lexoviorum ("Noviomagus of the Lexovii"). The town was originally known in Celtic as ("New Field", "New Market"), which was Latinized as . Owing to the large number of similarly named cities, however, it was necessary to specify where this one was located. The local French demonym derives from the Latin as well.

History

Antiquity

Lisieux was the capital of the Lexovii. In his work, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'', Caesar mentions a Gallic ''oppidum'', a term which refers to Celtic towns located on the tops of hills. The oppidum has been pinpointed to a place referred to as ''le Castellier'', located to the southwest of the town. However the Gallo-Roman city was in fact located where Lisieux is to be found today.

Middle Ages

Lisieux was an important center of power in medieval times. The bishopric of Lisieux controlled most of the Pays d'Auge by the 12th century. King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine are thought to have married at Lisieux in 1152, and the town remained powerful for several centuries afterwards, until, in the 14th century, the triple scourges of the Plague, war and resulting famine devastated Lisieux and reduced its influence. The main judge of Joan of Arc, Pierre Cauchon, became a bishop of Lisieux after Joan's death, and is buried in the Lady Chapel of the cathedral.

Events

* 4th century: Presence of the Germanic ''laeti'', auxiliaries of the Roman Army, who settled in Lisieux with their families. Their graves have been discovered in the “Michelet” necropolis, some of which contain artefacts typical of northern Germania.
* 1432: Pierre Cauchon, the supreme judge during the trial of Joan of Arc at Rouen became the bishop of Lisieux. He commissioned the building of the side chapel of the cathedral, in which he is now buried.
* 1590: During the Eighth War of Religion, Henri IV had to fight to win back his kingdom. When he arrived at Lisieux he took the town without force, after the garrison had fled the town.
* 1897: Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face, died in the Carmelite monastery at Lisieux. In 1925, she would be canonized as "St. Thérèse of Lisieux".
* 1907: The first helicopter flight, piloted by Paul Cornu.
* 1937: Monseigneur Eugenio Pacelli, papal legate and future Pope Pius XII, visited Lisieux.
* 6/7 June 1944: An Allied bombardment killed 800 people and destroyed two thirds of the town.
* 23 August 1944: Liberation by the Allied troops.
* 1960: Lisieux merged with the ''Saint-Jacques'' commune.
* 2 June 1980: Pope Jean-Paul II visited Lisieux.

Geography

Lisieux is situated on the confluence of the river Touques and many of its tributaries: the rivers Orbiquet, Cirieux and Graindain.

The town is in the heart of the Pays d'Auge, of which it is the capital. Lisieux is therefore surrounded by Normandy's typical hedged farmland, where there is a mix of livestock farming (mostly milk cows) and cider apple cultivation (from which cider and calvados are made, not forgetting pommeau).

Climate

Lisieux has a temperate oceanic humid climate.

The table below shows the temperatures and precipitation for the year 2007 provided by the Caen-Carpiquet weather station:

The table below shows the record minimum and maximum temperatures:

Transport

The town of Lisieux is served by a bus network called Lexobus, with 6 routes. The town is also linked to surrounding towns and villages by a network of buses; Bus Verts du Calvados.
The main railway station, Lisieux station, which is the connecting station between the Paris-Cherbourg and Paris-Trouville/Deauville main lines, is served by Transport express régional (regional express) trains on the TER Normandie routes. The station appeared in the film ''Un singe en hiver'' by Henri Verneuil. There is another station on the line to Deauville: Le Grand-Jardin station.

To reach the town by car, the D613 (formerly route nationale 13) from Paris to Cherbourg crosses the town from east to west. The second main road serving Lisieux is the D579, leading to Deauville to the north and the department of Orne