subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

Cotentin peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

Cherbourg-Octeville Cherbourg-Octeville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.Décret
23 February 2000 which was merged into the new commune of

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (, ; Norman: ''Tchidbouo'') is a port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.Cherbourg Harbour Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "roadstead of Cherbourg") is a harbour situated at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula, on the English Channel coastline, in Normandy, northwestern France. With a surface ...

, between

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

and

Val de Saire The Val de Saire (or Vale of the River Saire) is an area situated in the north of the Cotentin Peninsula, to the east of Cherbourg in the French region of Lower Normandy. To the south lies the Plain. It is named after the river Saire, which flow ...

, and the city has been a strategic position over the centuries, disputed between the English and French. Cited as one of the "keys to the kingdom" by Vauban, it became, by colossal maritime development work, a first-rate military port under the leadership of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, and holds an

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. A stopping point for prestigious transatlantic liners in the first half of the 20th century, Cherbourg was the primary goal of US troops during the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

in 1944. Along with its use as a military, fishing and yachting port, it is also a cross-Channel ferry port, with routes to the English ports of

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, the Irish ports of

Rosslare Harbour The village of Rosslare Harbour (), also known as Ballygeary, grew up to serve the needs of the harbour of the same name (now called Rosslare Europort), first developed in 1906 by the Great Western Railway and the Great Southern and Western Rai ...

and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

on

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. Limited by its geographical isolation from being a great commercial port, it is nonetheless an important shipbuilding centre, and a working-class city with a rural hinterland.

Geography

Location

Cherbourg is located at the northern tip of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

, in the department of

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

, of which it is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

. At the time of the 1999 census the city of Cherbourg had an area of , while the city of Octeville had an area of . The largest city in the Department of Manche, it is the result of the merger of the communes of Cherbourg and Octeville. The

amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

city today has an area of . Cherbourg is situated at the mouth of the and at the south of the bay between to the east and

Cap de La Hague Cap de la Hague () is a cape at the tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, France. The La Hague area has precambrian granite and gneiss cliffs, several coves and small fields surrounded by hedges. France's oldest rocks are to be found on ...

to the west, Cherbourg-Octeville is from the English coast. Cherbourg and Octeville-sur-Cherbourg once belonged to the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

of La Hague, delimited by the Divette. In 1786, a part of Equeurdreville joined Cherbourg, during the construction of the port, and then in 1802, a portion of Octeville. Since 1811, the " mielles" unesof Tourlaville, commune of the deanery of Saire, are integrated into the Cherbourg territory known as the quarter of Val-de-Saire where the and the Saint-Clement Church were built. Thus, Cherbourg-Octeville lies both in La Hague and in the Val de Saire. Like all Chantereyne and the area of the Mielles, the Cherbourg territory was reclaimed from the sea. Built at the level of the sea, the town developed at the foot of the Roule mountain (highest point of the old town) and la Fauconnière. Octeville is a former rural municipality, composed of hamlets, whose settlement extended from the 19th century and whose territory is highly urbanised since 1950, especially around the of the provinces and the university campus. The bordering communes are Tourlaville to the east,

Équeurdreville-Hainneville Équeurdreville-Hainneville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.La Glacerie La Glacerie () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Martinvast to the south, and Nouainville and Sideville to the south-west.

Geology

Located at the end of the

Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dover on the British side o ...

, Cherbourg retains traces of the geologic formation, deformed

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

s and

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

s of the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

of

Hercynian orogeny The Variscan orogeny, or Hercynian orogeny, was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan ...

by the folding of the

arkose Arkose () or arkosic sandstone is a detrital sedimentary rock, specifically a type of sandstone containing at least 25% feldspar. Arkosic sand is sand that is similarly rich in feldspar, and thus the potential precursor of arkose. Components ...

s of the

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

and Armorican sandstone and shale of the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

. These folds result in layers of sandstone tilted 45° towards the north-east on la Fauconniere (including " La Roche qui pend" the hanging rock' and the . These two cliffs are due to sea erosion in the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. The retreat of the sea then gave way to sand dunes and tidal marshes, destroyed by the urbanisation of the 17th and 19th centuries, identical to those of Collignon in Tourlaville. These rocks in the soil have been used for centuries in several ways: Crushed granite extracted in

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.arkose Arkose () or arkosic sandstone is a detrital sedimentary rock, specifically a type of sandstone containing at least 25% feldspar. Arkosic sand is sand that is similarly rich in feldspar, and thus the potential precursor of arkose. Components ...

s of Becquet, have been used for the manufacture of rubble () and blocks squared for

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

s. The

greenschist Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically and 2–10 kilobars (). Greenschists commonly have an abundance of green minerals such as Chlorite ...

, whose colour comes from

chlorite The chlorite ion, or chlorine dioxide anion, is the halite (oxyanion), halite with the chemical formula of . A chlorite (compound) is a compound that contains this group, with chlorine in the oxidation state of +3. Chlorites are also known as s ...

and

sericite Sericite is the name given to very fine, ragged grains and Aggregate (geology), aggregates of white (colourless) micas, typically made of muscovite, illite, or paragonite. Sericite is produced by the alteration of orthoclase or plagioclase feldsp ...

, are used mainly for roofing in Nord-Cotentin, but also masonry in Cherbourg. The Armorican

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

of the Montagne du Roule is used for rubble and rockfill. Most of the many quarries, which opened in the metropolitan area for building the harbour wall, are now closed.

Hydrography

Cherbourg is bordered by the sea. The construction of the port of trade, from 1769, accompanied by the diversion of the (the mouth of which was located at the current exit of Port Chantereyne) and the Trottebec (from the territory of Tourlaville) gathered in the ''canal de retenue'', along the ''Avenue de Paris'' and ''Rue du Val-de-Saire''. The streams of the Bucaille and the Fay, which watered the ''Croûte du Homet'', disappeared in the 18th century during the construction of the military port.

Climate

Cherbourg has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

. Its maritime character causes high humidity (84%) and a strong sea wind, commonly

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

y but also low seasonal variations of temperature and few days of frost (7.3). The combined effect of the wind and the tides can generate a rapid change of weather in a single day, with sun and rain which can be a few hours apart. The influence of the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...

and the mildness of the winter allow the naturalisation of many Mediterranean and exotic plants (

mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 600 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, and ...

s,

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

s,

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

s, etc.) which are present in the public and private gardens of the city, despite average insolation. The climate is similar to areas much further north in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and Ireland due to the moderation. Summers are far cooler than expected by French standards.

Routes of communication and transport

Road

Historically, Cherbourg is at the western end of

Route nationale 13 The N13 is a trunk road (route nationale) in France between Paris and Cherbourg. Route Paris to Évreux, km 0 to km 91 The road begins at Porte Maillot, one of former gates in western Paris, in direct alignment with the Champs-Élysées. Continu ...

, which runs through the city by the "Rouges Terres" and the ''Avenue de Paris'', from

La Glacerie La Glacerie () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.E03 and E46, referred traffic through La Glacerie and Tourlaville on a three-way axis from La Glacerie, to the Penesme roundabout at Tourlaville and then a dual carriageway to a roundabout located between Collignon Beach and the ''Port des Flamands''. An extension to Cherbourg is in the works, with the doubling of the bridge over the ''Port des Flamands'', to ensure a continuity of the dual carriageway to the commercial port in Cherbourg. The old (reclassified as D901), which connects

Cap de la Hague Cap de la Hague () is a cape at the tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, France. The La Hague area has precambrian granite and gneiss cliffs, several coves and small fields surrounded by hedges. France's oldest rocks are to be found on ...

to

Barfleur Barfleur () is a commune and fishing village in Manche, Normandy, northwestern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. History During the Middle Ages, Barfleur was on ...

, crosses the city from east to west. After the completion of the bypass east of the agglomeration, a western bypass project is under study, and a 'zone' corresponding to the future final route has been selected. Similarly, upgrading to a dual carriageway for access of Maupertus Airport is envisaged. The D650 is used to connect Cherbourg to the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula. Departing from Cherbourg, the D650 takes a southwesterly direction to Les Pieux and then along to join the ''Côte des Isles'' (the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

coast) to

Barneville-Carteret Barneville-Carteret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of north-western France. For many years it has been a popular sea ...

. In the approach to Cherbourg, this road has undergone development, in recent years, with amenities (roundabouts, traffic lights, urban development) by virtue of the

peri-urbanisation Peri-urbanisation relates to the processes of scattered and dispersive urban growth that create hybrid landscapes of fragmented and mixed urban and rural characteristics. Such areas may be referred to as the rural–urban fringe, the outskirts ...

of the communes in its path. With the awarding of autoroute status to the RN13 in 2006, the work of upgrading to motorway standard between Cherbourg and

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

is being undertaken over a 10-year period.Mémento économique du Cotentin 2007, , 2007 The construction work of the RN13 at the entrance of the Cherbourg agglomeration (locality ''Virage des Chèvres'') was completed in early 2009.

Sea

Cherbourg-Octeville is a port on the English Channel with a number of regular passenger and freight ferry services operating from the large modern ferry terminal and has a major artificial harbour. The following operators currently run services from the port: *

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France, England, Ireland, Spain and the ...

to Rosslare,

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

(1 sailing daily) and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(up to 2 sailings daily, summer only). *

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...

to Rosslare (3 sailings weekly). *

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembr ...

to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

(2 sailings weekly). Cherbourg has previously had services operated by the following operators: *

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...

to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

(up to 2 sailings daily). Withdrawn in 1996. *

P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and from England to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisi ...

to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(up to 2 sailings daily by conventional ferry and up to 3 by fast ferry during the summer). Withdrawn in 2005 following a business review. * P&O Irish Sea to Rosslare (up to 3 sailings weekly) and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

(weekends only during the summer). Dublin service was withdrawn in 2004 and Rosslare service sold to Celtic Link. * HD Ferries to

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

and

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. Operated in 2007 but cancelled in 2008 due to lack of customers. *

Celtic Link Ferries Celtic Link Ferries was an Irish ferry company which used to operate a passenger and freight roll-on/roll-off service between Rosslare and Cherbourg. Celtic Link Ferries ceased operating in February 2014 with Stena Line taking over their ro ...

to Rosslare (3 sailings weekly). Service sold to Stena Line. *

Condor Ferries Condor Ferries was an operator of passenger and freight ferry services between the United Kingdom, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey, Bailiwick of Jersey, Jersey and France. History Condor Ferries was formed in 1964 by Channel Island businessme ...

to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(1 sailing weekly in summer only). The port welcomes some 30 cruise ships per year including the largest, thanks to a cruise terminal built in 2006 in the Gare Maritime de Cherbourg, which had opened in 1933 on the ''Quai de France'' next to the ''Cité de la Mer''. Frequently, cruise ships that have planned for another destination have taken refuge in the port, for protection from the frequent storms. Conventional cargo ships berth in the eastern area of the docks on the ''Quai des Flamands'' and ''Quai des Mielles''. During the construction of the

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

prototypes in the 1960s, some sections built in the United Kingdom passed by ferry through Cherbourg, for transfer to Toulouse.

Rail

The Paris - Cherbourg railway line, operated by

Réseau Ferré de France Réseau ferré de France (, , abbr. RFF) was a French company which owned and maintained the French national railway network from 1997 to 2014. The company was formed with the rail assets of SNCF in 1997. Afterwards, the trains were operated by ...

, ends at Cherbourg railway station, which opened in 1858 and welcomes a million passengers every year. This line continued, at the beginning of the 20th century, up to the resort of

Urville-Nacqueville Urville-Nacqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune La Hague. It is an amalgam of two pre-existing villages, which were both heavily damag ...

and was complemented by the which served from Cherbourg to

Val de Saire The Val de Saire (or Vale of the River Saire) is an area situated in the north of the Cotentin Peninsula, to the east of Cherbourg in the French region of Lower Normandy. To the south lies the Plain. It is named after the river Saire, which flow ...

between 1911 and 1950. Today, the

Intercités Intercités (IC), known before September 2009 as ''Corail Intercités'', is a brand name used by France's national railway company, the SNCF, to denote non High-speed rail in France, high-speed services on the classic rail network in France. The ...

Paris-Caen-Cherbourg line is the most profitable in its class with profit over €10 million per year despite numerous incidents and delays. Regular services operate to Paris-Saint-Lazare via

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

using

Intercités Intercités (IC), known before September 2009 as ''Corail Intercités'', is a brand name used by France's national railway company, the SNCF, to denote non High-speed rail in France, high-speed services on the classic rail network in France. The ...

stock, local

TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...

services operate from the station to

Lisieux Lisieux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pa ...

via

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

and to

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

via

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Paris-Saint-Lazare take three hours on average. From July 2009 to December 2010, a TGV Cherbourg –

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

service operated, via

Mantes Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, f ...

and Roissy TGV. With one daily round-trip, it operated experimentally for three years and gave the people of Cherbourg direct access by rail to France's primary airport. The service ceased prematurely, as the minimum threshold of passenger traffic was not met. As well as a main line station there was also the '' Gare Maritime Transatlantique'' station. This now forms part of the ''Cité de la mer''.

Bus

The ''Compagnie des transports de Cherbourg'' (CTC) was created in 1896, connecting the ''Place de Tourlaville'' and the ''Place du Château'' by a in Cherbourg, then to Urville. After the German occupation and bombardment of the tram depot, the use of buses took over, and it was not until 1962 that the network had several lines. From 1976, the ''Communauté urbaine de Cherbourg'' supported the jurisdiction of public transit. Management of the public service is delegated to

Keolis Keolis is a French transportation company that operates public transport systems all over the world. It manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus, and funicular services. B ...

, the CTC took the name o
Zephir
Bus in 1991. The network covers the whole of the metropolitan area. In recent years, a night bus service has also been created. Cherbourg-Octeville and its suburbs are also served by the Manéo departmental bus service.

Air

The Cherbourg – Maupertus Airport, located in Maupertus-sur-Mer, serves the city. Its runway hosts

charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

. After stopping the daily service to Paris by

Twin Jet Twin Jet is a French regional airline based in Aix-en-Provence. History Twin Jet was founded in May 2001 and operated its first scheduled flight in March 2002. The company operates 250 flights a week mainly on domestic routes within France a ...

, in spring 2008, a new link with Caen and Paris started with Chalair on 27 October 2008. With 40,500 passengers in 2007, the airport had lost 30% of its commercial passengers, and 10% of its total traffic over a year.

History

Heraldry

The origin of the coat of arms is disputed. According to Victor Le Sens, it is of religious origin: Fess argent charged of stars represents the belt of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, one of the two patrons of the city and the number of stars, like the

bezant In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (, from Latin ) was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman . The word itself comes from the Greek Byzantion, the ancient name of Constantinop ...

s, evokes the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, the other patron of the city. The bezants would be the expression of the redemption of the captives, illustrating the participation of the notables of Cherbourg on the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

. The coat of arms of Cherbourg dates from the late 12th century, at the time of the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. According to M. Le Poupet, which relies in particular on the works of Vulson de la Colombière and Ségoing, the content of the coat of arms evokes the maritime trade of the city, the bezants - traditional furniture of the arms of ennobled financiers - represent wealth and fortune, while the star shows peace and prudence. The sable signifies prudence and constancy in adversity, the azure denotes activity and the seas. M. Canel had explained before him that the bezants and stars respectively illustrated trade and sea port. The stars, absent from the armorial of d'Hozier in 1697, were added in the 18th century. Under the Empire, the coat of arms was completed by a free area of second-class towns which is to dexter azure to an "N" of or, surmounted by a pointed star of the same, brocading at the ninth of the escutcheon. Regarding the external ornaments, the mural crown symbolises protection and happiness, the caduceus of trade and business, the olive tree of peace, the oak of strength, recalling the role of both the military and commercial port. The argent means that Cherbourg was a second class city under the Empire. Today, the municipality of Cherbourg-Octeville uses a logo, entitled ''"mouette musicale"'' usical seagull Initially adopted by Cherbourg, it consists of a gull, symbolising the maritime character of the town, on a musical stave, evoking the musicality of the port: "The cry of the seagulls that dance between sky and sea, the mermaids of ships and the melodious song of the waves".

Origins and toponymy

The date of Foundation of Cherbourg can not be set precisely, although several local historians, including Robert Lerouvillois, trace the origin of the city to Coriallo (for *''Coriovallo'') of the

Unelli The Venellī or Unellī (Gaulish: *''Uenellī/Wenellī'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the Cotentin peninsula, in the northwest of modern Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. In 57 BC, they capitulated to Caesar's legate Publiu ...

. According to

Pierre-Yves Lambert Pierre-Yves Lambert (born 30 May 1949) is a French linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. He is a researcher at the CNRS and a lecturer at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Celtic linguistics and philology. Lambert is the director of the j ...

, the Celtic element ''corio-'' means "army, troop" and the element ''vallo-'' similar to the Latin ''vallum'', would be "rampart, fortification". Mentioned on the ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

'' (c. 365), in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

and the ''Gesta'' de Fontenelle ("In pago Coriovallinse", 747-753), ''Coriallo'', Latinised then as ''Coriallum'', hosted a Roman garrison during the late

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, and the recovered remains would be the village between Cherbourg and Tourlaville, on the Mielles. The Cotentin Peninsula was the first territory conquered by the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

in their ninth century invasion. They developed Cherbourg as a port. After the Anglo-Scandinavian settlement, a new name appeared there in a still Latinised form: ''Carusburg Castellum'' (1026-1027, Fauroux 58) then ''Carisburg'' (1056–1066, Fauroux 214), ''Chiersburg'' (

William of Jumièges William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 – died after 1070) () was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only known by his dedicatory let ...

, v. 1070), ''Chieresburg'' (

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...

, ''

Roman de Rou ''Roman de Rou'' (" Romance of Rollo") is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. It is a national epic of Normandy. Following ...

'', v. 1175). ''Carusburg'' would mean "fortress of the marsh" in

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''kjarr'' (marsh), and ''

borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. They are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "The Collective". The Borg co- ...

'' (castle, fortified town) or "city of the marais" in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''ker'' (bog) and ''burgh'' (town). The element ''kjarr'' / ''ker'' is also found in Normandy in Villequier and Orcher. According to François de Beaurepaire, it comes rather from the Old English ''chiriche'' (spelled ''ċiriċe'', Church) or chis reduced to as the commune of

Chirbury Chirbury () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Chirbury with Brompton, in the Shropshire district, in west Shropshire, England. It is situated in the Vale of Montgomery, close to the Wales–England border ( at its nea ...

, in the County of

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, formerly also spelled ''Chirichburig'' (915) and ''Chiresbir'' (1226). The name of Octeville appears meanwhile, in 1063, in a Charter of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

about allocations made to the Collegiate Church of Cherbourg. It means: "the rural area of ''Otti''", a

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n male name also found in

Octeville-l'Avenel Octeville-l'Avenel is a Communes in France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Notable people Robert Avenel, Anglo-Norman magnate See also *Communes of ...

,

Octeville-sur-Mer Octeville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Octeville on Sea'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. It is twinned with Bourne End (Bucks) in United Kingdom since 2003 and with Furci Siculo (Sicily) in Italy since 2010. ...

and Otby (Lincolnshire, ''Ottebi'', 11th century). Cherbourg is also the name of a Canadian township, located between

Matane Matane () is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itse ...

and Les Méchins, which gave its name to the communes of Saint-Thomas-de-Cherbourg, merged in 1954 into Les Méchins, and

Saint-Jean-de-Cherbourg Saint-Jean-de-Cherbourg () is a parish municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in La Matanie Regional County Municipality. Geography Climate Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, ...

. This name, including the proclamation date of 7 May 1864, could be due to the impact by the local newspapers of the inauguration of the military port by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

in 1858. Cherbourg is also the name of a town in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia.

Middle Ages

The Cotentin, conquered by

Quintus Titurius Sabinus Quintus Titurius Sabinus (, ; died 54 BC) was one of Caesar's legates during the Gallic Wars. He is first mentioned in Caesar's campaign against the Remi, in 57 BC. In 56 BC, he was sent by Caesar with three legions against the Venelli, Curios ...

in 56 BC, was divided between the ''pagus constantiensis'' ("County of Coutances") and the ''pagus coriovallensis'' ("County of Coriallo"), within

Gallia Lugdunensis () was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon), possibly Roman Europe's major city west of ...

. Coriallo housed a small garrison and a

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

was built on the left bank of the Divette as an element of the ''Litus saxonicum'', after

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

raids at the beginning of the fourth century. In 497, the village was sold with all of

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

to

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

. It was evangelised by in 432, then by Saint Exuperat, Saint Leonicien, and finally Saint Scubilion in 555. In 870, , landing in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, was ordained priest of Cherbourg and established a hermitage in the surrounding forest. After several

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

raids in the ninth century, Cherbourg was attached to the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...

along with the

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

, in 933, by

William Longsword William Longsword (, , , ; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, ...

. The Danish King Harold moved there in 946. In the face of English threats, Richard III of Normandy strengthened the fortifications of the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

at the same time as those of the other major strongholds of Cotentin. In 1053, the city was one of the four main cities of the duchy of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

to receive an annuity in perpetuity for the maintenance of one hundred needy. In 1139, during the struggle for succession to the Anglo-Norman Crown, Cherbourg fell after two months of siege to the troops of

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 113 ...

before being retaken in 1142 by

Geoffrey of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Fair (), Plantagenet, and of Anjou, was the count of Anjou and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also duke of Normandy by his marriage claim and conquest, from 1144. Geoffrey m ...

, whose wife,

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

, three years later founded the . During the conquest of Normandy by

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

, Cherbourg fell without a fight in 1204. The city was sacked in 1284 and 1293, the abbey and the Hôtel-Dieu looted and burned, but the castle, where the population was entrenched, resisted. Following these ravages,

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

fortified the city in 1300. Its strategic position, a key to the kingdom along with Calais as a bridgehead for invasion by the English and French, the town was much disputed during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. Having one of the strongest castles in the world according to

Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: ''Jehan''; sometimes known as John Froissart in English; – ) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meli ...

, it changed ownership six times as a result of transactions or seats, never by force of arms. The fortress resisted the soldiers of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

in 1346. In February 1354, Cherbourg was transferred by

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

to

Charles II of Navarre Charles II (, , , 10 October 1332 – 1 January 1387), known as the Bad, was King of Navarre beginning in 1349, as well as Count of Évreux beginning in 1343, holding both titles until his death in 1387. Besides the Kingdom of Navarre nestled in ...

with the bulk of the Cotentin. The city was of Navarre from 1354 to 1378, and Charles II stayed in Cherbourg on several occasions. In 1378, the city was besieged by

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...

as the rest of the Norman possessions of the King of Navarre, but in vain. Navarre troops who had dropped the County of Évreux and the Cotentin were entrenched in Cherbourg, already a difficult taking, and defended it against French attacks. In June 1378, having lost ground in Normandy, Charles II of Navarre rented Cherbourg in 1378 to

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Jo ...

for a period of three years.

Bertrand du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin (; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his ...

besieged it for six months using many machines of war, but abandoned the siege in December 1378. The King of England then refused to return the city to the Navarrese, despite the efforts of Charles II. It was only his son

Charles III of Navarre Charles III (, ; 22 July 1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux in France from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged Évreux for the Duchy of Nemours. As a young man, Charles was ...

who recovered it in 1393. In 1404, it was returned to

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved () and in the 19th century, the Mad ( or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychosis, psychotic episodes t ...

, in exchange for the Duchy of

Nemours Nemours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Geography Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c. south of M ...

. Fallen in 1418 to the hands of the English, Cherbourg, the last English possession of the Duchy of Normandy after the

Battle of Formigny The Battle of Formigny, fought on 15 April 1450, took place towards the end of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. It was a decisive French victory that destroyed the last significant English field army in Normandy, and paved th ...

, was released on 12 August 1450. On 28 April 1532, Cherbourg was visited with great fanfare by Francis I and the dauphin. At that time, Cherbourg was described by Gilles de Gouberville as a fortified town of 4,000 residents, protected by drawbridges at the three main gates which were permanently guarded and closed from sunset until dawn. Inside the city walls, the castle, itself protected by wide moats and equipped with a keep and twelve towers, was south-east of the city. Outside and to the south of the city walls, the suburb along the Divette was frequented by sailors. Cherbourg was not affected by the wind of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

that divided Normandy, consolidated and heavily guarded by , Henry III thanked his defence against the troops of Montgomery, as lieutenant-general of Normandy and Governor of Cherbourg in 1578, and then marshal the following year. The bourgeois also remained loyal to Henry III and Henry IV, when Normandy was mostly held by the Catholic League.

17th to 19th century

To complement the two major ports of Brest on the Atlantic Ocean and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

,

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

wished to build a new port on the side of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, facing England, in order to shelter the passing ships. In 1686, Vauban offered to strengthen the fortifications of Cherbourg, and close

Cherbourg Harbour Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "roadstead of Cherbourg") is a harbour situated at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula, on the English Channel coastline, in Normandy, northwestern France. With a surface ...

with two sea walls, but preferred La Hogue for the establishment of a major military port.« "Who are the men who exercised the most influence on the creation of a dockyard in Cherbourg and particularly what part should be attributed to Vauban in projects related to the closure of the harbour?" Extract of ''Scientific Sessions conference France'', held in Cherbourg in September 1860, Mr. Bazan. Cherbourg: Auguste Mouchel, 1860. Fortifications and the castle development work began the following year but were stopped by the King in December 1688, influenced by Louvois and fear of English attacks. In the absence of these fortifications, the population of Cherbourg attended to the destruction of the three ships of Admiral Tourville at the end of the

Battle of La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

. The commercial port dug at the current position of the ''place Divette'' between 1739 and 1742, was devastated in August 1758 by an English attack under the orders of General Bligh and

Admiral Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving in the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations agai ...

. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, the British briefly occupied the town after the

Raid on Cherbourg The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Years' War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy ...

in 1758. The British destroyed military buildings and warehouses before departing. With the development of a new pool of trade in 1769, Cherbourg - a longstanding commercial port of minor importance, a city without a university or cultural activity, regularly looted, and having weak relations with Paris - acquired a weight in the Cotentin which translated, on the eve of the French Revolution, by the creation of networks of sociability by the middle-class united in associations - such as the in 1755 and the lodge "Faithful mason". The population increased from 800 feus (4,000 inhabitants) in Cherbourg and 95 in Octeville, around 1715, to 7,300 people in Cherbourg by 1778.

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

decided to relaunch the project of the port on the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. After many delays, it was decided in 1779 to build a -long sea wall between île Pelée and the tip of

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Louis-Alexandre de Cessart Louis-Alexandre de Cessart (25 August 1719, Paris – 12 April 1806, Rouen) was a French road and bridge engineer. He served in the "gendarmerie de la Maison du Roi", fighting at the battles of Fontenoy and Raucoux in 1745 and 1746. In 1747 he ...

, a pier of 90 wooden cones of by 20, filled with

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

, connected by iron chains. The first cone was immersed on 6 June 1784, and the King attended the on 22 June. But the technique did not withstand storms and was abandoned in 1788 in favour of scuttling old warships to backfill lost stones touted by La Bretonnière. However, the reduction of subsidies and the revolutionary events slowed work down, until its suspension in 1792. A new Hôtel de Ville (town hall) was completed in 1804. First Consul Bonaparte wanted to turn Cherbourg into a major military port, for the invasion of the United Kingdom. He charged

Joseph Cachin Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at Cherbourg Harbour. He was born in Castres on October 2, 1757 and died in Paris on February 23, 1825. Biography Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a bu ...

with the resumption of the work of the sea wall, the digging of military outer harbour, and the construction of the new arsenal. After a visit in 1811, Napoleon made Cherbourg a maritime prefecture, a ''

chef-lieu An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

'' of the

Arrondissements of the Manche department The 4 arrondissements of the Manche department are: # Arrondissement of Avranches, (subprefecture: Avranches) with 134 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 134,499 in 2021. # Arrondissement of Cherbourg, (subprefecture: Cherbou ...

and the seat of a

court of first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

. The work of the central sea wall, interrupted again between 1813 and 1832, ended in 1853, the east and west sea walls in 1895. The

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

docks (begun in 1814 - 290 × 220 × 18 metres) and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

(started in 1836 - 420 × 200 × 18 m) of the military port were respectively opened on 25 August 1829, in the presence of the Dauphin, and 7 August 1858, by the Imperial couple. The work of the sea wall was concluded by the construction of the small harbour (Homet sea wall, 1899-1914 and sea wall of the Flemings, 1921–1922). The work of the port led the intensification and spread of a modernising and developing Cherbourg, while contractors, owners, and local merchants were getting richer. Rural village housing scattered in hamlets made up around large farms (La Crespiniere, La Prevallerie, Grimesnil, La Gamacherie, etc.), connected between them and the Saint-Martin Church by a network of paths, Octeville became chef-lieu of the canton in 1801 (Decree of 23 Vendémiaire, year X) and also its population, to increase by the influx of workers who came to build the port of Cherbourg and work at the Arsenal. After the creation of the ''Route des Pieux'' (current ''Rue Salengro'' and ''Rue Carnot''), the town was formed around an homogenised street-village then urbanising at the beginning of the 20th century. On 16 August 1830, King Charles X, dethroned, departed into exile from the military port of Cherbourg aboard the ''Great Britain'', leaving room for the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

. After seeing moor in its harbour ''Le Luxor'' carrying the

Obelisk of Luxor The Luxor Obelisks (French: ) are a pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks, over 3,000 years old, carved to stand either side of the portal of the Luxor Temple in the reign of Ramesses II (). The right-hand (western) stone, high, was gifted by Egyp ...

in August 1833, Cherbourg welcomed the return of the remains of Napoleon to France aboard the ''Belle Poule''. On 4 August 1858, an equestrian statue of Napoleon by the sculptor

Armand Le Véel Armand Le Véel (1821–1905) was a French statue Sculpture, sculptor. He was a native of Bricquebec, in the ''Departments of France, département'' of Manche. Napoléon III inaugurated his equestrian tribute to Napoleon, Napoleon I in Cherbourg in ...

, was erected on the occasion of the visit of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

to the inauguration of the railway line from Cherbourg to Paris. On 19 June 1864, a naval engagement in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

was held off the coast of Cherbourg: The warship of the Confederates, the CSS ''Alabama'' was sunk by the ship of the Union USS ''Kearsarge'' after two hours of fighting ee the Battle of Cherbourg (1864)">Battle_of_Cherbourg_(1864).html" ;"title="ee the Battle of Cherbourg (1864)">ee the Battle of Cherbourg (1864) under the eye of thousands of spectators, who had arrived by train for the inauguration of the casino. Visualizing the fight from a sailboat, Manet immortalised it in ''The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama">Édouard Manet">Manet immortalised it in ''The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama''. In November 1984, the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

mine hunter ''Circé'' discovered a Shipwreck, wreck under nearly of water off Cherbourg. The location of the wreck (WGS84) was 49°45'147N / 001°41'708W. Captain Max Guerout later confirmed the wreck to be of the CSS ''Alabama''.

Early 20th century

From 1847, the geographical and technical properties of the port of Cherbourg attracted shipping companies linking European ports to the east coast of the United States. At the end of the 1860s, the ships of the

Royal Mail Steam Packet Company The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by a Scot, James MacQueen. The line's motto was ''Per Mare Ubique'' (everywhere by sea). After a troubled start, it became the largest shipping grou ...

and the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent Germ ...

anchored in the harbour before crossing the Atlantic. After leaving

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England, the RMS ''Titanic'' made its first stop at Cherbourg on 10 April 1912, during its maiden voyage, where an additional 274 passengers embarked. In 1913, Cherbourg received 500 ships and 70,000 passengers. On 31 July 1909, Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

and French president

Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 – 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. Clément Armand Fallières was a symbol of republicanism in the French Third Republic. He was born into ...

met officially in Cherbourg to reinforce the

Franco-Russian Alliance The Franco-Russian Alliance (, ), also known as the Dual Entente or Russo-French Rapprochement (''Rapprochement Franco-Russe'', Русско-Французское Сближение; ''Russko-Frantsuzskoye Sblizheniye''), was an alliance formed ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, traffic was completely suspended. Cherbourg became the place of arrival for equipment and the British and American troops, and for departure on leave and injuries. The military port experienced an increase in activity, and the garrison stationed at Cherbourg was reinforced. The port infrastructures were developed to receive coal and oil required for the conflict. Traffic doubled, reaching 600,000 tons in 1918. Transatlantic transit resumed in the aftermath of the war with the British, American and Dutch transatlantic companies. To welcome the best stopovers, the Chamber of Commerce built a deep water port, a new ferry terminal, and an area dedicated to loading, unloading and storage of goods in the field of Mielles. Cherbourg became the first port of migration in Europe, and

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

,

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

and

Red Star Line The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgi ...

companies united to build the ''Hôtel Atlantique'' tlantic Hotelintended to receive emigrants before crossing. At the same time, the downtown was renovated, especially in the architectural projects of René Levesque, Drancey and . However, the 1929 crisis put an end to the transatlantic peak.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939–1945), the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

occupied the north of France and fortified the coastline against invasion. As a deep-water port, Cherbourg was of strategic importance, very heavily protected against seaborne assault. German troops arrived in the outskirts of Cherbourg on 17 June 1940, towards the end of the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. Two days later, the City Council declared the city open, and ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

''

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

, commander of the 7th Panzer Division, received the surrender of the city from the hands of the maritime prefect, Vice-Admiral , who had earlier destroyed submarines under construction at the arsenal and East Fort. Four years later, Cherbourg, the only deep-water port in the region, was the primary objective of the American troops who had landed at Utah Beach during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

. The

Battle of Cherbourg The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on 6 June 1944. Allied troops, mainly American, isolated and captured the fortified port, which was ...

was required to give the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

a point of logistic support for human resupply and material of the troops. American troops encircled the city on 21 June 1944. At the end of furious street fighting and bitter resistance from the Fort du Roule, ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

''

Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben __NOTOC__ Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben (30 October 1894 – 18 June 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Biography Schlieben joined the Prussian Army in August 1914 and served during World War I. He served as a regimen ...

, ''

Konteradmiral (; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or rear admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag of ...

'' Walter Hennecke and 37,000 German soldiers surrendered on 26 June to Major General Joseph Lawton Collins, Commanding General (CG) of the U.S. VII Corps. After a month of

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

and repairs by American and French engineers, the port, completely razed by the Germans and the bombing, welcomed the first

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s and became, until the victory of 1945, the busiest port in the world, with traffic double that of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It was also the endpoint of the gasoline which crossed the English Channel via the underwater pipeline

PLUTO Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

(Pipe Line Under The Ocean), and the starting point of the

Red Ball Express The Red Ball Express was an American truck convoy system that supplied World War II allies, Allied forces moving through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in the summer of 1944. To expedite cargo shipments to the fro ...

, truck transport circuit to

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

. Cherbourg was returned to France by the Americans on 14 October 1945. It was cited in the Order of the Army on 2 June 1948 and received the Croix de guerre with Palm.

Postwar

The wartime destruction was mainly concentrated around the military port in Cherbourg but had hit 60% of Octeville. Thanks to the urgency of the port reconstruction, economic activity resumed quickly. Cherbourg, headed by former

SFIO The C programming language provides many standard library functions for file input and output. These functions make up the bulk of the C standard library header . The functionality descends from a "portable I/O package" written by Mike Lesk at ...

Minister , built much social housing. The postwar boom led to the modernisation of the economy and a greater role for female employment. Under the leadership of

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, Cherbourg became the hub of nuclear

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

construction from 1964, including the first, ''Le Redoutable'', which was launched in 1967.

Félix Amiot Félix Amiot (October 17, 1894 – December 21, 1974) was a French industrialist and aircraft constructor based in Colombes, France. Some of the aircraft models he designed served in the French Air Force during the Second World War. His second in ...

's shipyard

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) is a French shipyard located at Cherbourg. It employs approximately four hundred employees covering the various specialities required for the construction of luxury yachts and warships. Since its foun ...

, specialised in military armaments, became famous during the Christmas of 1969 in an episode of the

Cherbourg Project The Cherbourg Project (or Boats of Cherbourg) was an Israeli military operation that took place on 24 December 1969 and involved the escape of five remaining armed Sa'ar 3 class missile boat, Sa'ar 3 class boats from the French port of Cherbour ...

. Incorporated in 1970, the gathered together Cherbourg and Octeville,

La Glacerie La Glacerie () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Tourlaville,

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Équeurdreville-Hainneville Équeurdreville-Hainneville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.La Hague reprocessing plant and the

Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant The Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant is located at Flamanville, Manche, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. The power plant houses three pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Unit 1 and 2, rated 1.3 GWe each, and based on Westinghouse design, were o ...

in addition to submarines of the DCN. A union of trade unions, left-wing activists and environmentalists, formed around the fear of the "nuclearisation" of Nord-Cotentin, crystallised in January 1979 when the ''Pacific Fisher'' landed with the first spent nuclear waste from Japan. On the eve of the 1980s, the Cherbourg agglomeration was hit by several violent social conflicts, particularly due to the closure of the Babcock factories.

Turn of the millennium

Vue panoramique sur Cherbourg depuis le Fort du Roule 03

The major decisions of the public authorities, on which Cherbourg has depended for many centuries, and the nuclear industry, caused a deep economic crisis in the 1990s. The Arsenal was drastically downsized, the Northern Fleet (FLONOR) moved to Brest in 1992, and the closed. UIE, Burty, CMN, Socoval and Alcatel accumulated social plans or closings. Under the auspices of the , the agglomeration developed its academic offerings with the IUT of Cherbourg-Manche, the School of Engineers of Cherbourg and a branch of the

University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

, which complemented and the School of Fine Arts. The new millennium began with the creation of a new commune. Cherbourg-Octeville was created on 1 March 2000 through the joining of Cherbourg and Octeville, following a local referendum within ''"Grand Cherbourg"''. The city revived its tourist and maritime identity through the

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger Art Deco, art-deco monuments of today. History The ...

and the opening to the public of the ''Redoubtable'', and became the home of stopovers for cruises and nautical events. The "between land and sea", with an emphasis on the commercial and touristic attractiveness of the city and the Bassins Quarter, as well as the economic specialisation in boating, emerged. Meanwhile, the traditional activities of the port (passengers, freight and fishing) were in crisis.

Miscellany

The

Norman language Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a ''Langues d'oïl, langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical region, historical and Cultural area, cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to des ...

writer Alfred Rossel, a native of Cherbourg, composed many songs which form part of the heritage of the region. Rossel's song "Sus la mér" ("on the sea") is often sung as a regional patriotic song. The local dialect is known as

Cotentinais Cotentinais () is the dialect of the Norman language spoken in the Cotentin Peninsula of France. It is one of the strongest dialects of the language on the French mainland. Dialects Due to the relative lack of standardisation of Norman, there ...

. La Glacerie was named for

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

. In 1655, Louis Lucas de Néhou built a glass factory which produced windows and mirrors for such buildings as the Galerie des Glaces and

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of F ...

. The factory in La Glacerie was destroyed by Allied bombardments in 1944 during the Normandy invasion. Cherbourg was the first site outside the United States to be designated as an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Heritage Site by the Civil War Preservation Trust because a sea battle was fought nearby in 1864 by Union and Confederate warships. See the

Battle of Cherbourg (1864) The Battle of Cherbourg, or sometimes the Battle off Cherbourg or the Sinking of CSS ''Alabama'', was a single-ship action fought during the American Civil War between the United States Navy warship, , and the Confederate States Navy warship, ...

.

Population

Urban fabric

Cherbourg originally developed on the left bank of the mouth of the , around the castle. Traces of the ancient fortress are rare in the modern city; the fortification was located in the area bounded by the ''Rue de la Marine'', ''Quai de Caligny'', the ''Foch'', ''Gambetta'', ''Albert-Mahieu'' and ''François-Lavieille'' streets, and ''La République'' and ''La Trinité'' squares. The city had five streets: ''Grande Rue'', ''Rue de la Trinité'' (today, Tour-Carrée), the ''Rue du Nouet'' (to the Blé), the ''Rue au Fourdray'' and ''Rue Onfroy'' (of trade), and a dozen boëls (alleys). These five medieval streets were transformed into pedestrian streets in the 1980s. Until the destruction of the city walls, the main road called ''rue de-devant-le-château'', was built on its west (east is bordered by ditches) with several houses with arcades, called ''soliers''. After the dismantling of the walls, inside which lived three-fifths of the population, the city extended up to its natural boundaries at the end of the 17th century: the Divette in the east, and Chantereine stream in the west. During the 19th century, it extended to the neighbouring annexed territories of Tourlaville and Équeurdreville. Its rapid growth from the end of the 18th century was spoken of by Jean Fleury, in 1839, in that it ''"offers almost everywhere the appearance of a new town; the old streets occupy little space, and the others are generally large and airy, the fountains numerous .. Cherbourg has 10 squares, 59 streets, 12 cul-de-sacs and 5 passages."'' Damaged during all eras, rebuilt in piecemeal, the city has no architectural unity. Shale, extracted from the quarries of the agglomeration, is the traditional material of construction. With widespread coverage in the northern Cotentin, it is also used in Cherbourg for the walls in the city, apparent or often covered with a grayish or sometimes colourful coating. The frames are then Valognes stone (limestone), pink granite of Fermanville, or brick, and the underpinnings Armorican sandstone of the Roule and the Fauconniere. The expansion of the city from the 18th century contributed to the diversity of materials. The use of

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

and industrial brick was necessary under the Second Empire, while vernacular architecture disappeared gradually in these years in favour of a more homogeneous and Parisian style. Cherbourg and its agglomeration urbanised around the ports and along the coast. With post-war reconstruction and the economic development of the

Trente Glorieuses ''Les Trente Glorieuses'' (; 'The Thirty Glorious (Years)') was a thirty-year period of economic growth in France between 1945 and 1975, following the end of the Second World War. The name was first used by the French demographer Jean Fourast ...

, the city is experiencing a crisis of housing due to the demographic boom, having built on the last vacant land. Indeed, a 1954 report evaluated 1,000 inhabitant families living in slums and called for 1,500 housing units. Then out of land ''Cité du Casino'' in 1957 and the ''Cité Fougère'' in 1958, then in 1959 all of the ''Amont-Quentin'', ''Charcot-Spanel'' and ''Cité Chantereyne'' to accommodate the families of the engineers and officers of the Arsenal. Port Chantereyne and the Mielles lands are reclaimed from the sea, the ''Place Divette'' and ''Boulevard Schuman'' are created at the site of the old fairground. However, at that time, the change mainly affected nearby villages that formed an agglomeration in less than forty years. Octeville, a dispersed habitat until the 18th century, and urbanised during the work of the port around a central street, saw the

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...

of the Provinces settle on the heights of la Fauconniere and triple its population in 20 years. Several estates also emerging at Tourlaville, La Glacerie, Querquerville and Equeurdreville, amending the physiognomy of a suburb which densified. This urbanisation resulted in the dilution of the geographic and sociological boundaries of the agglomeration resulting in the creation in 1970 of the until the merger of Cherbourg and Octeville in 2000. Les-Provinces

Following this merger, a plan of urban renewal named "Between Land and Sea" was launched in 2002 on the quarters of Bassins, of the Amont-Quentin and the Provinces to homogenise the territory of the newly alamgamated city. The Bassins quarter, released by the channelling of the Divette and the filling of the retaining channel, is expected to profoundly transform the commercial landscape of the city, carried by the construction of a new shopping centre and the renovation of downtown. On the heights, seven HLM tower blocks are intended for demolition to improve social housing. A 3-star hotel and the relocation of the casino is also planned. At ''Avenue Carnot'', the former Grouard warehouses must leave room for parking and a place through from the wharf from the ''Quai de l'Entrepôt'' to the Pasteur Hospital, to 180 dwellings by Presqu'île habitat and ADIM (Vinci company) then 100 extra in a second round of development. The administrative quarters are: *Downtown, historic heart of Cherbourg, with the inner city and the districts of La Polle and the Vœu, dating from the 19th century. *The Val-de-Saire, annexed in 1811, beyond the Divette and swing-bridge. *Sud-est, corresponding to the districts of du Roule and Maupas, traditionally for workers. *The Amont Quentin-Provinces, on the heights of the city, built from the late 1950s (essentially HLM tower blocks). *Octeville-Bourg, from both sides of the Salengro and Barbusse streets. *Ouest, western part of the former municipality of Octeville. Since 1996, Cherbourg-Octeville is covered by a

sensitive urban zone A sensitive urban zone (, ZUS) is an urban area in France defined by the authorities to be a high-priority target for city policy, taking into consideration local circumstances related to the problems of its residents. On the 26th of December 1996 ...

on the expanded area of the Provinces.

Demography

The construction of the dam and the military port has brought an important flow of workers and soldiers. Cherbourg and Octeville have seen their populations quadruple in a century. Cherbourg had 43,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the 20th century. During this century, Cherbourg lost some 15,000 inhabitants, while Octeville grew continuously, with an explosion in the 1960s and 1970s, during the construction of the

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...

s. According to estimates from INSEE for 2018, Cherbourg-Octeville has 35,545 inhabitants.Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2018
INSEE It is the largest city of the Manche department, and second of

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover ...

(after

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

), surpassing

Alençon Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alen� ...

, which had been second before the amalgamation. Cherbourg concentrated 7.7% of the departmental population, twice as much as the prefecture,

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Équeurdreville-Hainneville Équeurdreville-Hainneville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.English-style gardens. The first was due to

Joseph Cachin Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at Cherbourg Harbour. He was born in Castres on October 2, 1757 and died in Paris on February 23, 1825. Biography Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a bu ...

created while he was responsible for the construction of the port, a private garden and a pond near the , instead of the current railway line leading to the

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

. The temperate oceanic climate favours the naturalisation of southern and exotic plants such as palm trees, brought back by many Cherbourg sailors and explorers. Then, under the Third Republic, public gardens opened. Today the city offers several green spaces: *The of , on the ''Avenue de Paris'', was the first park to be offered to the population, in 1887. At the foot of the ''Montagne du Roule'', it hosts many animals (

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s,

aviaries An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages in ...

,

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, etc.). A commemorative site preferred by the municipality, it contains the monument to the dead inaugurated in 1924, the old portal of the Abbey of the Vœu, the bust of

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

, and the last town bandstand. Two pavilions of angles constructed in 1889 limit the garden on the ''Avenue de Paris''. *The

Emmanuel Liais Emmanuel Liais (15 February 1826 – 5 March 1900) was a French astronomer, botanist and explorer who spent many years in Brazil. He was born in Cherbourg, the son of a wealthy family in the shipbuilding industry. He was an amateur scien ...

Park is the former garden of the Mayor of Cherbourg's house, designed in 1881 and opened in 1885. Bequeathed to the city upon his death, it is very wooded and has an observation tower, a plan of water containing water lilies and other aquatic plants and two greenhouses sheltering rare plants, including a rich collection of South American plants brought back from his travels and acclimated by Liais. It is labelled as a Remarkable Garden. *The Montebello garden, opened in 1872 in the street of the same name, within the Napoleon III Quarter, was created at the initiative of the Horticultural Society of Cherbourg for its members. Open to the public since its inception, it contains

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

s,

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...

s and

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

s, and offers a chalet of bricks with beams. *The Park of the , a Cherbourg-Octeville property on the territory of Tourlaville, was developed by the Vicomte René de Tocqueville from 1872, with an

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

and a woodland. The park and the greenhouse built between 1872 and 1875, which is home to palm, banana, cactus and lianas have been open since the acquisition by the city of Cherbourg in 1935, and are classified as historical monuments since 4 March 1996. Several water bodies welcome Black Swans and the aviaries are home to rare birds. An artificial waterfall was created in 1921. *The ild valleycontains hedgerows,

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, orchards and woodland in the heart of Octeville, in a natural area of . A private garden, the Botanical Garden of the Roche Fauconnière, is also listed in the inventory of Historic Monuments since 29 December 1978. Established in 1873, it was embellished over generations by the Favier family. The commune also has allotments, managed by associations: Vallon Sauvage, Fourches, Roquettes, Saint Sauveur and Redoute, which gives free land to its members. In 2007, the municipality was awarded four flowers in the competition of flowery towns and villages. The beautification policy, which dates from 1995, resulted in obtaining a first flower, followed by a second in 2000 and third in 2002. It relies on public gardens, heirs to a local botanical heritage of over a century, of flower beds and of green space on events such as ''Le Mois des Jardins et Presqu’île en Fleurs'' he Month of Gardens and Peninsula in Flowers and the annual distribution of geraniums to the resident volunteers.

Economy

Historic

At the instigation of Colbert, the guild of drapers was founded on 16 April 1668, the manufacture of cloth produced two thousand pieces per year. Two years earlier, Colbert had also promoted the introduction of the

glass factory Glass is an amorphous ( non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window panes, tableware, and optics. Some common objects made o ...

in the forest of Tourlaville. In the 18th century, the economic resources came mainly through maritime trade, the preparation of cured meats and the harbour and breakwater works, plus a moribund textile industry. On the eve of the French Revolution, salt was imported from

Le Croisic Le Croisic (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. It is part of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire. History In the autumn of 1583, while the Catholic Church in Ireland was illegal and underground, Archbishop Der ...

along with British grain, and Littry coal. Exports were mainly to Britain (sheets and clothes) and the West Indies (cattle and mules, fat and salted butter, salted meats, cod, linens and canvas), but also to

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

for wood and coal. Lawful or otherwise exchanges also took place with the Channel Islands (

tanbark Tanbark is the Bark (botany), bark of certain species of trees, traditionally used for Tanning (leather), tanning Hide (skin), hides into leather. The words "tannin", "Tanning (leather), tanning", "Tan (color), tan," and "Tawny (color), tawny" a ...

, grain and wool). Cherbourg shipowners were absent from significant fishing, including that of cod on the banks of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, which was a specialty of Granville. 361 workers (1764) and 69 skilled workers (1778) of the factory annually produced (1760) 2,000 fine linens in green and white strip. Cherbourg also had seven producers of starch. Opened in 1793 at the location of the current Lawton-Collins Wharf, the arsenal was moved in 1803 on a decision by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, within the project of the military port. Sailing ships were built, the first, the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''La Colombe'', was launched on 27 September 1797, and then screw-propelled vessels up to the end of the 19th century. From 1898, the Arsenal specialised in the . The first were ''Le Morse'' and ''Le Narval''. Since then, more than 91 vessels have been built there. ''L'Annuaire de la Manche'' he Yearbook of Manchein 1829 mentioned several slate quarries in the agglomeration whose product was sometimes exported to Le Havre, two printers, two soda refineries (properties of Mr. Le Couturier and Messrs. Crenier and Co. producing approximately 600 tonnes for

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

,

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

,

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

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Germany and Russia), a sugar refinery (Mr. Despréaux) whose 50 tonnes were sold in the English Channel, a lace factory run by four nuns on behalf of Messrs. Blod and Lange and several tanners. It is indicated that the port trade was based on exportation of mules to

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

and the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

, salted meat of pigs and eggs in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, wine and brandies, and the import of

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and Russian wood, linseed, and hemp. But its use as a place of war hampered the development of Cherbourg as major commercial port, compared to Le Havre. Ten years later, for these exchanges, counted 225 to 230 both French and foreign, from 30 to 800 tons, ships each carrying 6 to 18 crew. He added the maritime buildings and armaments and the export of butter of

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

, and the total annual trade was estimated at between 4 or 5 million francs, of which one million for the export of eggs to the United Kingdom, and 850 tons of salted meat. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cherbourg was primarily a military port. The commercial port was modest, always exporting mules to the West Indies and Réunion and local food products to Britain (butter, meats, eggs, cattle, etc.), but also chemical products of soda extracted from kelp, granite from nearby quarries, and important wood and iron from

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

, tar, hemp, and food from the colonies. At this time the port embraced the transatlantic epic. Cherbourg's industry was then specialised in shipbuilding, as well as in lace-making and the manufacture of rope. The late 19th century also saw Cherbourg develop an aviation industry, through the company of

Félix du Temple Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

, taken over in 1938 by

Félix Amiot Félix Amiot (October 17, 1894 – December 21, 1974) was a French industrialist and aircraft constructor based in Colombes, France. Some of the aircraft models he designed served in the French Air Force during the Second World War. His second in ...

, another aviation pioneer for the aerospace company of Normandy. Gradually, workers developed a particular skill in metalwork, both for the submarines of the Arsenal, for aircraft and ships of the Amiot shipyards or Babcock-

Wilcox Wilcox may refer to: Places ;Canada *Wilcox, Saskatchewan ;United States * Wilcox, Florida, an unincorporated community in Gilchrist County, Florida *Wilcox, Missouri, an unincorporated community in Nodaway County, Missouri * Wilcox, Nebraska * Wil ...

boilers. In 1916,

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

introduced its first French factory in Cherbourg. The 1960s saw a revival of the local economy through the increase in the female workforce and the decline of agricultural employment in favour of diversification of jobs and a high-tech industry. In 1960, under the leadership of Mayor

Jacques Hébert Jacques René Hébert (; 15 November 1757 – 24 March 1794) was a French journalist and leader of the French Revolution. As the founder and editor of the radical newspaper ''Le Père Duchesne'', he had thousands of followers known as ''the ...

, Hortson was established in the Maupas quarter. One hundred employees manufactured projectors and film cameras, particularly for the ORTF and Russian television. Redeemed, the factory specialised under the name of

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...

audiovisual in surveillance and medical cameras, then in the production of electronic circuits of computer terminals on behalf of

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) is a French shipyard located at Cherbourg. It employs approximately four hundred employees covering the various specialities required for the construction of luxury yachts and warships. Since its foun ...

and the Arsenal. Since 1976, it has been dedicated to the production of microwave electronic devices, employing 260 workers in 1979 contracted for radars of the

Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would become t ...

Army Air and of the Navy Super Etendards, rising to 400 employees at the end of the 1980s, after moving in 1987 into a new modernised factory in Tourlaville. For a decade, the electronic workshop expanded, adding a production line for mobile television relays, and a workshop for mechanical surface treatment. As part of the internal restructuring of

Alcatel Alcatel SA was a French industrial conglomerate active between 1963 and 2006. It has roots to ''Compagnie Générale d’Electricité'' (CGE), a conglomerate founded in 1898 as an early state owned cable and telephone equipment company that lat ...

, the site, which has 300 employees, was sold in 2002 to

Sanmina-SCI Sanmina Corporation is an American electronics manufacturing services, electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider headquartered in San Jose, California that serves original equipment manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) ...

, which ceased its activity in March 2008. The ''Compagnie industrielle des télécommunications'' (CIT), merged the following decade with Alcatel, it also opened an assembly plant for electronic telephone exchanges, at

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

, the La Hague reprocessing plant and the

Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant The Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant is located at Flamanville, Manche, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. The power plant houses three pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Unit 1 and 2, rated 1.3 GWe each, and based on Westinghouse design, were o ...

, accentuated the industrial development of a city that saw a golden age through what the journalist François Simon called "industries of death", since about two thirds of the local industrial fabric was related to defence and the nuclear industry. Cherbourg is also the cradle of the

Halley Halley may refer to: Science * Halley's Comet, officially designated 1P/Halley, a comet that becomes visible from Earth every 75-76 years * Halley (lunar crater), a lunar crater named after Edmond Halley * Halley (Martian crater), a Martian cra ...

family and society, which became

Promodès Promodès is a former French group of retailers. It was owned up to 56% by the Halley family. Paul-Auguste Halley, which was a simple grocer in the Manche in the 1950s, had the idea of importing the concept of supermarkets in France. With his ...

in the 1960s ( hypermarkets,

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

supermarkets). In 1999, Promodès merged with

Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...

. The old buildings of Halley House became the technical centre of the Cachin vocational school, on ''Avenue Aristide-Briand''.

Economic data

In 1999, the economically active population of Cherbourg and Octeville was 18,671 inhabitants in a total population of 42,288 inhabitants. and Cherbourg-Octeville supports an unemployment rate (19.6% in 1999), double that of its job base (9.3% in 2006, a decrease of 1.1% in one year) which itself has the highest unemployment of the basins of employment of the department. At 31 December 2004, there were 3,700 jobseekers. Therefore, the annual average household income is lower than the national average (€13,730 for the city, compared with €15,027 in France) despite an average monthly salary (€1,590 in 2001) highest job growth of the department and higher than that of

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

-

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

(€1,550).

Main activities

Cherbourg is the seat of the particularly manages the airport, the fishing ports of Cherbourg and the trade, and, together with the , the FIM group training organisation. *Major Employers on 1 January 2001 *Maritime sector The Cherbourg economy derives a large part of its activities from its maritime position. Cherbourg indeed has : A military port, a fishing port, a port of commerce (passenger traffic and cross-border goods) and a marina. Weakened since the 1990s, the commercial port sees the transit of 110,000 trucks to or from Ireland and Great Britain. Project Fastship, involving container transport from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(United States) by high-speed vessels and oped for fifteen years, has been forgotten in favour of the

Motorways of the Sea Motorways of the Sea is a concept in the transport policy of the European Union, stressing the importance of sea transport. The main aim of these Motorways of the Sea is to improve port communications with peripheral regions of the European conti ...

in the context of the Ena (Eurocoast Network Association), with

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

(Germany),

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

(Belgium), Rosslare (Ireland) and Ferrol (Spain), with no more effect at the moment. In recent years, the cross-Channel passenger traffic has declined, with competition from Caen-Ouistreham and the

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

. The withdrawal of the P&O company, which served Poole and Southampton, has left two companies with cross-Channel links:

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France, England, Ireland, Spain and the ...

to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

and

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembr ...

to Rosslare (Ireland). In the first eleven months of 2007 compared with the same period of 2006, passenger traffic declined by 3.84% to 750,000 units, while freight fell 4.43% with 87,000 trucks landed. For comparison, the port had 1.7 million passengers and 138,000 trucks in 1995. Property, with the Port of Caen-Ouistreham, of the joint association Ports Norman Associates, involving the and the Departmental Councils of

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

and

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

, port trade is managed by a joint company of the and . The construction of a terminal dedicated to the traffic of coal from South America and destined for the United Kingdom will put an end to the haemorrhage of the activity of the port. The fishing industry is affected by the crisis affecting the entire industry, and the port has seen its fleet decline. Cherbourg was the first French marina by number of visitors in 2007, having 10,117 boats for 28,713 overnight stays in 2007, and the total impact estimated at €4 million for the Cherbourg agglomeration. A tradition of local industry, shipbuilding is based on the two pillars of the DCNS Cherbourg for

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s and

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) is a French shipyard located at Cherbourg. It employs approximately four hundred employees covering the various specialities required for the construction of luxury yachts and warships. Since its foun ...

(CMN), famous for their speedboats. This sector has been widely restructured over the past twenty years. The military arsenal saw the end of the construction of the ''Redoutable''-class submarines and expanded its customer base, until then exclusively of the Navy, prior to being privatised in 2007. With diesel ''Agosta'' submarines, developed since 1994 for Pakistan, and the ''Scorpène'', in collaboration with the shipyards of Cartagena, sold to Malaysia, Chile and India, 25% of the total turnover of the establishment is of foreign origin. Partnerships with Pakistan and India have concluded to make the construction term at home. The CMN, which employed 1,200 people at the beginning of the 1980s, modernised and automated, and now has 500 employees. The company diversified into large luxury yachts, without abandoning the military market, and has signed such contracts with the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

through the Franco- Lebanese businessman

Iskandar Safa Iskandar Safa (; 3 April 1955 – 29 January 2024) was a French businessman and philanthropist of Lebanese origin. In the late 1970s, Safa enrolled in the American University of Beirut, graduating with a degree in civil engineering. He left Leba ...

, owner since 1992. TransatJ

While these two military companies have experienced reductions in loads (the number of jobs at the Arsenal increased from 6,000 including 1,000 subcontracted, in 1988, to 2,600 including 500 subcontractors), and the companies have repositioned in the nautical industry. , a subsidiary of CMN with 100 employees, built racing yachts. Originally hosted by CMN to build aluminium hulls designed by James Ébénistes ( Saint-Laurent-de-Cuves), Allures Yachting has specialised in cruising sailboats. The Allais shipyard, of Dieppe, has established a subsidiary, ICAN, dedicated to civilian boats and pleasure craft. A network of subcontractors and specialists formed around this hub through Ameris France (established in 1994 under the name of ''Cap 50 export'', specialised in the research and the supply of spare parts for ships and military aircraft), the Efinor group (founded in 1988, specialising in metallurgy, nuclear decommissioning and engineering), MPH (help in project control, 140 employees). At

Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. It is particularly known for being a major site of fortifications des ...

, Facnor has become a global specialist of sailing reels. The Navy employs nearly 3,000 officials in the agglomeration, especially in the context of administration (maritime prefecture), maritime safety (customs, CROSS, Abeille), logistical support of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

and foreign passage, and of training. *Metallurgy Metallurgy has long represented a large source of employment in the agglomeration. Around the Arsenal and its

boilermaker A boilermaker is a Tradesman, tradesperson who Metal fabrication, fabricates steels, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bure ...

s, several metalworking and mechanical industries were formed from the early 1900s. This is the case of the oldest business the city, the Simon Brothers company, founded in 1856, which went from being a mechanical workshop to a steam agricultural machinery manufacturer and then to an agribusiness in a half a century. Manufacturing guns in 1870 and 1939, the company became a world leader in churns and mixers for the butter industry. Similarly, the Babcock

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

manufacturer was implanted in Cherbourg in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and closed its doors after a protracted labour dispute, in 1979. Later, the began business in Cherbourg in 1973, for the construction of

oil platform An oil platform (also called an oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, etc.) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platforms w ...

s, but closed in 1985. *Agri-food The food industry, essential in Lower Normandy, is not absent from the employment pool. A farm raising salmon in the harbour, abattoirs handling farmed livestock of Nord-Cotentin, and several processing companies exist. The Simon Brothers (50 employees) have supplied equipment for the cider and dairy industries for more than a century. *Electronics Alcatel had two units in the 1980s, one in Cherbourg, then Tourlaville (formerly

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...

) the other in Querqueville ( Alcatel CIT). Both, regarded as flagships of the group, specialised respectively in microwave and electronic telephone exchanges. However, Alcatel decided to close the Querqueville factory in 1997, Codifur then took over part of the business with hundreds of employees. In 2002, it also offloaded the Tourlaville unit to

Sanmina-SCI Sanmina Corporation is an American electronics manufacturing services, electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider headquartered in San Jose, California that serves original equipment manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) ...

, which relocated its production six years later. Codifur resumed the after-sales service business of Alcatel, or 5% of the initial activity, and a few dozen employees. *Other industries Socoval, a manufacturer of menswear of the Cantoni Group from Italy, is the last textile factory of the Cotentin and employs about 100 employees, since the social plan of 2001, which resulted in the loss of about 40 employees. Economic partners now rely on the "mastery of atmosphere", i.e. the control of contamination from industrial processes, through the created in 2001. Having experience of work involving nuclear risk, it wants to transfer these skills to the food, electronics and pharmaceutical industries. Two courses have been designed for this purpose: A BTS in nuclear maintenance at the Lycee Tocqueville and a DESS in mastery of atmosphere at the Cherbourg School of Engineering. *Commerce The urban community, the main commercial centre of the Cotentin, has four

hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...

s covering - of which one,

Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...

(260 employees), located in the Cherbourg area, represents the third largest private employer of the commune - as well as several large specialist stores. Trade employs nearly 1,400 people in the city centre, but the decline in cross-Channel traffic has caused a big shortfall, exacerbated by the fragile local economy. Although downtown Cherbourg is the main commercial centre of the agglomeration, with 340 establishments, its dominance is lower in the urban community, when compared to Caen towards its agglomeration. Indeed, Cherbourg focuses 35% of commercial activities and 45% of retail trade in the agglomeration, against 40% and 55% for the centre of Caen respectively, particularly two-thirds of the human equipment stores against 90% in Lower Normandy's capital. Grocery chains, equipment and home appliances have left the city centre for out-of-town shopping centres. The number of fast food outlets doubled between 1995 and 2005, while the strength of the traditional catering has stagnated. *Services Cherbourg-Octeville, the largest city of the department, is the main centre for administration and services for the

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

. Health is an important provider of jobs with the (470 beds, second of Lower Normandy, merged since 2006 with the Hospital of Valognes) and the Cotentin Polyclinic. The same goes for the education sector with four public and four private schools, a marine high school and aquaculture, a university campus and several graduate schools. The branches of public enterprises are also located there (EDF, with 120 officers and SNCF, with 50 officers). Public employment represents an important part with, in addition to the hospital and schools, municipal and community staff. Business service companies are also present in computer science (Euriware, 85 employees), cleanliness (Onet, 240 employees, and Sin&Stes, 100 employees) and advertising (Adrexo, 50 employees). Cherbourg-Octeville hosts the headquarters of public radio, and the departmental daily '' La Presse de la Manche'' (120 employees with his CES press), successor to the Libération de , and subsidiary of the since 1990. France 3 Normandie boasts a local editorial office in the city; Cherbourg's edition of covers the agglomeration,

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

and the

Val de Saire The Val de Saire (or Vale of the River Saire) is an area situated in the north of the Cotentin Peninsula, to the east of Cherbourg in the French region of Lower Normandy. To the south lies the Plain. It is named after the river Saire, which flow ...

; local television has installed its headquarters and its main studio in the area. Jobs in the construction sector are divided between Faucillion (80 employees),

Eiffage Eiffage S.A. () is a French civil engineering construction company. it was the third largest company of its type in France, and the fifth largest in Europe. History The company was formed in 1992 through the merger of several long standing comp ...

(75 employees) and Colas (60 employees). Since its opening, the ''

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger Art Deco, art-deco monuments of today. History The ...

'' is the tourist engine of Nord-Cotentin. The cruise terminal also attracts liners each year. The marina of 1,500 spaces is the first French port of call (11,000 per year). The capacity of the city was, as of 1 January 2007, 15 hotels and 429 rooms. The casino, owned by the Cogit Group is the 109th in France, with a turnover of €6.7 million.

Politics and administration

In 2010, the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville was awarded a 3-star equivalent ""

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

and was upgraded to a 4-star equivalent rating in 2012.

Administrative divisions

The city has the of two cantons: Canton of Cherbourg-Octeville-1 (to the west) and Cherbourg-Octeville-2 (in the east, which also includes the town of La Glacerie). are the

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

Frédéric Bastian, Anna Pic, Karine Duval and Sébastien Fagnen. The

arrondissement of Cherbourg The arrondissement of Cherbourg is an arrondissement of France in the Manche department in the Normandy region. It lies entirely on the Cotentin Peninsula and has 144 communes. Its population is 186,735 (2021), and its area is . Composition The ...

has 189 municipalities and 190,363 inhabitants. The sub-prefect is Jacques Troncy, former sub-prefect of

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

, appointed 17 March 2014. Since 1986, the , known as Cherbourg, covered the three cantons of Cherbourg-Octeville, and those of Equeurdreville-Hainneville, and Tourlaville. In the context of the legislative redistricting of 2010, the two cantons of Beaumont-Hague and Quettehou integrated the constituency of Cherbourg-Octeville, becoming the 4th constituency. Despite this redistribution often perceived as advantageous for the right, the outgoing

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

deputy of the 5th constituency,

Bernard Cazeneuve Bernard Guy Georges Cazeneuve (; born 2 June 1963) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 December 2016 to 15 May 2017. He represented Manche's 5th constituency in the National Assembly from 1997 to 200 ...

, was re-elected in the first round with 55% of the vote. Cherbourg-Octeville also has the headquarters of the maritime prefecture of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, whose authority extends from the Bay of

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...

to the Belgian border. The is the Vice Admiral of the Squadron, Bruno Nielly. The

maritime quarter The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina) is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swansea Bay to ...

of Cherbourg (initials: CH) is restricted to the limits of the department. Since 1971, Cherbourg-Octeville has belonged to the , presided over by André Rouxel since 2012, Mayor of Tourlaville, to which the municipality delegates urban transport, management of space and the quality of life, the environment and development strategies (higher education, research, major projects, and ''Cité de la Mer'', etc.). The postal codes from prior to the merger of 2000 have been preserved: 50130 for addresses of the former territory of Octeville, 50100 for Cherbourg.

Political trends and results

Cherbourg is historically, with the Arsenal and the port, the main focus of labour and trades unions of the department of Manche. However, the Cherbourg workers do not lean towards radical or revolutionary movements, nor to yellow unionism, traditionally preferring the reformist tendencies. These choices are reflected politically into a strong center-left anchor, dominated by Socialist-radicals and independent Socialists, before whom the

SFIO The C programming language provides many standard library functions for file input and output. These functions make up the bulk of the C standard library header . The functionality descends from a "portable I/O package" written by Mike Lesk at ...

and the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

are not imposed. Since the Liberation, with the exception of a Gaullist period of 18 years with

Jacques Hébert Jacques René Hébert (; 15 November 1757 – 24 March 1794) was a French journalist and leader of the French Revolution. As the founder and editor of the radical newspaper ''Le Père Duchesne'', he had thousands of followers known as ''the ...

following death, the city of Cherbourg has voted in favour Socialist forces. Similarly, the right won the town hall of Octeville in 1989, for a term, by the division of the left. Since the redrawing of the electoral district of Cherbourg in 1986, covering the urban population of the agglomeration and the rural district of the , the left-right alternation is the rule in every legislative election. Presidential elections, results of the second rounds * Election of 2012 (77.28% participation): 60.00% for

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. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

( PS, elected), 40.00% for

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

(

UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...

). * Election of 2007 (83.27% participation): 52.03% for

Ségolène Royal Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...

( PS), 47.97% for Nicolas Sarkozy (

UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...

, elected). * Election of 2002 (76.82% participation): 86,81% for

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

( RPR, elected), 13.19% for

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

( FN). Parliamentary elections, results of the second rounds (1 round, unique for 2012) * Elections of 2012 (54.48% participation), candidates who have collected more than 5% of the vote: 56.57% to

Bernard Cazeneuve Bernard Guy Georges Cazeneuve (; born 2 June 1963) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 December 2016 to 15 May 2017. He represented Manche's 5th constituency in the National Assembly from 1997 to 200 ...

( PS, elected), 39.23% David Margueritte (

UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...

), 8.80% for Jean-Jacques Christmas (FN), 5.55% for Ralph Lejamtel ( EELV). * Elections of 2007 (61.28% participation): 60.77% for Bernard Cazeneuve (PS, elected), 39.23% (UMP). * Elections of 2002 (62.49% participation): 50.78% for Bernard Cazeneuve (PS), 49.22% for Jean Lemière (UMP, elected). European elections, results of the two scores or more than 15% * 2014 election (41.70% participation): 20.59% for (

UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...

), 20.38% for Gilles Pargneaux ( PS- PRG), 19.85% for

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...

( FN). * 2009 election (37.63% participation): 24.98% for

Dominique Riquet Dominique Riquet (born 18 September 1946 in Valenciennes, Nord (French department), Nord) is a French surgeon and politician of the Radical Party (France), Radical Party who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the 2009 Europe ...

(UMP), 22.51% for Gilles Pargneaux (PS), 14.2% for Hélène Flautre (

Europe Écologie Europe Ecology () was a green electoral coalition of political parties in France created for the 2009 European elections composed of The Greens and other ecologists and regionalists. The coalition was launched on 20 October 2008 with the suppo ...

). * 2004 election (40.81% participation): 37.75% for

Henri Weber Henri Weber (23 June 1944 – 26 April 2020) was a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the north-west of France. He was a member of the Socialist Party (PS), which is part of the Party of European Socialists, and sat o ...

(PS), 16.74% for

Tokia Saïfi Tokia Afféda Saïfi (born 11 July 1959 in Hautmont, Nord (French department), Nord) is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament for the North-West of France from 1999 until 2019. She is a member of the Radical Party ( ...

(UMP). * 1999 election (45.52% participation): Cherbourg, 25.12% for

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. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

(PS), 13.98% to

Charles Pasqua Charles Victor Pasqua (18 April 192729 June 2015) was a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was Interior Minister from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's ''cohabitation'' government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government ...

( RPF), 12.54% for

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, 45.09% of participation; Octeville 29.79% for François Hollande (PS), 11.55% for Charles Pasqua (FPN), 8.08% for Nicolas Sarkozy. Regional elections * 2004 election (61.90% participation): 58,27% for

Philippe Duron Philippe Duron (born 19 June 1947) is a French politician. He was the mayor of Caen between 2008 and 2014 and deputy for Calvados's 1st constituency. Philippe Duron received a degree in history in 1975 and was a teacher in Lisieux and the ...

( PS), 31.06% for René Garrec (

UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...

), 10.67% for Fernand Le Rachinel ( FN). * 1998 election (53.71% participation): Cherbourg 42.06% for

Jean-Pierre Godefroy Jean-Pierre Godefroy (born 23 September 1944) is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Manche department. He is a member of the Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. Al ...

(PS), 18.13% for ( UDF), 51.08% participation. Octeville 44.33% for Jean-Pierre Godefroy (PS), 15.50% for Pierre Aguiton (UDF). Cantonal elections * 2008 election: Canton of Cherbourg-Octeville-Sud-Ouest 54.43% for Michel Lerenard (PS), 15.37% for Alain Estève (DVD), 53.22% of participation; Canton of Cherbourg-Octeville-Nord-Ouest 63.03% for Jean-Michel Houllegatte (PS), 36.97% for , 39.32% participation * 2004 election: Canton of Cherbourg-Octeville-Sud-Est, 65.69% for Michel Louiset (PS), 34.31% for M Héry, 59.04% participation. * 2001 election: Canton of Cherbourg-Nord-Ouest (2nd round), 56.15% for Jean Lemière, 43.85% for Jean-Michel Houllegatte, 52.35% of participation; Canton of Cherbourg-Octeville-Sud-Ouest (1st round), 53.12% for Michel Lerenard, 25.29% for Guillemeau, 52.28% participation. * 1998 election: Canton of Cherbourg-Sud-Est, 65.76% for Michel Louiset, 34.24 percent Ponthou, 41.5% participation. Municipal elections * 2014 election: 39.19% for Jean-Michel Houllegatte (PS), 34.06% for David Margueritte (UMP), 15.56% for Jean Levallois (

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

), 11.17% for Ralph Lejamtel ( FG), 52.28% participation. * 2008 election: 66.82% for

Bernard Cazeneuve Bernard Guy Georges Cazeneuve (; born 2 June 1963) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 December 2016 to 15 May 2017. He represented Manche's 5th constituency in the National Assembly from 1997 to 200 ...

(PS), 19.64% for (UMP), 13.55% for Hervé Corbin (dissident UMP), 55.48% of participation. * 2001 election: 55.09% for Bernard Cazeneuve, 23.98% for Jean Lemière, 55.57% participation. Referendums * 2005 European Constitution referendum: 43.39% for Yes, 56.61% for No, 68.95% participation. *Local referendum on the Grand Cherbourg: Cherbourg 83.72% for Yes; Octeville 55.88% for Yes.

List of mayors

With the merging of the municipal councils of Cherbourg and Octeville on 1 March 2000,

Jean-Pierre Godefroy Jean-Pierre Godefroy (born 23 September 1944) is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Manche department. He is a member of the Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. Al ...

(PS), the Mayor of Cherbourg, took the helm of the new administration, and

Bernard Cazeneuve Bernard Guy Georges Cazeneuve (; born 2 June 1963) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 December 2016 to 15 May 2017. He represented Manche's 5th constituency in the National Assembly from 1997 to 200 ...

(PS), Mayor of Octeville, became the first Deputy. Bernard Cazeneuve was elected Mayor of Cherbourg-Octeville during the 2001 municipal election, and re-elected in March 2008 with 66.82% of the vote. Appointed Minister Delegate for European Affairs in May 2012, he gave way to Jean-Michel Houllegatte the following month. The latter was re-elected following the victory of his list with 51.81% at the second round of the 2014 municipal election.

Municipal administration

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

is composed of 39 members including the mayor and eleven assistants. Thirty Councillors represent a leftist majority, nine represent the opposition.

Budget

The main initial budget for 2007 amounted to €73,994,364, divided between the operating section (€54,126,712) and investment section (€19,867,652). Personnel expenses exceeded half (60%) of operating expenses. Almost all of the resources were fuelled by grants (49%) and tax (44%). Of the seven budgets of the municipal mandate (2001-2007), this budget increased overall by 22% (43% for investments, 15% for operation). The investment budget is included in the multiannual programme "Unite the city" (2003-2007), presented in December 2002 by Bernard Cazeneuve. It sees a transformation of the newly amalgamated city through refurbishment of the pool and Port Chantereyne, development of the Bassins zone, filling the retaining channel, and the construction of the sailing school. It is mainly financed by borrowing, increasing the debt of the city (the charges multiplied by two-thirds between 2002 and 2007), lower than the average per capita of the stratum.

International relations

Cherbourg is twinned with: *

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

, United Kingdom, since 1977 *

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

, Germany *

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

, Romania * ,

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, since 2013 Cherbourg maintains decentralised co-operation with: *

Sarh Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive dete ...

,

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, since 2001 * Coubalan,

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, since 1995 * Veles, North Macedonia Twinning projects: *

Hann Hann may refer to: People * Adam Hann-Byrd (born 1982), American actor * Allie Hann-McCurdy (born 1987), Canadian ice dancer * Chris Hann (born 1953), British social anthropologist * David Hann (born 1952), American politician * Della Hann, Am ...

,

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, a quarter of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

* La Unión,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

* Kalaat M'Gouna,

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Justice

Louis XVI removed the viscountcy of Cherbourg by edict in November 1771, and transferred the rights of justice to the Bailiwick of Valognes. In 1785, a was created, however it was smaller than the Viscountcy, essentially covering

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

, as far as Héauville and included Helleville, Tourlaville, and Bretteville, Digosville and Martinvast, and always under the authority of the electoral district of Valognes. Cherbourg became a town and district in January 1790, seat of a justice of the peace and a civil and criminal court. Under the Directory, they were replaced by a simple police court, attended by a justice of the peace, and a police correctional court. The correctional court closed after the Act of 17 February 1800 and Cherbourg was made a town and township of the . After his arrival in the city,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

established a

Court of first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

by the Decree of 19 July 1811. The city is today one of the three main judicial hubs of Manche, along with

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History The capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius ...

and

Avranches Avranches (; ) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History Middle Ages By the end of the Roman period, th ...

. It hosts a (arrondissement of Cherbourg-Octeville), a

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

(Canton of Beaumont-Hague, Cherbourg-Octeville-Nord-Ouest, Cherbourg-Octeville-Sud-Est, Équeurdreville-Hainneville, Cherbourg-Octeville-Sud-Ouest, Les Pieux, Saint-Pierre-Eglise and Tourlaville), a council of tribunals and a tribunal of commerce. A

remand prison Pre-trial detention, also known as jail, preventive detention, provisional detention, or remand, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is ...

is located in the city centre, behind the buildings of the court. As a result of the justice reform presented in 2007 by Rachida Dati, the jurisdiction of the Court of Valognes will be integrated to that of Cherbourg.

Local life

Education

Two have been defined, one being on Cherbourg territory in the Quarter of Maupas, the other straddling Cherbourg and Octeville, in the quarter of the Provinces. Cherbourg-Octeville has six high schools: *The former college, which became high school in 1886, is known by the name of Lycée Victor Grignard (830 students: General and TSG, as well as ). *The Lycée Jean-François Millet (1,210 students: General sector, preparatory health, preparatory literary classes). *The Lycée Alexis de Tocqueville (1,480 students: General sector, technical, professional and higher education -BTS-). *The Ingénieur-Cachin private professional high school (320 students). *The Thomas Hélye private high school, the Sainte-Chantal private lycée and the La Bucaille technological lycée (1,005 students, courses) general and technical. *The aquaculture and marine high school (102 pupils). On 28 June 2013, this became the professional maritime and aquaculture lycée . The university campus, installed on the heights of Octeville, focuses the Cherbourg School of Engineering, the IUT Cherbourg-Manche (which hosts approximately 1,000 students in initial or continuing education through four DUT departments, four pro licenses, one DU, a DCEF and a DAEU), as well as two branches of the

University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

(UFR sciences and UFR modern foreign languages). The Pasteur hospital houses the Institute of training in nursing of Cherbourg-Octeville. The Group FIM, training service of the two chambers of commerce and industry of la Mancha, manages the school of trade and distribution, and since 2007, the Institute of promotion and marketing boating, forming alternating a fortnight of accreditation in the field of boating (shipbuilding, nautical services company, marinas, etc.). The Institute of the Film Industry of Normandy is installed as a result of the International School of Audiovisual Creation and Realisation (EICAR) on the site of the former . It is complemented by the training of apprentices of the Performing Arts and Audiovisual Centre, while the (Esbaco), founded in 1912 by Henri Buffet design Professor and Professor of modelling Félix Delteil, is located in the former convent of the Little Sisters of the Poor (Bassins zone) since 1976. Cherbourg-Octeville welcomes the (EAMEA, 351 students) and the National Institute of Science and Nuclear Technology - remains of the importance of the army in the city - while the School of the Quartermasters (between 600 and 700 students) is located at

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

,

AS Cherbourg Football AS Cherbourg or the Association Sportive de Cherbourg Football is a French football team currently playing in Régional 3, the eighth tier of French football, after suffering expulsion from the national leagues in 2023. They are based in the city ...

, after decades at the national level, is changing, as a result of bad sports results and financial problems, since 2014 in the , equivalent to the 6th division, and is based at the . The club has also two other senior male teams in the League of Lower Normandy. Three other clubs have teams in : *The ''Patronage laïque d'Octeville'' ecular Patronage of Octeville(three teams) *The ''Association sportive de l'Arsenal maritime de Cherbourg'' porting Association of the Marine Arsenal of Cherbourg(one team) *Gazélec Football Club (two teams) The Association sportive Amont-Quentin, which had two district teams until June 2013, had to cease its activities. The Octeville Hague Sport, which was developing its teams in 2013–2014, was unable to present any team for the 2014–2015 season. In cycling, Cherbourg has been a city of arrival for the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

on sixteen occasions: 1911 to 1914 (four consecutive years), from 1919 to 1929 (eleven consecutive years), and finally in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. Cherbourg was a departure city in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. The second stage of the

2016 Tour de France The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées s ...

finishes at Cherbourg. Cherbourg regularly hosts stages of sailing competitions such as the

Solitaire du Figaro The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and . The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateu ...

, the , the Challenge Mondial Assistance, the

Tour de France à la voile Tour de France à la voile is an annual yachting race around the coast of France. Inaugurated in 1978, it links the English Channel to the French Riviera and is held in July. Famous skippers have taken part in the race, including Loïck Peyron an ...

, and the Tall Ships' Race. The Challenger La Manche is a professional tennis tournament ($50,000 plus accommodation) held annually in Cherbourg since 1994. In ice hockey, NC'HOP (, the ''Cherbourg Vikings'') was based in the city. The team was the successor to CHOC (Cherbourg Hockey Club), who played in

FFHG Division 1 FFHG Division 1 (Fédération Française de Hockey sur Glace Division 1 or French Ice Hockey Federation Division 1) is a semi-professional sports, semi-professional ice hockey Sports league, league in France. In France, there are four levels of n ...

until filing for bankruptcy in 1996. NC'HOP left the competition in 2010. AS Cherbourg men's basketball team plays in and the women's team in the Prenational league. The has a male handball team in and a women's team in (agreement with Tourlaville). The club has also implemented a structured training programme for young people, from the 2009/2010 season, around a partnership with colleges of the city.

Health

Cherbourg-Octeville has two hospitals: *The Pasteur Central Hospital, public, second establishment of Lower Normandy with 711 beds and places. With a joint medical project since 2001 and a communal direction since 2003, the Pasteur Centre and the Central Hospital of Valognes merged in 2006 within the (2,000 officials, more than 1,000 beds, and a 2005 budget of €133 million) *The Polyclinic of the Cotentin, at the border between Octeville and

Équeurdreville-Hainneville Équeurdreville-Hainneville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.''Surcouf''. It was closed in 2002 and renovated as a university campus.

Religion

Attached to the Diocese of Coutances-Avranches, until 1 September 2009 the deanery of Cherbourg covered the territory of the urban community and the bordering communes of

Tonneville Tonneville () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune La Hague.

,

Urville-Nacqueville Urville-Nacqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune La Hague. It is an amalgam of two pre-existing villages, which were both heavily damag ...

, and those of the former Communauté de communes de la Saire, and the Communauté de communes de Douve et Divette. To this date, it is merged to the deanery of

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

, to become the , therefore adding the parishes covering the and of Les Pieux. Jean-XXIII parish unites Cherbourg and La Glacerie, with the Cherbourg churches of La Trinité (long only parish church), Notre-Dame-du-Roule, Notre-Dame-du-Vœu, St-Jean-des-Carrières and Saint-Clément. The parish of Saint-Sauveur of Octeville, which also covers Nouainville has three sites in the commune: Saint-Martin, the historic site, Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul, at Provinces, and the Chapel of Saint-Barthélemy. Protestants have a temple of the

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

(since 1835, rebuilt after the war in 1964), and a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

church affiliated with the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

. The Evangelical

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church has been present since 1985 in the agglomeration and is currently located in Tourlaville. Cherbourg and Octeville experienced two major waves of immigration of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

population, the late 1950s and during the 1960s, after the construction of the neighbourhoods of Amont-Quentin, Provinces and Maupas, and then in the 1980s, with the major construction sites of the La Hague reprocessing site and the

Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant The Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant is located at Flamanville, Manche, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. The power plant houses three pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Unit 1 and 2, rated 1.3 GWe each, and based on Westinghouse design, were o ...

. The Muslim community then opened three mosques (the Mosque of Omar in Octeville, the Mosque de la Gare, on the ''Avenue de Normandie'', and then the Turkish mosque, on the ''Boulevard de l’Atlantique'').

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, Parish of Cherbourg, has its chapel on the ''Rue du Commerce''.

Personalities linked to the commune

Natives of Cherbourg

* Masseot Abaquesne (–1564), ceramicist *

Jean Nicolet Jean Nicolet (Nicollet), Sieur de Belleborne (159829 October 1642) was a French ''coureur des bois'' noted for exploring Lake Michigan, Mackinac Island, Green Bay, and being the first European to set foot in what is now the U.S. state of Wisc ...

(1598–1642), explorer of New France * Philippe Mius d'Entremont (c. 1601 – c. 1700), Baron of Pobomcoup and coloniser * Jean Hamon (1618–1687), medical doctor and solitaire of Port-Royal ; * (1626–1705), brigadier of the Armies of the King under

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, Governor of the Hôtel des Invalides * , known as ''Du Bocage'' ( 1658), French corsair then vice-admiral of Brazil * Jean Baptiste de Beauvais (1731–1790), preacher and representative to the

Estates General of 1789 The Estates General of 1789 () was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom ...

* , (1746–1819), lawyer at the

Parlement of Rouen The Parlement of Rouen (), also known as the Parlement of Normandy () after the place where it sat (the provincial capital of Normandy), was a provincial parlement of the Kingdom of France. It replaced the ancient court of the exchequer of Norm ...

, and author of works of law *

Amable Troude Amable Gilles Troude (1 June 1762 – 1 February 1824) was a French Navy officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Early career Troude joined the commerce navy in 1776. During the Am ...

(1762–1824), General of the Empire * (1780–1854), botanist * (1791–1872), sailor *

Lizinska de Mirbel Lizinska de Mirbel (26 July 1796 – 29 August 1849) was a French painter of miniature portraits. She was very fashionable among the aristocracy of Paris during the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy. Early y ...

(1796–1849), miniaturist * (1809–1876), engineer * (1810–1859), politician, musician * (1816–1885), founder of the ''Fondation Vallée'', for mentally retarded children in Gentilly * Joachim Menant (1820–1899),

Assyriologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...

*

Emmanuel Liais Emmanuel Liais (15 February 1826 – 5 March 1900) was a French astronomer, botanist and explorer who spent many years in Brazil. He was born in Cherbourg, the son of a wealthy family in the shipbuilding industry. He was an amateur scien ...

(1826–1900), astronomer and mayor of Cherbourg * Alfred-Alexandre Quentin (1827–1895), trombonist * (1841–1926), songwriter in the

Norman language Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a ''Langues d'oïl, langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical region, historical and Cultural area, cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to des ...

*

Georges Sorel Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and ...

(1847–1922), political thinker * (b. 1854), writer * Henry Moret (1856–1913), painter of the

Pont-Aven School Pont-Aven School (; ) encompasses works of art influenced by the Breton town of Pont-Aven and its surroundings. Originally the term applied to works created in the artists' colony at Pont-Aven, which started to emerge in the 1850s and lasted until ...

* (1871–1959), colonel, eminent specialist in

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

Japan *

Victor Grignard Francois Auguste Victor Grignard (6 May 1871 – 13 December 1935) was a French chemist who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the eponymously named Grignard reagent and Grignard reaction, both of which are important in the formation of ...

(1871–1935), Nobel chemist laureate of the Nobel Prize in 1912 * Lortac (1884–1973), writer and French pioneer of animated cartoons *

Joseph Noyon Joseph-Aimé-Paul Noyon (3 October 1888 – 15 October 1962) was a French organist and composer of classical music. Biography Joseph Noyon was born at Cherbourg (France). He studied organ and church music at the Basilica of the Holy Trinit ...

(1888–1962), compositeur, arrangeur (' ymn to the night '' Il est né le divin enfant'' e is born the divine child * (1890–1968), Archbishop of Rabat *

Félix Amiot Félix Amiot (October 17, 1894 – December 21, 1974) was a French industrialist and aircraft constructor based in Colombes, France. Some of the aircraft models he designed served in the French Air Force during the Second World War. His second in ...

(1894–1974), aircraft builder and creator of

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) is a French shipyard located at Cherbourg. It employs approximately four hundred employees covering the various specialities required for the construction of luxury yachts and warships. Since its foun ...

(CMN) * (1907–2002) and

Paul-Louis Halley Paul-Louis Halley (; 16 September 1934 – 6 December 2003) was a French businessman who co-founded the retail company Promodès, which later merged with Carrefour. Much of his fortune came from his 11% stakeholding in Carrefour. He was esti ...

(1934-2003), founders of the

Promodès Promodès is a former French group of retailers. It was owned up to 56% by the Halley family. Paul-Auguste Halley, which was a simple grocer in the Manche in the 1950s, had the idea of importing the concept of supermarkets in France. With his ...

Group * (1908–1976), biologist and zoologist * (1908–1952), member of the Resistance *

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

(1913–1998), actor and stuntman *

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popu ...

(1915–1980),

semiologist Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is an ...

*

Jean-Charles Tacchella Jean-Charles Tacchella (23 September 1925 – 29 August 2024) was a French screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his film '' Cousin Cousine'' (1975), which was also nominated for ...

(b. 1925), filmmaker, author of ''

Cousin Cousine ''Cousin Cousine'' is a 1975 French romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella and starring Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux, Marie-France Pisier, Guy Marchand and Ginette Garcin. Written by Tacchella and Danièle Thomp ...

'' (1975) ; * (b. 1925), journaliste, former television news presenter, and politician * Annie Saumont (b. 1927), writer, laureate of the in 1981 * Jacques Rouxel (1931–2004), animator, creator of '' Les Shadoks'' *

Michel Besnier Michel Besnier (1928–2000) was a French heir and businessman. He served as the chief executive officer of the Besnier Group, later known as Lactalis. Early life Michel Besnier was born on 18 September 1928 in Laval, Mayenne. His father, André ...

(b 1945), writer * (1945–1994), singer who has imported the madison into France in the 1960s * (b. 1951), poet * (b 1951), writer * (b 1956), sailor *

Élisabeth Ballet Élisabeth Ballet (born 11 December 1956, at Cherbourg, in Normandy), is a French sculptor. She was in residence at the Villa Medici in Rome in 1984 and 1985. She became known in 1985 with two sculptures made out of cardboard, ''Temple 5/19 fé ...

(b 1957), sculptor * (b 1958), oceanographer * (b 1959), Bishop of Langres *

Rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...

(b 1959), film actress * (b 1963), writer and illustrator * Wilfried Gohel (b 1968), footballer * Laurent Leflamand (b 1968), rugby player * Françoiz Breut (b 1969), singer * (b 1971), television presenter *

Émilie Loit Émilie Loit (; born 9 June 1979) is a former tennis player from France. Her three career singles titles, all on clay, included Estoril and Casablanca both in 2004, and Acapulco in 2007. She also won 16 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Her highes ...

(b 1979), tennis player * (b 1982), comedian *

Amaël Moinard Amaël Moinard (born 2 February 1982 in Cherbourg) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2019 for the , and teams. In his first year with the in 2011, Moinard rode the Tour de France a ...

(b 1982), cyclist *

Élodie Godin Élodie Godin (born 5 July 1985, in Cherbourg) is a French former basketball player. She was a member of the French national team, winning the 2009 Eurobasket and a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and playing the 2006 2006 was ...

(b 1985), basketball player * Lise de la Salle (b 1988), pianist * Ernst Umhauer (b 1989), actor

Natives of Octeville

* (1897–1975), prefect and French politician.

Died in Cherbourg

* (1803–1879), historian and poet. * Prosper Payerne (1806–1886), physician, scientist and inventor. *

Armand Le Véel Armand Le Véel (1821–1905) was a French statue Sculpture, sculptor. He was a native of Bricquebec, in the ''Departments of France, département'' of Manche. Napoléon III inaugurated his equestrian tribute to Napoleon, Napoleon I in Cherbourg in ...

(1821–1905), statue sculptor. * (1813–1892), Rear Admiral. * Jean-Charles-Alexandre Sallandrouze de Lamornaix (1840–1899), Admiral, Commander in Chief of the Squadron of the North, died in harbour on the battleship ''Formidable''. *

Louis Corbière François Marie Louis Corbière (10 May 1850, Champsecret – 3 January 1941, Cherbourg) was a French botanist and mycologist. He worked as a school teacher in the town of Sées, followed by similar duties in Argentan (1869). In 1882 he became ...

(1850–1941), botanist. *

Heinz Hellmich Heinz Hellmich (9 June 1890 – 17 June 1944) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a posthumous recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. On 1 April 1942, Hellmich was appoint ...

(1890 – 17 June 1944) German General who served in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. * (1912–2003), one of the negotiators of the

Évian Accords The Évian Accords were a set of declarations between the French Government and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic on 18 March 1962 in Évian-les-Bains which outlined the agreements for Algeria's Independence alongside coope ...

for the abandonment of French Algeria * (1925–2006), politician, deputy mayor of Cherbourg

Others linked to Cherbourg

The work of the seawall and the military port in Cherbourg led many soldiers and engineers, for whom this step was often an important moment in their career. Thus,

Charles François Dumouriez Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez (; 26 January 1739 – 14 March 1823) was a French military officer, French minister of foreign affairs, minister of Foreign Affairs, French minister of Defense, minister of War in a Constitutional Cabin ...

(1739–1823), Governor of Cherbourg who was responsible for the first work, at the dawn of the French Revolution,

Joseph Cachin Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at Cherbourg Harbour. He was born in Castres on October 2, 1757 and died in Paris on February 23, 1825. Biography Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a bu ...

(1757–1825), engineer assigned by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

to the general direction of the maritime work of Cherbourg in 1804. For twenty years, he realised the improvement of the commercial port, and the digging of the docks of the military port, constituting the New Arsenal. Henri Rieunier (1833–1918) who was twice major of the Navy in Cherbourg (1872/1875) and

Louis-Émile Bertin Louis-Émile Bertin (; 23 March 1840 – 22 October 1924) was a French naval engineer, one of the foremost of his time, and a proponent of the "Jeune École" philosophy of using light, but powerfully armed warships instead of large battleships. ...

(1840–1924) who lived in Cherbourg from 1863 to 1879, and is buried in the cemetery of

La Glacerie La Glacerie () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Charles-Eugène Delaunay Charles-Eugène Delaunay (; 9 April 1816 – 5 August 1872) was a French astronomer and mathematician. His lunar motion studies were important in advancing both the theory of planetary motion and mathematics. Life Born in Lusigny-sur-Barse ...

(1816–1872), Director of the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

, drowned while visiting the harbour. Among the engineers of the Directorate of construction and naval weapons, included

Augustin-Louis Cauchy Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy ( , , ; ; 21 August 1789 – 23 May 1857) was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist. He was one of the first to rigorously state and prove the key theorems of calculus (thereby creating real a ...

(1789–1857) and also

Maxime Laubeuf Maxime Laubeuf was a French maritime engineer of the late nineteenth century. He was born on 23 November 1864 at Poissy, Yvelines, and died on 23 December 1939 in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes. Laubeuf was a pioneer in the design and building of s ...

. Under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, the safeguarding of the Château de Cherbourg was already the task of illustrious figures of the Kingdom, such as , the and ( 1697). At the origin of the military port,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(1769–1821), who visited the city in 1811, ''"Revient"'' in Cherbourg in 1840 during the return of his remains to France, aboard ''La Belle Poule'', before being taken to

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...

. A transatlantic port of the 20th century, Cherbourg saw Hollywood stars arrive, such as

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, who organised his disembarkation in 1952 to a press conference in the ''gare maritime'', critical of the McCarthyist America that he left. The port saw a lot of famous people, including businessman

Benjamin Guggenheim Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman, who was a wealthy member of the Guggenheim family. He was among the most prominent American passengers aboard and perished along with 1,495 others when the ...

(1865–1912) for his fatal voyage on the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

. Cinema then gave Cherbourg another lasting reputation, through the images of

Jacques Demy Jacques Demy (; 5 June 1931 – 27 October 1990) was a French director, screenwriter and lyricist. He appeared at the height of the French New Wave alongside contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Demy's films are celebrated ...

(1931–1990) and music by

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...

(1932-2019), in ''

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' () is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg, separate ...

''. Earlier,

Frida Boccara Danielle Frida Hélène Boccara (29 October 1940 – 1 August 1996) was a French singer of Italian descent, who performed and recorded in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, English, Italian, German, Dutch and Russian. Early ...

(1940–1996), knew great success in 1961 with her song ''Cherbourg avait raison''. The letters were not left with

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

Georges Grente Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente (5 May 1872 – 5 May 1959) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Le Mans from 1918 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII. Bi ...

(1872–1959), superior of the Saint-Paul Institute, and Ernest Psichari (1883–1914), soldier and writer, whose garrison stay in Cherbourg in 1914 with the 2nd colonial artillery regiment inspires ''L'Appel des armes''.

Culture and heritage

Cultural facilities

With

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, Cherbourg-Octeville is the main cultural centre of

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover ...

. The city is the seat of several

learned societies A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

, including the founded in 1755, formed in 1851, and the Artistic and Industrial society of Cherbourg, incorporated in 1871. The creation and dissemination of the performing arts are ensured by the ''Trident'', of Italian theatre, the theatre of Octeville and the ''Vox''. Amateur theatre is celebrated by ''Les Téméraires''. The ''vocation prioritaire du Centre régional des arts du cirque'' riority Mission of the Regional Centre of Circus Arts(CRAC) of La Brèche, opened in October 2006, is the residence of circus troops, but instead also offers programming for the public. CRAC participates in the festival of street arts, ''Charivarue''. In addition, the provision of artistic education is rich, with the Film Industry Institute of Normandy, the school of fine arts and the municipal music school, labelled as a conservatory for communal influence, which has 800 registrants. After the closure of ''Ultrasound'' in

Équeurdreville-Hainneville Équeurdreville-Hainneville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.The voice of the ears"and of the place ''Épicentre'', in the former yacht club on ''Quai Lawton-Collins'', where the festival ''La Terra Trema'' takes place. However, the city lacks a large capacity venue, the theatre can accommodate only 700 spectators. After the bitter failure of ''Cherbourg-Land'', this problem has not been resolved at the level of the Cotentin. The Great Hall of the Cité de la Mer, with a space for over 6,000 people, has hosted several concerts, but it is primarily dedicated to the organisation of fairs and exhibitions. Today, the main welcoming complex of large-scale concerts is the Jean-Jaurès Centre of Équeurdreville-Hainneville. Octeville has retained its patronal festival, the Sainte-Échelle, with holiday fair and parades. Cherbourg restarted its carnival in the 1980s, heir of the , similar to that of

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

and

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

.

Museums

Cherbourg has several museums. The former home of

Emmanuel Liais Emmanuel Liais (15 February 1826 – 5 March 1900) was a French astronomer, botanist and explorer who spent many years in Brazil. He was born in Cherbourg, the son of a wealthy family in the shipbuilding industry. He was an amateur scien ...

, mayor of Cherbourg, astronomer and explorer, houses since 1905 the Museum of Natural History and Ethnography, the oldest museum in Cherbourg (founded in 1832), with curio cabinet, collection of stuffed animals, fossils, minerals and ethnographic objects (Egypt, Asia, Oceania, America and Africa), archaeological treasures and library science. It is also the headquarters of the . The Thomas-Henry Fine Arts Museum, named after its first patron, was inaugurated in 1835 and is now the third collection of Normandy with 300 paintings and sculptures from the 15th to the 20th century. Located in the cultural centre, at the back of the theatre, it presents paintings by French, Flemish, Spanish and Italian artists, as well as sculptures. Presentations of works by Fra Angelico, Simon Vouet, Camille Claudel, and one of the largest collections of works by

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

, as well as paintings by Guillaume Fouace native of Réville or the Navy painters. Sculptures by

Armand Le Véel Armand Le Véel (1821–1905) was a French statue Sculpture, sculptor. He was a native of Bricquebec, in the ''Departments of France, département'' of Manche. Napoléon III inaugurated his equestrian tribute to Napoleon, Napoleon I in Cherbourg in ...

are also included. The Museum of the War and the Liberation, the first of its kind when it was inaugurated by René Coty on 6 June 1954, traces the daily life of Cherbourg civilians during the Occupation and the course of the Liberation of Cotentin, particularly the

Battle of Cherbourg The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on 6 June 1944. Allied troops, mainly American, isolated and captured the fortified port, which was ...

. It is installed in the Fort du Roule, centrepiece of the defence of Cherbourg taken by the Americans on 25 June 1944 . The

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger Art Deco, art-deco monuments of today. History The ...

, is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects. Dedicated to oceanographic exploration, it is a complex installed since 2003 in a part of the remains of the old transatlantic station. It offers giant aquariums, a collection of underwater vehicles, such as those of Compagnie maritime d'expertises, COMEX, the bathyscaphe ''Archimède'' and French submarine Redoutable (S611), ''Redoutable'', the first French Ballistic missile submarine, SSBN built in Cherbourg, fully open to the public. The , a unique contemporary art centre in France, dedicated to photography, was inaugurated in the Bassin zone in November 2008.

Literature

The Jacques Prévert Municipal Library, founded in 1831 and opened in 1832, holds the second largest collection in the region, after that of Caen. The purchase of the library of the local scholar Henri-François Duchevreuil, in 1830, complements the 1,855 volumes of the district's library, created at 24 ''Rue Tour-Carrée'', in application of the decree of the Convention of 8 pluviôse year II and composed essentially of works seized from emigrants and deportees. Several donations were then made, including a legacy of 3,000 works by in 1844 (with twenty-six Incunable, incunabula and a ninth-century manuscript The Jewish War, ''De bello iudaico'' [The Jewish War] of Josephus, Flavius Josephus, which remains the oldest document in the library) and a gift in 1877 from Jérôme-Frédéric Bignon, Mayor of Le Rozel and heir to the king's librarians. It also has a Norman fonds, an old fonds devoted to botany and another to travel. Housed in a wing of the City Hall in 1855, and then at 9 ''Rue Thiers'' (''Rue Talluau'') from 1896, the library moved into the cultural centre in June 1981, taking the name of Jacques Prévert, who had died four years earlier in

La Hague La Hague () is a commune in the department of Manche, northwestern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gui ...

. The library also participates in the ''Normannia'' project of the Norman digital library. The former barracks of the Abbey, dating back to the start of the works of the large dam in 18th-century, has housed one of the five regional centres of history of the National Navy, alongside Brest, Lorient, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, since 1970. The archives of the maritime district of the English Channel, Channel and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

are grouped here, and the library of the Navy founded in 1836 in Cherbourg and specialising in maritime history with its 23,000 works. Each year, a network of writing workshops are organised in the metropolitan area, the ''Mercurielles'', and the Festival of the Book and of Youth Comic Books (since 1987). The Biennial of the 9th Art exhibits the works of comics, comic cartoonists (Enki Bilal in 2002, François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters in 2004, André Juillard in 2006, and Jacques de Loustal, Loustal in 2008). In 2002, with the support of the City Hall of Cherbourg, Enki Bilal had planned to create a mural in the old ''gare maritime'' to represent the history of migration in the place; This project was rejected on the basis of an official complaint by , president of the and the

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger Art Deco, art-deco monuments of today. History The ...

. Cherbourg-Octeville is the seat of two publishing houses, ''Isoète'' founded in 1985 and established in 1996.

Cherbourg-Octeville in literature

*Honoré de Balzac cites the engineer Joseph Cachin, constructor of the port of Cherbourg, among the men of genius in ''Le Curé de village'' [The Village Priest] and ''La Duchesse de Langeais'' [The Duchess of Langeais]. Cherbourg is also present in ''Le Réquisitionnaire'' [The Recruit]. *Octave Mirbeau, The Diary of a Chambermaid (novel), ''Le Journal d'une femme de chambre'' [The Diary of a Chambermaid], 1900: In the final chapter, Celestine became the owner of a cafe in Cherbourg *Remy de Gourmont, ''Un cœur virginal'' [A Virginal Heart], 1907 * Ernest Psichari, ''L'Appel des armes'' [The Call to Arms], 1913 *Gilles Rosset, ''Le Vent dominant'' [The Prevailing Wind], Grasset, 1979 *Alexis Salatko, ''Vingt deux nuances de gris'' [Twenty-two Shades of Grey], 1990 *Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod, ''L’omelette au sucre'' [The Omelette with Sugar], Gallimard, Folio Junior, 1999 *Robert Sinsoilliez, ''Une balle pour rien à Cherbourg'' [A Bullet for Nothing to Cherbourg], 2000 * * Ken Follett's novel ''The Pillars of the Earth'' features Cherbourg as the hometown of Jacques Cherbourg, a Frenchman washed ashore in England during the European Middle Ages. His son, Jack Jackson, travels to France as an adult and meets his father's family in Cherbourg. * Kimberly Brubaker Bradley set her novel, ''For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy'' in Cherbourg. The narrator, Suzanne Hall (née David), is a spy for the French Resistance. * Cherbourg (or to be precise its analog in the Lord Darcy (character), Lord Darcy universe) is the setting for Randall Garrett's short story "A Case of Identity" and is part of the backdrop for his novel ''Too Many Magicians''.

Cinema

The cinema occupies a significant place in the life of Cherbourg. Many classics of French cinema have been filmed there, such as ''Marie of the Port (film), La Marie du port'' directed by Marcel Carné and starring Jean Gabin. In 1981, Claude Miller also located the action film ''Garde à Vue'' there, though shot in the studio. However, the most emblematic is undoubtedly ''

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' () is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg, separate ...

'' directed by

Jacques Demy Jacques Demy (; 5 June 1931 – 27 October 1990) was a French director, screenwriter and lyricist. He appeared at the height of the French New Wave alongside contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Demy's films are celebrated ...

, a story about Madame Emery and her 17-year-old daughter Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve) who sell umbrellas at their tiny boutique. The film was shot in the summer of 1963, and still contributes to the international renown of the city. Yet long before, at the time of the splendor of the transatlantic liners, Cherbourg was a port of arrival, departure or transit for many stars, including

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

and Burt Lancaster. The city was also birthplace of the filmmaker

Jean-Charles Tacchella Jean-Charles Tacchella (23 September 1925 – 29 August 2024) was a French screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his film '' Cousin Cousine'' (1975), which was also nominated for ...

and the actor

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

. , the Cinemovida (festival of the cinema of Spain and Latin America), and Images d'Outre-Rhin (German cinema), as well as Cin'étoiles, screenings of films outdoors in July, animate the local cultural life. In 2003, the École Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle et de Réalisation, EICAR film school was located in the old buildings of the . After three years of loss and liabilities estimated at €1.5 million, it was placed into liquidation in September 2006 and replaced the following month, under the leadership of elders of its teachers by the Institut des métiers du cinéma de Normandie (IMC Normandie) that itself closed its doors in 2011. The city has a fleet of 17 permanent cinema rooms, distributed over two sites, including one labelled as ''Art et essai'' (Revival house). *''Odéon'' (5 rooms) Following the opening of the Multiplex (movie theater), multiplex, the withdrawal of the , which operated ''Club 6'' (''Rue de la Paix'') since 1983 and the ''Odeon'' (''Rue Foch'') since 1991, resulted in the closure in 2004 of the first and the revival of the latter city centre cinema, labelled as ''Revival house, Art et essai'' by Fadila Chambelland, the former manager. The cinema had 90,000 admissions in 2006. The damaged façade of the old cafe of the Grand balcon, which then became ''Le Central'' cinema, is in the style of the Second Empire, with caryatids and garlands of flowers. *''Méga CGR'' (12 rooms) Opened in 2003 near the ''boulevard maritime'' with 2,557 seats; 400,000 admissions in 2006. *''Omnia'' (1 room) The historic cinema operated by Pathé, located on the ''Rue de la Paix'', it was bought in the 1990s by the municipality and no longer welcomes any more than rare events. The interior frescoes of R. Lecoq, representing Aeolus and Vulcan (mythology), Vulcan, were distinguished in 2006 by the label "20th century heritage" of the Ministry of Culture (France), Ministry of Culture. Several cinemas have disappeared, such as the ''Eldorado'' (destroyed, ''Place de la Republique''), the ''Eden'' (''Rue Cachin''), the ''Vox'' (former patronage room which became a second room of Le Trident (theatre)), and the ''Saint-Joseph'' (''Rue des Ormes''), etc.

Films shot in Cherbourg

*''Le p'tit Parigot'' (1926), by René Le Somptier *''Marie of the Port (film), La Marie du port'' (1950), by Marcel Carné, with Jean Gabin *''

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' () is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg, separate ...

'' (1964), by

Jacques Demy Jacques Demy (; 5 June 1931 – 27 October 1990) was a French director, screenwriter and lyricist. He appeared at the height of the French New Wave alongside contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Demy's films are celebrated ...

, starring Catherine Deneuve * (1975), directed by Claude Zidi, with Pierre Richard and Jane Birkin *''Roads to the South'' (1978), Joseph Losey, with Yves Montand *''The Green Ray (film), The Green Ray'' (1986) of Éric Rohmer * (2005), directed in part at the EICAR-Cherbourg *''La Boîte noire'' (2005), by Richard Berry (actor), Richard Berry *''Lili and the baobab'' (2006), Peter and Sloane, Chantal Richard, with Romane Bohringer *''Rumba (2008 film), Rumba'' (2008) Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, , etc. *''Love Me No More (film), Love Me No More'' (2008), by Jean Becker (director), Jean Becker, with Albert Dupontel *''Q (2011 film), Q'' (2011), by Laurent Bouhnik

Language

The Cherbourg population spoke ''le haguais'', a variant of

Cotentinais Cotentinais () is the dialect of the Norman language spoken in the Cotentin Peninsula of France. It is one of the strongest dialects of the language on the French mainland. Dialects Due to the relative lack of standardisation of Norman, there ...

Norman language, Norman, while having some specifics regarding the pronunciation of certain words. In Cotentinais Norman, Cherbourg is called ''Tchidbouo'' and Octeville, ''Otteville'' . Their inhabitants are the ''Tchidbouorqŭais'' and the ''Ottevillais'' and . While French was necessary in

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

in the 19th century, Norman remained widely used from Cherbourg to

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, up to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. was the leading local figure of the dialect authors of the 19th century. He published his ''Chansonnettes normandes'', among which ''Sus la mé'' became an anthem of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

. At that time, was critical of its approximate spelling and poor mastery of the language. Various actors are now trying to promote the local use of the Norman. The Alfred Rossel society makes live folklore and language. ''Le Boué-jaun'' a Cherbourg-based magazine, published his texts in Norman, and one of three popular Norman universities is based here.

Gastronomy

A large fishing port, Cherbourg-Octeville offers a wide variety of fish (Yellowtail (fish), yellowtail, European seabass, bar, plaice, mackerel, Batoidea, rays, red mullet, pollock, lemon sole, small-spotted catshark, etc.), crustaceans (Cancer pagurus, brown crab, Majoidea, spider crab, Homarus, lobster) and shellfish (Pecten maximus, Saint-Jacques, scallops, mussels), caught off the coast of the Cotentin peninsula. The so-called are small lobsters. Cherbourg is also located near three oyster areas (Blainville-sur-Mer, Blainville, Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, Saint-Vaast and Isigny-sur-Mer, Isigny). The most traditional preparation is the matelote. Alexandre Dumas also presented the recipe of the ''"queue de merlan à la mode de Cherbourg "'' [tail of whiting in the Cherbourg manner], with butter and oysters. From 1464, the bakers of Cherbourg held Royal permission to develop their breads based on seawater, thus avoiding paying for the salt and the ''gabelle'' [salt tax]. On the occasion of the visit of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, they would have created folded bread, country bread ball, oval, which is folded back on itself to be cooked, thus offering a tighter bicorn-shaped sandwich which came to be called ''"pain Napoléon"'' [Napoleon bread]. Fleury indicated that at the beginning of the 19th century, the principal food of Nord-Cotentin was barley bread, buckwheat porridge and pork-based products, and on feast days, the ''galette'', a "type of dough composed of buckwheat flour, milk and eggs, and cooked in a thin film on the tile with butter", watered, of course, with cider. The agglomeration is located in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée, AOC areas of the Pont-l'Évêque cheese, Pont-l'Évêque and of the as well as being partially within the Calvados, and the cider of Normandy. It also benefits from the Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union, IGP of the cider of Normandy, Normandy pork and . More broadly, the kitchen of Nord-Cotentin is , in which dairy products (butter, cream, milk, cheese, etc.) and apples (as fruit or alcohol) dominate. Since 2010, the restaurant ''le Pily'', of the Valognes restaurateur Pierre Marion, holds a star in the Michelin Guide.

Heritage

Civil monuments

The Le Trident (theatre), Italian Theatre is one of the last Theater (building), Italian theatres built in France (1880). Opened in 1882, it was built on the plans of , on the site of the grain trade, grain market. The façade pays homage to Molière, François-Adrien Boieldieu, Boieldieu and Pierre Corneille, Corneille. It has been classified a historical monument since 1984 with its two side returns and corresponding roofing; also classified are the vestibule, the grand staircase, the hall and foyer, as well as the 13 original decorations. The ceiling is the work of Georges Clairin. With three galleries, it accommodates up to 600 spectators. The Mouchel Fountain, named after the patron and director of the journal ''Le Phare de la Manche'', stands at the centre of the ''Place Général-de-Gaulle''. A monumental fountain in cast iron, it was created by Louis Eugène Gutelle in 1895. The Hotel Epron de la Horie (named after the Vice Admiral and Marine Minister Louis-Jacques Epron de la Horie, Jacques Epron de la Horie, owner under the first Empire) or ancient customs is located at the corner of ''Rue de Val-de-Saire'' and the wharf of the Old Arsenal. Built in 1781 by Jacques Martin Maurice, "contractor of the King's works" in

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

(cover and body of the building) and red brick (window frames), registered as a historical monument since 16 February 1965. Successively barracks of the Swiss, auxiliary Hospital of the work of the harbour, home of shipowners Richer, Cousin, Despréaux and Lias in the 19th century and a customs house during the interwar period, it is now the headquarters of the Groupe Caisse d'Épargne. The former Gare Maritime de Cherbourg is the largest French Art Deco monument. Built by from 1928 and inaugurated in 1933 by Albert François Lebrun, President Lebrun, it could accommodate two ships simultaneously. Listed as an Monument historique, historical monument in 1989 and 2000, it was redeveloped in 2002 to become an oceanographic complex, the

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger Art Deco, art-deco monuments of today. History The ...

, where one can visit the Redoutable-class submarine (1967), ''Le Redoutable'', and host since December 2006 of a cruise terminal. The ''hôtel Atlantique'' [Atlantic Hotel], opposite the maritime station, was also built by , in iron and cement and in the Art Deco style, for the three transatlantic companies which served Cherbourg, the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

, the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

and the

Red Star Line The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgi ...

, grouped into the ''Société anonyme de l’Hôtel Atlantique''. It hosted on the emigrants (third class passengers), mainly from Eastern Europe, who stayed there for an average of 12 days to undergo sanitary and customs controls. The building thus included a section for infected and a section for disinfected with a capacity of 2,000 people. Begun in 1920, opened in 1926, it closed eight years later. Requisitioned under the Occupation and Liberation, it was bought by

Félix Amiot Félix Amiot (October 17, 1894 – December 21, 1974) was a French industrialist and aircraft constructor based in Colombes, France. Some of the aircraft models he designed served in the French Air Force during the Second World War. His second in ...

to accommodate some of its shipyard employees. It has hosted the services of the since 1991. The central pavilion is included in the inventory of historic monuments since October 2001. Statues of Themis and Minerva, Roman goddesses of justice and war respectively, of Jean-Antoine Houdon, Houdon and Philippe-Laurent Roland, Roland and which were stored in the courtyard of the Palais Bourbon during their replacement on the frontispiece of the Chamber of Deputies by casts during the renovation of the façade, were available to the city in June 1989, through , Minister of Tourism, and President of the ''Communauté urbaine de Cherbourg'' [Urban community of Cherbourg]. After restoration by Pierre Bataille of Poclain, they were each placed in 1990 and 1993 on a roundabout, the ''Minerva'' of Philippe-Laurent Roland, near the

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger Art Deco, art-deco monuments of today. History The ...

, the ''Themis'' of Jean-Antoine Houdon at the foot of the Montagne du Roule. Carved around 1810, they have been classified as historic monuments since June 1990. The town hall was built at the beginning of the 19th century; It was enlarged twice, first in 1850 by a south-west wing forming an L-shape with the first building, and then under the Second French Empire, Second Empire (salon of the Empress), and reworked after the Liberation. Inside, a staircase serves the Grand Lounge and the lounge of the Empress, which houses portraits of Napoleon III and Eugénie by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Winterhalter, with - between the two – a rotunda room for the paintings of Michel-Adrien Servant recalling the major events in the history of the city. Since 1858, the Council Chamber contains the 16th century chimney of the abbot's house of the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Vœu, purchased by the municipality in 1841 and classified as a historical monument since 1905. The three lounges and the stairs have been registered since 13 August 2004. The , a former regional hospital of the armies of René-Le-Bas, built by a decision of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and opened 15 February 1869, it was decommissioned in 2000 and rehabilitated as an academic and cultural centre in 2002. The Second Empire architecture, Napoleon III style buildings are surrounded by a large park. The docks and Port Chantereyne are regularly brought to life by various events: Stopovers of prestigious liners (''Queen Elizabeth 2'', RMS Queen Mary 2, ''Queen Mary 2'', etc.), armada, sailing races and such. The docks were constructed in 1994 with the lighting by Yann Kersalé. The marina, first French port of call, extends beyond the ''Plage Verte'', old beach redeveloped into lawn after the creation of the port. Recreational and leisure facilities are located here (pool, skating rink, bowling, services for boaters, etc.). In the commercial wet dock is the ''Jacques-Louise'', the last wooden trawler built in the shipyards of Cherbourg Bellot in 1959, the former Cherbourg Blue Riband, decommissioned in 1991, registered in 1996, then classified as a historic monument in 1999. A trawler in oak wood of the Orne, designed for lateral fishing off the coast, it has been open to the public since summer 2004.

Memorials

The faces the basilica, on the ''Place Napoléon''. The work of

Armand Le Véel Armand Le Véel (1821–1905) was a French statue Sculpture, sculptor. He was a native of Bricquebec, in the ''Departments of France, département'' of Manche. Napoléon III inaugurated his equestrian tribute to Napoleon, Napoleon I in Cherbourg in ...

, it represents the Emperor contemplating the Cherbourg Harbour, harbour and the military port. On the base, reads an excerpt from the ''Memorial of Sainte-Hélène'', dated 15 July 1816: ''I had resolved to renew to Cherbourg the wonders of Egypt'', i.e. a pyramid with central fort and a new Lake Moeris, for the outer harbour, dug into the rock. The statue, erected in 1858 on the occasion of the visit of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, recalls the importance of the Emperor in the expansion of Cherbourg. Around this emblematic monument of the city, registered in August 2006 and classified as an monument historique, historic monument on 31 January 2008, extends the ''Plage verte'', the old artificial beach until the postwar period, which runs along the marina. The monument of the Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, Duke of Berry, in the ''Place de la République'', commemorates the landing of the son of the future

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

, back in France on the British frigate ''Eurotas'' on 13 April 1814, after the fall of the Empire. Completed in 1816, it consists of an obelisk of in pink granite of Flamanville, surmounting a fountain of grey granite, where four bronze lions' heads spew water into a basin dug in the same block. ArmandDeBricqueville

The bust of , on the ''Quai de Caligny'', was inaugurated on 12 May 1850, in homage to the Colonel of the Imperial Dragons and Bonapartist deputy of Cherbourg who died in 1844. This bust of Hermes is a bronze of David d'Angers on a column of granite of the architect Lemelle, on which one can read the name of four battles where Bricqueville is illustrated: Battle of Wagram, Wagram, Battle of Krasnoi, Krasnoi, Siege of Antwerp (1814), Antwerp and Battle of Rocquencourt, Versailles. Two bronze reliefs evoke the military (a sword) and parliamentary (a forum), were melted by the Germans in 1944. The monument has been listed as an Monument historique, historical monument since August 2006. The statue of

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

, inaugurated in the on 22 September 1892, for the centenary of the French First Republic, First Republic, honours the "painter of peasants", student at the Museum of Cherbourg. Funded by a subscription launched by the municipality in 1886 and taken over by Parisian circles, the realisation of the marble bust ( high) was entrusted to Henri Chapu; after his death, it was completed by his pupil Jean-Ernest Bouteiller who had assisted him in the allegorical group in bronze ( high) of a peasant woman with her daughter in arms and laying flowers of the fields on the bust, supported on a pedestal and granite rocks ( high, wide, of depth). The monument is inscribed since August 2006. The monument to the dead of the ''Surcouf'', inaugurated at the end of the marina pier on 23 September 1951 by General de Gaulle, commemorates the memory of 130 sailors from the Free French Naval Forces submarine, built at Cherbourg and which sank on 18 February 1942 in the Pacific.

Military monuments

Cherbourg Harbour Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "roadstead of Cherbourg") is a harbour situated at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula, on the English Channel coastline, in Normandy, northwestern France. With a surface ...

is the largest artificial harbour of the world. Begun in 1783, the central wall was completed in 1853 and equipped with three forts in 1860. Built from the coast, the offshore seawall is long, with an average width of at its base and at its peak, and a height of . The three sea walls cover over combined. The fort de l’Île Pelée [fort of Pelée Island], a defensive element to the east of the sea wall, was designed by Ricard and Decaux and built between 1777 and 1784. It was named ''fort Royal, fort National, fort Imperial'', before taking the name of the island on which it was built. It served as a prison during the Revolution. Fort du Roule (Museum of the War and Liberation) is located on the ''Montagne du Roule''. The location in 1650 of the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Protection, abandoned during the Revolution, razed in 1870, this highest point of the city [] welcomed a redoubt to protect the harbour in 1793. In 1853, the present fort was built. The place of the last fighting in 1940, it was reinforced by the Germans in 1943 with a battery located on the hillside overlooking the harbour, below the fort. Composed of four casemates for guns and a position for the direction of firing, with several tunnels and access dug into the rock, for the Germans it became the strong point of the ''fortresse de Cherbourg'' and of the Atlantic Wall. On 6 June 1954, René Coty inaugurated the first French Museum of Liberation there. At the end of a winding road named ''chemin des Résistants'' [Path of Resistants], the fort offers a panoramic view of the city and the harbour. The battery and a part of the German ammunition storage tunnels were classified as a historic monument in 1995, and another part is converted into an underground laboratory for measurement of radioactivity for the school of military application of atomic energy.

Religious monuments

FranceNormandieCherbourgBasiliqueTrinite

The was founded in 1145, on the coast of Équeurdreville, at the ''Croûte du Homet'', by

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

. Located outside the city walls, it was regularly looted and burned during the incessant Anglo-French battles, then during the French Wars of Religion, Wars of Religion. Subject to the regime of a commendatory abbot in 1583, it declined until its closure in 1774. Its lands were annexed in 1778 for the construction of the military port, and it became the residence of the François-Henri d'Harcourt, Duke of Harcourt, who sheltered the King in 1786. The place was then transformed into a hospital, into a Bagne de Cherbourg, prison, and into the Martin des Pallières Barracks for the Marines, marine infantry. The company town of Chantereyne was built in 1928, until its destruction in June 1944. Bought by the Town Hall in 1961, the Abbey has been slowly restored since 1965. The smokestack of the Abbey House (16th century) is kept in the council room of the city hall, the west portal of the Church (13th century) is placed in the . The remains of Martin des Pallières barracks were classified in 1913, then all of the buildings, remains and soil of the abbey, in September 2002. The grave slab of Guillaume de Margerai, priest of

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, remained the only parish church of the city until the 19th century. The stately church dedicated to Mary (mother of Jesus), Our Lady in the castle was destroyed along with the fortress, in the 17th century. The Trinité was enlarged and transformed significantly in the 13th century, the nave was rebuilt, the Choir (architecture), choir and the bell tower is recorded from after 1450. After a rampage by January 1794, it had added a new square bell tower in 1828 and restored in neo-Gothic architecture#Flamboyant arch, flamboyant style in 1865. Registered as a historical monument since March 1944, Trinité has a rich religious furniture, including a high altar of 1809, a wood pulpit carved by (1767), a retable of Armand Fréret (1814) and the great Pipe organ, organs by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, Cavaillé-Coll. The church of Notre-Dame du Roule was built at the foot of the ''Montagne du Roule'' between 1832 and 1842 under the leadership of the "poet-Barber" Michel Legoupil and by the subscription of the faithful of the peripheral quarters of Roule which grew, such as the districts of the Vœu and the Polle. The church of Notre-Dame-du-Vœu, begun in 1850 on subscription of the parishioners and in the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque style due to the scarcity of resources, was erected on a pasture, known as ''les briques'', offered by Mr. de Virandeville. In 1855, the municipality completes the nave inaugurated in 1852 by a transept and a more ornate choir, and in 1862 the façade and two bell towers. A work of in length, the church houses a large organ by Duputel (1885), classified as a historic monument since 1990 and the stained glass windows of 1834, 1858–60 and 1949–58. The Church of Saint-Clément was built within the quarter of the Val-de-Saire, facing the Pasteur hospital, between June 1853 and 1856 by the architect of the city, Geufroy. long, it is of Greco-Roman inspiration, with a porch in the triangular pediment supported by four columns with Doric order, Doric Capital (architecture), capitals. It houses the altars of the Virgin (1863) by François Fréret and Saint-Clément (1864) by Louis-Victor Fréret, acquired from the Basilica of Sainte-Trinité in 1846, an organ (1881), painting of the twelve apostles (1935) the Rock of Césigné and stained glass (1953) of Mauméjean. The Church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, on the area of Octeville, was built between 1967 and 1969 while the "grand ensemble" of Provinces was born. The triangular and irregular modern architecture of Paul Vimond symbolises "the tent of God in among the houses of men", a sacred art inspired by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Another Church was built on Octeville during those years: The Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine-Postel opened in 1966 in the quarter of Fourches and decommissioned in 1990. The Church of Saint-Martin of Octeville, dating from the 12th century, is the historic parish church of Octeville which depended on the . Romanesque, it has an octagonal . The nave was remodelled in the 18th century. A relief depicting the Last Supper has been classified as a historic monument since 1908.

Military life

During the Middle Ages, Cherbourg, a stronghold of the Cotentin peninsula, was home to a small garrison for the protection of the fortress. With the implementation of the harbour and military port, Cherbourg became a port of war at the end of the 18th century, with a large garrison. In 1798, it had 1,332 men, or a tenth of the population, divided mainly between the barracks of the Abbey, current historical Service of the Navy, which housed 542 men of the 4th brigade and the Maurice Quarter, in the ''Hôtel Epron de la Horie'', home to 227 men. Numbers were brought to 3,000 men for the completion of the work, by a decree of germinal year XI. During the 20th century, Cherbourg, a strategic point during both world wars, adapted to new threats. It then hosted a large garrison of the Navy, an artillery regiment and a ''Hôpital des Armées'' known locally as "marine hospital". In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the presence of the army weakened by the transfer of the northern fleet to Brest and the closure of the maritime hospital renamed René-Le-Bas. Yet Cherbourg remained a base of the first order of the French Navy, National Navy, as the seat of the and of the Maritime Gendarmerie grouping of Manche. The naval base is the homeport of five patrol vessels of the Navy and the coastguard, group of the clearance divers sleeve and its building-base the Vulcain (M611), ''Vulcain'', the tug ''Abeille Liberté'' and various support vessels. It is also the headquarters of the Operational Training of Surveillance and Territorial Information of Cherbourg (Cherbourg FOSIT) which brings together thirteen semaphores and the lookout of the maritime district. In addition, a flotilla 35 F Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, Dauphin helicopter is based at Cherbourg – Maupertus Airport. The operation of the military port is borne by the directions of the Commissioner of the Navy, maritime works and information systems of the Navy, as well as the branch of the support service of the fleet and the military workshop of the Cherbourg fleet. Cherbourg is also a training hub of the armed forces through the (EAMEA), in charge of the joint education of military specialists in material sciences, of techniques and of nuclear safety and the ''École des fourriers de

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.DCNS could be spread over several years, also reducing human needs there, especially among the subcontractors. Several military units were stationed at Cherbourg during the 20th century: *, 1939 - 1940 *, 1870 - 1914 *, *77th Territorial Infantry Regiment (France), 77th Territorial Infantry Regiment, 1870 - 1914 *, 1914 *1st Marine Artillery Regiment, 1906 *, 1906 *, 1906

Gallery

File:CherbourgCentre.JPG, Town centre File:HD-SN-99-02715.JPEG, Charles de Gaulle delivering a speech in liberated Cherbourg from the Hôtel de Ville (town hall) File:Gare-cherbourg.jpg, Gare de Cherbourg File:Cherbourg, Bassin de commerce sous le soleil d'hiver (1).JPG, Haven File:Cherbourg-vuegenerale.jpg, Current view of the city

Notes

References

Results of the census of 1999
INSEE

Bibliography

;Published in the 19th century * * * * * * * * * * * ;Published in the 20th century * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Cherbourg on Titanic-Titanic.com
* (English/French/German) * Visit of Queen Victoria to Cherbour
Visit of Queen Victoria
* Photographs of Tsar Nicholas II and famil
visiting Cherbourg
in 1909 from Illustration Magazine. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherbourg Cherbourg-Octeville Former communes of Manche