Montivilliers ( or ) is a commune in the

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

department in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region in northern France.

Geography

A large

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

and

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

town by the banks of the river Lézarde in the

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French '' département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cl ...

, situated just north of

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 ...

, at the junction of the D489, D52, D926 and D31 roads.

History

Pre-Roman archaeological discoveries include

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

axes and

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

jewelry. The old Roman road from here to

Harfleur Harfleur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western Fr ...

was destroyed by the English in 1415.
The ''Abbey Church of Notre-Dame'', sometimes referred to as the

Montivilliers Abbey Montivilliers Abbey (; ) is a former Benedictine nunnery, founded between 682 and by Saint Philibert in the town of Montivilliers in Normandy, in the present department of Seine-Maritime, France. It was suppressed during the French Revolution, ...

dates back to 684, although it was destroyed by a

Viking 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� ...

raid in 850, and rebuilt as a church in both the Romanesque and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

styles.

Heraldry

Population

Places of interest

* The nineteenth-century chateau de Colmoulins. * The church of St. Germain, dating from the fourteenth century. * The

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

church of Notre-Dame, dating from the eleventh century. * The abbey museum * A Protestant church (1787) * The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

ramparts. * The Arboretum du parc de Rouelles is an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

set within the Parc de Rouelles.

People

* Isaac de Larrey (1639–1719), French historian was born in Montvilliers *

René Bihel René Bihel (2 September 1916 – 8 September 1997) was a French professional football player who became a trainer. Biography His first appearance was in 1929 with the US Trèfileries youth team in Le Havre. He played professionally as a cent ...

, French

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

was born here in 1916. * Arthur Good (1853–1928), French engineer, science educator, author, and caricaturist who wrote under the pen-name "Tom Tit". *

Sébastien Lepape Sébastien Lepape (born 4 July 1991 in Montivilliers) is a French male short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and ...

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...

, born here in 1991. *

Lys Mousset Lys Émilien Mousset (born 8 February 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward. Club career Le Havre Mousset joined the Le Havre academy in 2006, after playing for local clubs Soquence Graville and Havre Caucriauville. ...

, professional footballer for

Bohemian F.C. Bohemian Football Club (Irish language, Irish: An Cumann Peile Bóihéamach), more commonly referred to as Bohemians or Bohs, is an Football in the Republic of Ireland, Irish professional association football club based in Dublin. Bohemians comp ...

Édouard Mendy Édouard Osoque Mendy (born 1 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal national team. Starting his career in his native France, Mendy pla ...

, professional footballer for

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...

Jean Prévost Jean Prévost (13 June 1901 – 1 August 1944) was a French writer, journalist, and Resistance fighter. Biography Born in Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, Prévost was educated (from 1907 to 1911) at the primary school in Montivilliers. near R ...

, writer, lived here when his father was principal of a local school.

Twin towns

Nordhorn Nordhorn (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Nothoorn'', or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn,'' and Dutch: ''Noordhoorn'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim, located in the southwest corner of the state, near th ...

, Germany since 1963

References

External links

Montivilliers official website

Montivilliers Abbey official website

Communes of Seine-Maritime {{LeHavre-geo-stub