Pont-l'Évêque () is a commune in the Calvados 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 geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is known for Pont-l'Évêque cheese, a type of soft

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, the oldest Normandy cheese in production.

History

In the summer of 1793, in the wake of the Montagnard seizure of power, the town called on neighboring villages to rise up against those who had imprisoned "the most ardent defenders of true liberty". The also blamed the Montagnard for the September massacres of the privious year. During World War II, the town was severely damaged by a two-day battle in August 1944. On 1 January 2019, the former commune of Coudray-Rabut was merged into Pont-l'Évêque. The town serves as the setting for Gustave Flaubert's story ''Un cœur simple'' and features heavily in the book ''13 - Lucky For Some'' which is about the history of the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion. There are many then and now photographs as well as maps and diagrams of battles that took place in the region.

Geography and toponymy

The river Touques flows through Pont-l'Évêque, which takes its name from a bridge (''pont'') built over the river. Starting in the 10th century, the local bishop (''évêque'') took responsibility for building and repairing the bridges and roads in France. Pont-l'Évêque thus means "Bishop Bridge". It was Latinised as ''Pons-Episcopi''. Pont-l'Évêque station has rail connections to Paris, Deauville, Évreux and Lisieux.

Population

Transport

* A13 autoroute * A132 autoroute * Route nationale 177 * Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest

Twin Towns

* Ottery St Mary, United Kingdom (since 1977) * Veitshöchheim, Germany (since 1994)

Personalities

Pont-l'Évêque was the birthplace of: * Roger de Pont L'Evêque (–1181) – Archdeacon of Canterbury, and later Archbishop of York * Dière de Dièreville (–?) – surgeon, botanist and writer who wrote about his 1699–1700 voyage to

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

* Jacques Guillaume Thouret (1746–1794) – revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly * Ferdinand Alphonse Hamelin (1796–1864) – Navy officer, Admiral and Minister of Marine

References

Communes of Calvados (department) {{Lisieux-geo-stub