Avranches(French pronunciation:[avʁɑ̃ʃ];Norman:Avraunches) is acommunein theManchedepartment, and the region ofNormandy,northwestern France. It is asubprefectureof the department.[3]The inhabitants are calledAvranchinais.[4]
Avranches | |
|---|---|
 Botanical garden | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Avranches  | |
  Avranches  Avranches | |
| Coordinates:48°41′06″N1°21′20″W/ 48.685°N 1.3556°W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Manche |
| Arrondissement | Avranches |
| Canton | AvranchesandIsigny-le-Buat |
| Intercommunality | CA Mont-Saint-Michel-Normandie |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | David Nicolas[1] |
| Area 1 | 10.99 km2(4.24 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 10,240 |
| • Density | 930/km2(2,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00(CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 50025/50300 |
| Elevation | 7–111 m (23–364 ft) |
| 1French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2(0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
History
editMiddle Ages
editBy the end of theRomanperiod, the settlement ofIngena,capital of theAbrincatuitribe, had taken the name of the tribe itself. This was the origin of the nameAvranches.In 511 the town became the seat of a diocese (suppressed in 1790) and subsequently of a major Romanesque cathedral dedicated to Saint Andrew,Avranches Cathedral,which was dismantled during the French revolutionary period. As the region of Brittany emerged from the Roman region of Armorica, Avranchin was briefly held byAlan I, King of Brittanyas part of the Kingdom of Brittany at the turn of the 10th century. The regions that later became the Duchies ofNormandyand Brittany each experienced devastatingViking raids,with Brittany occupied by Vikings from 907 to 937. In 933 Avranches and its territory, theAvranchin,were ceded to theNormans.
Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester,a magnate underWilliam the Conqueror,was the son of Richard le Goz, Vicomte d'Avranches.[5]
In 1172 (September 27–28) a council was held at Avranches in response to the murder ofAnglo-NormanSaintThomas Becket.Henry II,King of England, after duepenancedone at Avranches on 21 May 1172, was absolved from the censures incurred by the assassination of the holy prelate and reached theCompromise of Avrancheswith theChurch,swearing fidelity toPope Alexander IIIin the person of thepapal legate.
The same council was forbidden to confer on childrenbenefice,carrying with it thecure of souls,or on the children of priests for the churches of their fathers. Each parish was required to have an assistant (vicarius), and the Advent fast was commended to all who could observe it, especially to ecclesiastics.
The town was damaged in both theHundred Years' Warand theWars of Religion.
Álvaro Vaz de Almadawas made 1stCount of Avranchesby KingHenry VI of Englandon August 8, 1444.
Modern era
editThe town lost some influence after theFrench Revolutionduring which the diocese was abolished, the bailif was removed and primary and secondary schools were closed. The town was also occupied and raided by troops both pro-republican and anti-revolutionary (Chouans).[6]However, in 1802 the Avranches diocese was restored as part of theDiocese of Coutances.
Many English families settled here after theTreaty of Paris (1814).[7]
A literary description of the town in the 19th century is recorded inGuy de Maupassant's novelNotre Cœur,when the main character Mariolle meets his lover and sets out forMont Saint-Michel:
The houses crowning the heights gave to the place from a distance the appearance of a fortification. Seen close at hand, it was an ancient and pretty Norman city, with small dwellings of regular and almost similar appearance built closely adjoining one another, giving an aspect of ancient pride and modern comfort, a feudal yet peasant-like air.[8]
The liberation of Avranches duringWorld War IIwas led by GeneralGeorge S. Pattonand began on 31 July 1944.
On 1 January 2019, the former communeSaint-Martin-des-Champswas merged into Avranches.[9]
Geography
editAvranches is situated at the southern end of theCotentin Peninsulaon theE40road connectingSaint-LôwithBrittanyand on the rail line betweenLison(linking to Caen) andDol(linking to Rennes).
The town was founded on high ground overlooking the dunes and coastal marshes along the bay forming the corner between the peninsulas of the Cotentin and Brittany. From Avranches, it is possible to see theMont Saint-Michel,which was founded bySaint Aubert,Bishop of Avranchesin the 8th century.
Population
edit
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Avranches absorbed Saint-Martin-des-Champs in 2019. Source: EHESS[10]and INSEE (2007-2019)[11][12][13] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sights
editA museum,Le Scriptorial,houses the collection of manuscripts of Mont Saint-Michel, deposited in the municipal archives during the French Revolution. It is one of the largest collections of medieval illuminated manuscripts in France, outside national and university libraries.
Formerly dominated by the cathedral, where Henry II did penance, an open grassed areaLa Plate-Formeoverlooking the bay towards Mont Saint-Michel displays only a few remnants of the destroyed building.
The major churchNotre Dame des Champs (Avranches)was constructed in Gothic Revival style in the 19th century to restore the religious life of the town after the destruction of the cathedral. The basilica church of Saint Gervais houses a treasury, best known for the purported skull of Saint Aubert complete with hole where the archangel Michael's finger pierced it (probably a prehistorictrepannedskull).
The botanical gardens were founded in the grounds of the former Franciscan convent in the late 18th century. The expansion and introduction of exotic species in the 19th century and the location of the gardens overlooking the bay made the gardens an important sight in the town.
TheManoir de Brion,an ancient Benedictine priory of Mont Saint-Michel, is located in Dragey.
Avranches is twinned with St. Helier in Jersey. On 2 March 2010 a Jersey-registered boat "Archangel" succeeded in reaching Avranches atMarcey-les-Grèves.It is believed this was the first instance of a foreign vessel reaching Avranches in modern times.[14]
-
-
Notre-Dame-des-Champs,
Stations of the Cross -
Saint-Gervais Basilica -
Saint-Gervais Basilica,
Skull of Saint Aubert
Sport
editUS Avranchesis based in the commune.
Twin towns
edit
Saint-Gaudens,France, since the autumn of 1944, when the town of Saint-Gaudens,Haute-Garonnefraternally assisted Avranches by giving clothing and food to it
Korbach,Germany, since 1963
Saint Helier,Jersey, since 1982
Crediton,United Kingdom, since 1993
Births
editAvranches was the birthplace of:
- GeneralJean-Marie Valhubert(1764–1805)
- Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour(1827–1896), statesman
- Jean-Luc Ponty(born 1942),violinistandjazzcomposer
- Samuel Le Bihan(born 1965), a movie actor.
- Hamon de Massey,Norman lord in the barony of Chester.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Répertoire national des élus: les maires"(in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^"Populations légales 2021"(in French).The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.28 December 2023.
- ^Commune d'Avranches (50025),INSEE
- ^Rene Andre,Avranches 2000 ans d'histoire,Publication Municipale
- ^Lewis, C. P. (2004). "Avranches, Hugh d', first earl of Chester (d. 1101)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14056.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^Avranches: ses rues et places, ses monuments, ses maisons principales, ses habitants, leurs professions pendant la Révolution(1909), Avranches, Félix Jourdan, p.517.
- ^The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol II(1847), London, Charles Knight, p.569.
- ^Denis Larionov & Alexander Zhulin."The life work of Henri René Guy de Maupassant (Volume 9) by Guy de Maupassant (page 4 of 20)".Ebooksread.com.Retrieved10 July2013.
- ^Arrêté préfectoral19 October 2018(in French)
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Avranches,EHESS(in French).
- ^Populations légales 2012,INSEE
- ^Populations légales 2017: 50 Manche,INSEE
- ^Populations légales 2019: 50 Manche,INSEE
- ^"Jersey to Avranches by sea".YouTube. 2 March 2010.Retrieved10 July2013.
External links
edit
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)..Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
