Falaise, Calvados

Falaise is a French town in the department of Calvados in Normandy with 8337 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011).

Geography

Location

Falaise is located south of the department of Calvados. The fortified old town is situated on a rocky headland overlooking the ante.

Transport links

Falaise is located on the motorway A88 (Caen - Alençon ) and on the national road N158.

Previously owned Falaise a head station, led by the railway lines to Mézidon and Condé- sur- Noireau.

History

The city is the birthplace of William I of England, known as William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England.

The castle of Falaise, which was built on a rock, dates from the 10th century and was until 1066 the seat of the Dukes of Normandy. In Falaise Duke Robert I hit the Lohgerbertochter Herleva, who would become the mother of William the Conqueror. To 1123, the castle of King Henry I of England was rebuilt, while a rectangular donjon ( keep) and a strong wall adds. In 1204 she fell in connection with the conquest of Normandy in the hands of the French, who built a second, this time round donjon, the later "Tour Talbot ". When the castle was again occupied by the British in 1417, Falaise came after the battle of Formigny (1450 ) finally to France. In today's suburb Guibray one of the most important markets of Western Normandy took place in medieval times.

The city is particularly well known through the encirclement battle of Falaise, the result of the landing of Allied troops in Normandy 1944. Here, two German armies were encircled and destroyed. In this battle, large parts were destroyed by Falaise. After the war, Falaise was rebuilt extensively.

Attractions

  • Falaise Castle: see under ' History'
  • Church of Saint- Gervais: in 1066 in the Romanesque style begun construction
  • Saint-Laurent Church: built in the 11th century
  • Church of Notre- Dame de Guibray: with an organ of Claude Parisot

Twinning

  • Canada Alma in the province of Quebec (Canada), since 1969
  • Germany Bad Neustadt an der Saale in Bavaria, since 1969. It held annual student exchanges between the cities.
  • United Kingdom Henley-on -Thames in Oxfordshire ( UK), since 1974
  • Cassino Italy in the region of Lazio (Italy ), since 1975

Daughters and sons

  • Herleva (1003-1050), mistress ( Friedel marriage ) of the later Duke Robert I of Normandy
  • Called Wilhelm II (Normandy ) and William I (England), initially ' the bastard ', later ' the Conqueror '
  • Jean Vallière (1483-1523), a Protestant martyr
  • Antoine de Montchrétien (1576-1621), an economist from the period of mercantilism
  • Frédéric de Lafresnaye (1783-1861) ornithologist and entomologist
  • Pauline Roland (1805-1852), Femininistin
  • Louis Liard ( August 22, 1846 Falaise - September 21, 1917 Paris), philosopher and educator, 1884 Rector in Caen, conducted from 1884 to 1902, the French education
  • Alain Ferté ( born 1955 ), race car driver
  • Michel Ferté (born 1958 ), former French racing driver
  • Cédric Hengbart ( b. 1980 ), football player
Lower Normandy Arrondissement Arrondissement of Caen Cantons of France Postal codes in France Château de Falaise Falaise pocket Romanesque art Entomology
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