Pont-l'Évêque () is a commune in the Calvados department in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in northwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is known for

Pont-l'Évêque cheese Pont-l'Évêque (, ) is a French cheese, originally manufactured in the area around the commune of Pont-l'Évêque, between Deauville and Lisieux in the Calvados ''département'' of Normandy. It is probably the oldest Norman cheese still in ...

, a type of soft

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges 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 productio ...

, the oldest Normandy cheese in production. 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 Autoroute 132 links the A13 and Deauville & Trouville-sur-Mer. It starts between exits 28 and 29a on the A13 and ends in the outskirts of Touques, just south of the village of Canapville on the N177. The motorway is operated by the Sociét� ...

* Route nationale 177 *

Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest), often referred to simply as ''L'Ouest'' or ''Ouest'', was an early French railway company which operated from the years 1855 through 1909. History Birth of the company The Compa ...

Twin Towns

Ottery St Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, F ...

, United Kingdom (since 1977) * Veitshöchheim, Germany (since 1994)

Personalities

Pont-l'Évêque was the birthplace of: *

Roger de Pont L'Evêque Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

(c.1115-1181),

Archdeacon of Canterbury The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of ...

, and later

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

* Dière de Dièreville (c.1670-?) - surgeon, botanist and writer who wrote about his voyage (1699-1700) to

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and earl ...

. *

Jacques Guillaume Thouret Jacques Guillaume Thouret (30 April 1746 – 22 April 1794) was a French Girondin revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly and victim of the guillotine. Biography Born at Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados ( Normandy) t ...

(1746–1794), revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly *

Ferdinand Alphonse Hamelin Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin (2 September 1796 – 10 January 1864), French admiral, was born in Pont-l'Évêque, Normandy. He was the nephew of Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, a successful rear admiral in the French Navy of the Napoleonic era. ...

(1796–1864)- Navy officer, Admiral and Minister of Marine

References