Pontorson () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western

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 ...

. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Macey and Vessey were merged into Pontorson.

Geography

Pontorson is situated about 10 kilometres from the

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and ...

, to which it is connected by highway and a walking path along the river

Couesnon The Couesnon (; br, Kouenon) is a river running from the ''département'' of Mayenne in north-western France, forming an estuary at Mont Saint-Michel. It is long, and its drainage basin is . Its final stretch forms the border between the histori ...

. The river also gives its name to the town's main street.

Climate

Pontorson has a

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Pontorson is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Pontorson was on 5 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 11 February 2012.

History

The town was founded in the 12th century after a vow by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. It was home to a fortress, which was razed to the ground in 1623 by order of King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, after the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in 1944, engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 1 ...

outside of the town. Declared operational on 10 August, the airfield was designated as " A-28", it was used by the 368th Fighter Group which flew

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomb ...

s until early September when the unit moved into Central France. Afterward, the airfield was closed. Frantz Fanon practiced psychiatry at Pontorson in the early 1950s. In 1990, Pontorson twinned with the town of Highworth in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Main sights

*''Notre-Dame'' church, built between 1050 and 1150, with additions in the 15th century. It is in Romanesque- transition Gothic style; it has a massive appearance with a central portal, flanked by two towers. *Old Protestant Temple (16th century) *''Guischard de la Ménardière'' house (also known as "Roman House", 11th-12th centuries) *Residence of the counts of Montgomery

Transportation

Pontorson is home to the nearest

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...

railway station to

's second most popular tourist attraction,

. Despite the town's role as a tourist gateway, train services are relatively rare, about three or four per day.

References