Carentan
| Carentan | ||
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| local community | Carentan-les-Marais | |
| region | Normandy | |
| Department | Some | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Lô | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 18 ′ N , 1 ° 15 ′ W | |
| Post Code | 50500 | |
| Former INSEE code | 50099 | |
| Incorporation | January 1, 2016 | |
| status | Commune déléguée | |
 Town hall of the former municipality |
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Carentan is a town and commune Déléguée in the French commune of Carentan-les-Marais with 5,864 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the department of Manche in the region of Normandy .
geography
The small town lies between Cherbourg and Saint-Lô in the midst of extensive drained swamps, which are now used as pasture and cultivation areas. However, they are still flooded every winter if it rains enough. It is then said that the swamps become “white”. They are traversed by the Taute and the Douve rivers .
The city, also known as the Capitale des Marais (swamp capital) in Normandy, was located on one of the few dry roads to the Cotentin peninsula in the Middle Ages. From the bay of Les Veys (Baie des Veys) you can also take a boat to the port of Carentan via the artificial canal from the time of Napoleon.
The city is located in the middle of the Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin Regional Nature Park .
The city is served by the Paris-Cherbourg railway line. It is also served by the Manéo No. 1 bus line operated by the Manche department ( Saint-Lô- Carentan- Valognes - Cherbourg bus line ).
history
Since Carentan occupies a key strategic position within this region, it has historically been fought over in wars. In Roman times the city was called Carentomagos . It was besieged and destroyed many times during the Anglo-French War . Blanche de Castille finally had the city fortified. However, these systems were razed again in 1853.
Carentan became known internationally as the scene of a battle in World War II between the Wehrmacht and the advancing parachute troops of the Americans ( 101st US Airborne Division ). On the German side, the Paratrooper Regiment 6 (Commander: Major Freiherr von der Heydte ) and finally the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen" were deployed. This battle for Carentan has been the subject of several feature films, television series and computer games.
With effect from January 1, 2016, the former municipalities of Angoville-au-Plain , Carentan , Houesville and Saint-Côme-du-Mont were merged to form the Commune nouvelle Carentan-les-Marais. The municipality of Carentan belonged to the arrondissement of Saint-Lô and the canton of Carentan .
Attractions
- Notre-Dame Church: A Romanesque church from the 11th century was destroyed in 1443 and later rebuilt in Gothic style .
- The town hall ( L'Hôtel de ville ) dates back to the 17th century and has also served as a barracks and school over time.
- The medieval arcades on Place de la République are unique in all of Normandy. They are the remains of a covered medieval trading center.
Partnerships
A town twinning existed with the German municipality Waldfischbach-Burgalben in Rhineland-Palatinate and with the English town Selby in Yorkshire. On the basis of the German-French contract of 1963 , there was a regular student exchange between the grammar schools in Carentan and Kevelaer on the Lower Rhine (North Rhine-Westphalia). The students were always housed with host families, so they get to know their host parents particularly well and can try out their foreign language in everyday life.
sons and daughters of the town
- Alain Germain (* 1948), writer and director
Individual evidence
- ↑ Map of Manéo (French)
