Fermanville
| Fermanville | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Normandy | |
| Department | Some | |
| Arrondissement | Cherbourg | |
| Canton | Val-de-Saire | |
| Community association | Cotentine | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 41 ′ N , 1 ° 27 ′ W | |
| height | 0-136 m | |
| surface | 11.60 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,281 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 110 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 50840 | |
| INSEE code | 50178 | |
 Light tower at Cape Lévi |
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Fermanville is a commune with 1,281 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Manche department in the region of Normandy . It is one of the most important sites of the Middle Paleolithic .
Toponymy
From the Anglo-Scandinavian name Farman + ending -ville
geography
Fermanville is located on the north coast of the Cotentin peninsula halfway between Cherbourg-Octeville and Pointe de Barfleur in the Armorican massif , in the Val de Saire landscape . The municipality borders the coast of the English Channel , which extends over a length of 24.3 kilometers in the municipality. Near the Cap Lévi are two ports, Port du Cap Lévi and Port Pignot . On the cape itself is the Phare du Cap Lévi lighthouse .
The main town is called La Heugue , the settlement areas are scattered (as is usual in Normandy ). This includes 24 hamlets, the houses of which are often made of pink granite.
The river Poult flows through the municipality . The Poult valley is crossed by a 242 meter long bridge (Viaduc de Fermanville). It was used by the long-abandoned Cherbourg - Barfleur line. This railway line got the French-speaking nickname tue-vaques because the trains supposedly killed several cows.
history
The archaeological site of Port Pignot, discovered in 1978, has revealed significant remains of a human settlement. The finds date back to 200,000 or 250,000 years ago in the Middle Paleolithic. The remains of the huts, the fire pits, can be seen in the Musée de Normandie in Caen , and the places where stones were cut can be seen on site. Another important site of the Middle Paleolithic is also on the Cotentin peninsula in the area of La Hague in Saint-Germain-des-Vaux on Roche Gélétan.
In 1968 an 18 m long 6 m wide medieval boat came to light thanks to the spring tide. He was buried in the sand at Pointe de Fréval. It goes back to the 7th century. It was probably dragged all the way to the beach to serve as a burial place for an important person. This enables knowledge of the sea techniques of the Middle Ages to be gained ( a Viking boat was discovered in Groix in 1906). In 1932, the Prométhée submarine sank off Cap Lévi.
On April 30, 1997, the naval ship La Fidèle exploded with its crew. They wanted to sink explosive devices in front of Cap Lévi . Five people were killed and many were injured.
Attractions
With 18 anchorages, Port Pignot is one of the smallest ports in France . Pink granite was extracted from the quarry, which was used not only to build local houses, but also to build the main facade of the Parisian department store Le Printemps , the Gatteville lighthouse and the Utah Beach Obelisk .
- Port Pignot, archaeological site: a former beach; which is now 10 m below sea level, turned out to be one of the two major sites in France when it comes to the early-Middle Paleolithic.
- Notre-Dame des Champs chapel, small wooden chapel.
- The Saint-Martin church, without a bell tower, from the XIII century. Century shows a plan that resembles a Greek cross, in the middle of the 17th century a separate church tower was built.
- The chapel in the north transept is dedicated to Saint Martin, while the chapel in the south transept is dedicated to Notre-Dame de Lourdes.
- Stele in memory of the poet Marie Ravenel (* 1811 in Réthoville; † 1892 in Fermanville 1893)
- Stele in memory of those missing from the ship La Fidèle, which exploded off Cape Lévi
- Memorial cross in Fréval in memory of those missing from the Prométhée submarine in the accident in 1932
- Fort du Cap Lévi: fortress from the Napoleonic era (early 19th century)
- Vallée des moulins: 7 mills produced flour (wheat and buckwheat) and oil (including nut oil)
- Viaduc de Fermanville: Railway viaduct 20 arches 242 m long and 32 m high, built between 1908 and 1911 to enable trains to travel between Cherbourg and Barfleur. It was partially destroyed by the German armed forces and the Allied Navy on June 21, 1944. In 1947 it was repaired and was used until the line was closed on September 30, 1950.
- La Pointe du Brick, in the west of the municipality, and which is shared with Maupertus-sur-Mer, is a nature reserve because of the heather, the high forest and the coppice. In the Brulay Heath, Exmoor poneys and goats have been returned to pasture. The heath belongs to the Conservatoire du littoral, where there is also a former French defense system.
Personalities
- Marie Ravenel (* 1811 in Réthoville , † 1893 in Fermanville), French poet
- Rachel Hautot (1882–1935), French sculptor, born in the village
- Félix Amiot (1894–1974), French industrialist, owner of Fort du Cap Lévi .
literature
- Frédéric Scuvée, “La grande barque médiévale de Fermanville”, in Les Normands et la Mer , Actes du XXV e congrès des sociétés historiques et archéologiques de Normandie, Cherbourg, April 4–6. October 1990, Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, Musée maritime de l'Île de Tatihou, 1995;
Individual evidence
- ^ Etymology of villa .
- ^ René Lepelley, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de communes de Normandie .
- ↑ Variscan Magmatism in the Anse du Brick website Lithothèque de Normandie (French).
- ↑ Variscan Magmatism at Cape Lévi Website Lithothèque de Normandie (French).
- ↑ Vallée des moulins ( Memento des Originals of October 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Fermanville Parish website.
- ↑ Port Pignot ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Fermanville Parish website.
- ↑ La Fidèle .
