Lessay (Lessay)
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| local community | Lessay | |
| region | Normandy | |
| Department | Some | |
| Arrondissement | Coutances | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 13 ′ N , 1 ° 32 ′ W | |
| Post Code | 50430 | |
| Former INSEE code | 50267 | |
| Incorporation | January 1, 2016 | |
| status | Commune déléguée | |
Lessay is a village and a former French commune with 2,009 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in Some in the region Normandy . It belonged to the canton of Créances in the Arrondissement of Coutances .
With effect from January 1, 2016, the previous municipalities of Lessay and Angoville-sur-Ay were merged to form the Commune nouvelle Lessay of the same name . The former municipalities have the status of a Commune déléguée in the new municipality . The administrative seat is in Lessay.
location
The place is located west of the center of the Cotentin peninsula on the banks of the Ay river , as well as on the edge of the 150,000 hectare marshland, designated as the Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin Regional Nature Park .
history
The place developed around a Benedictine monastery founded by Torstin (Thorstein) Haldrup near the river around 1056 AD, which with its abbey church of Sainte-Trinité, founded in 1080, is one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Normandy. The grave of the founder's son, who died in 1098, was discovered during restorations. The ribbed vaults are among the first and therefore the oldest known.
Lessay airfield
The place has a regional airport. The Aérodrome de Lessay was also used for military purposes during the Second World War. In 1940, the Luftwaffe temporarily stationed reconnaissance squadrons and Bf 110 destroyers of the V Group of Lehrgeschwader 1 (V. (Z) / LG 1). After the area was liberated by the Allies, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) used the airfield as Airfield A.20 between late August and late September 1944. The only unit stationed here was the 323d Bombardment Group equipped with Martin B-26 .
