Saint-Lô
| Saint-Lô | ||
|---|---|---|
.svg)
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| region | Normandy | |
| Department | Some | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Lô | |
| Canton |
Saint-Lô-1 (main town) Saint-Lô-2 (main town) |
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| Community association | Saint-Lô Agglo | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 7 ′ N , 1 ° 6 ′ W | |
| height | 7-134 m | |
| surface | 23.19 km 2 | |
| Residents | 19,116 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 824 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 50000 | |
| INSEE code | 50502 | |
| Website | http://www.saint-lo.fr/ | |
Saint-Lô , sometimes called Saint Laud listed is a French city and prefecture of the department Manche in the region of Normandy . It has 19,116 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) and is the capital of the arrondissement of the same name . It is located on the Cotentin Peninsula .
history
The place steeped in history was initially called Briovère or Briovera in Roman-Gallic times , which in Celtic means about bridge over the Vire . In 56 BC The Romans occupied the place under the military leader Caesar Quintus Titurius Sabinus in the course of the fight against the Gallic tribe of the Veneller . In the 6th century it was named Saint Laud after the name of a bishop of Coutances named Laudo or Laudus ( List of Bishops of Coutances ), who took up his residence here and whose grave served as a pilgrimage site for some time.
Destruction and rebuilding
When Operation Overlord began on June 6, 1944 , the Allies believed that Saint-Lô, which was considered a key city for the German army, had to be destroyed. The leaflets dropped by air units to warn the population did not succeed. In the night of June 6th to 7th, the city was almost completely destroyed by bombers . It was not until June 29 that the American Major Howie attacked with the 29th US Division, whose advance had been hindered by the surrounding impassable terrain. Street battles continued until July 24th, when the struggle for the city, 95% of which was destroyed, was over.
Proposals to leave the city as it is and to build a new one a few kilometers further met with rejection from the population and authorities. Gradually it was rebuilt and prisoners of war had to help. Samuel Beckett named Saint-Lô in a never-aired radio report for Irish radio Éireann Capital of the Ruins .
Railway station and parts of the destroyed city (summer 1944)
Destroyed district (summer 1944)
Fortification walls
Church of the Holy Cross
Attractions
Haras national
The national stud Haras national de Saint-Lô looks back on more than 200 years of history. Founded in 1806 by Napoleon Bonaparte through an imperial decree , it was initially set up on the site of the former abbey of St. Croix (to the Holy Cross). The foundation stone for the construction of the building on the present site east of the city center was laid in 1884.
When the city was bombed on June 6, 1944, the stud was also destroyed. As one of the few building complexes, the stud was reconstructed as true to the original as possible, using the original building plans from the 19th century.
Today the national stud is a center for horse industry, sport and breeding in the Normandy region.
Town twinning
Saint-Lô has several twin cities:
- Saint-Ghislain in Belgium since 1962
- Basking since 1979
- Christchurch (Dorset) in England since 1985
- Roanoke in the US since 1999
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- André Clément Henri Adam (1911–1991), sociologist and ethnologist
- Hugues Duboscq (born August 29, 1981), swimmer
- Jacques-Davy Duperron (born November 25, 1556 - † May 5, 1618 in Paris ), cardinal, poet and diplomat.
- Benjamin Édelin (* 1993), track cyclist
- Ewen Fernandez (born February 17, 1989), inline speed skater
- Octave Feuillet (born August 10, 1821, † December 28, 1890 in Paris), writer and member of the Académie française
- Urbain Le Verrier (born March 11, 1811 - September 23, 1877 in Paris), mathematician and astronomer
- Alexis Loret (born January 10, 1975), actor.
- Jean Teulé (born February 26, 1953) is a writer, actor and comic book author
Personalities who have worked on site
- The Irish writer and Nobel laureate in literature Samuel Beckett worked from August to December 1945 as an interpreter and driver for the construction of a makeshift hospital by the Irish Red Cross in Saint-Lô.
Web links
- Official website of the city, (French)
- "Haras national de Saint-Lô" on the official website of the French National Studs, (French)