Lisieux

French commune
nomcommune=Lisieux
région=Basse-Normandie
département=Calvados
arrondissement=Lisieux
canton=Seat of 3 cantons
insee=14366
cp=14100
maire= Bernard Aubril
mandat=
intercomm=Lisieux Pays d'Auge
longitude=0.226666666667
latitude=49.1463888889
alt moy=
alt mini=
alt maxi=
hectares=1,307
km²=13.07
sans=23,166
date-sans=1999
dens= 1,772.5
date-dens=1999

Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados "département" in the Basse-Normandie region of France.

Geography

Lisieux lies in the bottom of the valley of the river Touques and on the road from Paris to Caen (RN13).

Demography

Lisieux has a population of 24,080 inhabitants (1999). The population without double-counts is 23,166 (1999). The metropolitan area has a population of 45,065.

History

The area now known as Lisieux was inhabited by the Gallic tribe known as the Levixiiduring Gallo-Roman times. This explains why inhabitants are known as Lexoviens today. The commune was known as Noviomagus or Noviomagus Lexoviorum by the Romans.Lisieux was an important center of power in medieval times. The bishopric of Lisieux controlled most of the Pays d'Auge by the twelfth century. King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquataine are thought to have married at Lisieux in 1152, and the town remained powerful for several centuries afterward until in the fourteenth century the triple scourges of the Plague, war and resulting famine devastated Lisieux and reduced its influence.
*1907: The first helicopter liftoff, by Paul Cornu, occurred in Lisieux.
*June 6, 1944: Bombardment of Lisieux (more than 800 are killed), and the city is partially destroyed.
*August 23, 1944: Liberation by allied troops

Ecclesiastical history

The first known Bishop of Lisieux was Theodibandes, mentioned in connection with a council held in 538. The most celebrated among his successors were Freculfus (d. 850), a pupil of the palace school founded by Charlemagne, and author of a universal history; Arnoul (1141-81), statesman and writer; Nicole Oresme (1378-82), philosopher, mathematician, and tutor to Charles V of France; Pierre Cauchon (1432-42), concerned in the condemnation of Joan of Arc; Guillaume de Livet (d. January 22, 1465), Canon of Lisieux and expert in canon law, English partisan and juror in the trial of Joan of Arc [ [http://www.saint-joan-of-arc.com/bios.htm Guillaume de Livet, Trial of Joan of Arc, saint-joan-of-arc.com] ] ; Thomas Basin (1447-74), the historian of Charles VII, and one of the promoters of the rehabilitation of Joan of Arc; Guillaume du Vair (1618-21), the well-known philosopher who left the bench for the Church.

In 1232 the home of Guillaume de Livet, priest of the Cathédrale St Pierre de Lisieux, was donated to the town's poor. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=jBo6AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=%22guillaume+de+livet%22&source=web&ots=VgxeI7PJDc&sig=TxTcWtC-GKcMUPeA8weT6d7i8FE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de Normandie, Derache, 1834] ]

The see of Lisieux maintained the Collège de Lisieux at Paris for poor students of the diocese.

In the Concordat of 1801, the ancient diocese of Lisieux was united to the neighbouring bishopric of Bayeux. A pontifical Brief, in 1854, authorized the Bishop of Bayeux to call himself Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux.

The Cathedral, begun in 1170 and largely finished by mid-thirteenth century, is the main attraction of Lisieux, and its soaring interior spaces are typical of early Gothic architecture. A statue of St. Therese adorns the choir. The gardens behind the Cathedral, the Jardin de l'Eveche, were designed by Le Notre, who also designed the gardens at Versailles.

Religion

Catholic devotion to Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, who lived in the Carmel de Lisieux, makes it the most significant pilgrimage site in France after Lourdes.

ites of interest

*Lisieux Cathedral Built between 1170 and the middle of the 13^th century. The front of the building is three portals mounted by two towers. The right hand tower was built in the XVI^th century and is topped by a 17^th century arrow. Buttresses were added on the south face in the 15^th century. Although much of Lisieux was damaged or destroyed in World War II, the Cathedral and the Carmelite convent survived largely unscathed.

*Basilique Sainte-Thérèse, designed by Louis M. Cordonnier, was consecrated on 11 July 1954. The Campanile's construction ended in 1975 and is 45 m tall.
*Carmel
*Jardin de l'Evêché (Jardin Public) built in the second quarter of the XIX^th century and bordered by Cour Matignon, rue Condorcet and Boulevard Carnot.

Transport

Lisieux-Gare Principale is on the railway line from Gare Saint-Lazare to Cherbourg, it is served by regular. Intercity and regional rail services to both Paris, Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie.There are two stations in Lisieux, the second station Lisieux-Grands Jardins, is only served by regional services to and from Trouville-Deauville.

ee also

* [http://www.lisieuxmhss.com Lisieux] is also the name of an eminent school in Coimbatore, India.
*Lisieux is also the name of a small village in Saskatchewan, Canada.

References

External links

* [http://www.thereseoflisieux.org Site about the life, writings, spirituality, and mission of St. Therese of Lisieux, with information about pilgrimages]
* [http://www.ville-lisieux.fr Lisieux website] (in French)
* [http://en.lisieux-tourisme.com Tourism website] (in French, English, and German)
* [http://www.theresemovie.com/ Saint Thérèse de Lisieux Movie] (English)