Lyons-la-Forêt

French commune
nomcommune=Lyons-la-Forêt
18th century covered market
région=Haute-Normandie
département=Eure
arrondissement=Les Andelys
canton=Lyons-la-Forêt
insee=27377
cp=27480
maire=
mandat=
intercomm=
longitude=1.47694444444
latitude=49.4002777778
alt moy=163 m
alt mini=67
alt maxi=178 m
hectares=2699
km²=26.99
sans=795
date-sans=1999
dens=29
date-dens=1999

Lyons-la-Forêt is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy, in northern France.

Because of its architecture which has been maintained as it was at the beginning of the 17th century, it is also a well-known landmark within the very distinct geophysical and geocultural entity that is the Pays de Bray, known for its traditional bocage landscape of woods, orchards and cattle economy. [http://www.leclosduquesnay.fr/villes.htm info site on the Pays de Bray.] ]

Geography

Lyons-la-Forêt is located 46 km from Rouen and 28 km from Gisors.Former name: Saint-Denis-en-Lyons.

Lyons was originally the name of the forest < "Licontio-/Ligontio-", based probably on the Celtic root "lic"/"lig", that is to find also in the name of the stream running here: la Lieure < "Licoris /Ligoris".

History

*936 : First mention of a ducal residence in Lyons
*1066 : John de Lyons, a Norman knight takes part to the invasion of England. He has descendants in England.
*1135 : Henry I of England, also known as “Henri Beauclerc”, dies at the Lyons castle, at the time called Saint-Denis-en-Lyons.
*1189 : Richard the Lionheart I of England hold his first Christmas court.
*1193 : Philippe Auguste occupies the town and its castle.
*1194 : Back from captivity, Richard Cœur de Lion obtains the restitution of Lyons
*1194-1198 : Richard often stays in his Lyons residence
*July 1, 1202 : Philippe Auguste takes the fortified town
*1202-1298 : Several sojourns of the French kings at Lyons: 3 for Philippe Auguste, 4 for Louis IX, 10 for Philippe le Bel. The capetian kings enjoy the Lyons forest as one of the most beautiful in the kingdom with good hunting grounds.
*1359-1398 : The castellan domain of Lyons is part of Blanche de Navarre's dower as she becomes widow of king Philippe VI of Valois
*1403-1422 : Dower of Isabeau de Bavière, queen of France, as she becomes widow of king Charles VI of Valois
*1419 : The English take Lyons [http://www.communes-francaises.com/27/lyons-la-foret/ Site listing] the communes of France.]

Points of interest

* Roman theatre (private property)
* Castle of Henry I of England (private property)
* Covered market place (18th century)
* Church Saint-Denis (12th and 18th centuries)
* Town hall (17th century)
* Houses built in typical Normandy style (17th and 18th centuries)
* The forest is 10,700 hectares, the largest in Normandy and one of the largest Beech forests in Europe. It is renowned for the "cathedral-like" straightness and height of its trees' trunks. One of its characteristics is its having so many open spaces and clearings among which lie small villages and hamlets. This makes a transition between the Vexin plateau and the Andelle valley. [http://www.lyons.tourisme.free.fr/ Lyons Tourism office] .]

Miscellaneous

Henry I of England died on 1 December 1135 of food poisoning from eating "a surfeit of lampreys" (of which he was excessively fond) at Lyons-la-Forêt (then Saint-Denis-en-Lyons).

Lyons-la-Forêt was the birthplace of Enguerrand de Marigny (1260&ndash;1315), chamberlain and minister of Philip IV the Fair.

It was also the birthplace of Isaac de Benserade, French poet (1612-1691), who was one of the first intellectuals in France to evoke female homosexuality in a theater play.

Maurice Ravel wrote music in Le Fresne, one of the old mansions of Lyons-la-Forêt, where he came for many years.

External links

* [http://www.paris-normandie.com/dossiers/ciel/27Eure/Lyonslaforet/IndexLyonsForet.htm Aerial pictures of Lyons-la-Forêt]
* [http://lyonslaforet.free.fr/ Pictures – Some of the town's cultural traits] .

References