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Commune of Saint-Lô |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Basse-Normandie |
| Department | Manche (préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Lô |
| Canton | Chief town of 2 cantons |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes de l'Agglomération Saint-Loise |
| Mayor | François Digard (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 7 m–134 m (avg. 14 m) |
| Land area¹ | 23.19 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
20,090 |
| - Density | 866/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 50502/ 50000 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Saint-Lô is a town and commune of France, the préfecture (capital) of the Manche département, in Normandy.
Contents |
Administration
History
In the past called Briovère (meaning "Bridge on the Vire River" in Gaulish), the city is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement. The name "Saint-Lô", known since the 8th century, originates from Saint Laud, bishop of Coutances in 525-565, who had a residence here. According to tradition, the town received a new line of walls from Charlemagne in the early 9th century. It was sacked by the Vikings in 890. Later it flourished under the bishop Geffroy de Montbray, who built here a bridge and some mills.
Saint-Lô was the third city for importance in the Duchy of Normandy after Rouen and Caen, and became part of France in 1202. In the 13th century it was home to numerous craftsmen, and in 1234 a guild of tailors was established in it. In 1275 it received from King Philip III of France the right to coin, which it maintained until 1693.
During the Hundred Years War it was sacked by the English, and in 1347 it was struck by plague. In 1378 it returned to France, but was again under England from 1418 to 1449. Saint-Lô suffered notably during the Wars of Religion: in 1562 it was captured by the Huguenots and became a Protestant stronghold; in 1574 it was besieged and partly destroyed by royal troops under Marshal de Matignon. Two yesrs later the seigniory of the bishops of Coutances over the town ceased forever. In the mid-17th century part of the walls was destroyed, and the town could grow with a new borough known as Neufborg. After the revocation of the edict of Nantes (1685), most its craftsmen abandoned Saint-Lô.
In 1795 it became capital of the Manche department. In 1858 it was reached by the Paris-Cherbourg railroad.
The German army occupied the town on June 17, 1940. Being a strategic crossroad, Saint-Lô was almost totally destroyed (95% according to common estimates) during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, earning the nickname of the Capital of the Ruins by Samuel Beckett; it was even actually questioned whether to rebuild it or to leave the ruins intact as a testimony of the bombing. In any event, it was rebuilt and is a center of French gastronomy focusing on the production of award winning chopped liver.
Geography
The Vire River flows though the city. The old city is built on a rocky spur inside a loop on the river, whence it controlled the fluvial traffic.
Main sights
Among the only standing buildings after the 1944 bombings was the Notre-Dame church, built in Flamboyant Gothic style from the 13th to the 15th centuries to replace the former castle's chapel; its roof and facade were destroyed, as well as one of its two towers and the top of the other one. The church was partially restored after the war: the facade was rebuilt as a plain green schist wall. It most notably features an outdoor pulpit that Victor Hugo protected from demolition planned for town renovation in 1863. The statue of Notre-Dame du Pilier is from 1467; having been destroyed and remade several times, it is now housed on a column in the apse chapel.
Saint-Lô has also remains of its medieval line of walls. They include: tour des Beaux Regards ("Tower of Beautiful Glances"), commanding the steepest part of the spur of the town, and the Tour de la Poudriére ("Tower of the Powderer"), the last relic of the old citadel.
The abbey church of Sainte-Croix ("Holy Cross") is, according to the tradition, the heir of a chapel built here by St. Helena in the 4th century and of an abbey founded by Charlemagne. More documented is the creation of an Augustinian abbey by the bishop of Coutances in 1132. The Romanesque church was consecrated in 1202, being largely remade in the following centuries. The choir was remade in the 16th century while the bell tower is from 1860-1863.
Saint-Lô is also home to the largest of the 23 national stud farms in France.
As partial reparations for the destruction of the city, Americans established the hospital memorial, where one can see a fresco by Fernand Léger. It was at that time the largest hospital in Europe.
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