Yesterday we went to Évreux, which is only about 20 km from here (and doesn’t require any 130-km highway driving). After sightseeing, we followed up on a fun coincidence — Évreux just happens to be where our friend Ian works. Ian is the son of our next-door neighbour back home. What are the odds that he would be so close to our French base!
Évreux is one of the oldest towns in France. It has had a dramatic history, from being ransacked by the Vandals in the 5th century, pillaged by Normans in 892, burnt to the ground by Henry 1 of England in 1119 and captured by Philip Augustus of France in 1194. The city alternated between English and French control until the 15th century.
Évreux was badly damaged during air raids of World War II, when the city burnt for a week. While most of the centre was rebuilt, there is still plenty of evidence of shelling.
Église Saint-Taurin
The church of the former 12th century Abbey of Saint Taurin built mostly from the Romanesque period contains the shrine of the saint as well as interesting baptism fonts and beautiful stained glass windows. The thing is, we were misled by a confusing map, and thought this was the cathedral. Inside, it seemed to have all the elements we were supposed to look for -- but really, those are all elements that one would see in any big church. We were so puzzled by the fact that a few blocks away was a huge, ornate, Gothed-up structure with a lot of gargoyles and crosses. Haw! Later, when we met Ian, he corrected us, and we went to see the real cathedral! We were lucky to get into the Saint-Taurin church at all, as a funeral was just about to take place.
Cathedral
Notre-Dame d' Évreux Cathedral was consecrated in 1076 having been built over several centuries. It was damaged at the end of the 12th century and again during the wars of religion. It suffered once more during World War II and so it has undergone significant rebuilding over the centuries with each period leaving its mark. It's a real beauty, and I took about a bazillion photos of the lovely stained glass. So glad that Ian showed us the error of our ways and took us through this beautiful cathedral!
Museum
The 15th century Bishop's Palace houses the Évreux Museum which adjoins the south side of the cathedral. Entrance is free, which was a delightful surprise, and we were particularly interested in the items that came from the nearby archaeological site that includes a Roman theatre palace, baths, and an aqueduct. We might return to Évreux today to see the Roman site. Pictured is a bronze statue of Jupiter that was discovered at the site, and is now displayed in the Évreux Museum.
Clock tower
The Tour de l’Horloge (or Beffroi d’Evreux) is a 44m high belfry of Gothic style, built from 1490 to 1497. It miraculously remained standing amid the ruins of bombings in June 1940, and, as the last Norman belfry, was classified as historical monument in 1962. We were particularly interested by the pock marks -- more evidence of WWII.
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