Lyons-la-Forêt

Lyons-la-Forêt (French pronunciation: [ljɔ̃s la fɔʁɛ]) is a commune of the Eure department, Normandy, in northwest France. Lyons-la-Forêt has distinctive historical geography, and architecture, and contemporary culture, as a consequence of the Forest of Lyons, and its bocage, and of the adjacent Pays de Bray.

Lyons-la-Forêt
Commune
17th-century covered market
17th-century covered market
Coat of arms of Lyons-la-Forêt
Coat of arms
Location of Lyons-la-Forêt
Lyons-la-Forêt is located in France
Lyons-la-Forêt
Lyons-la-Forêt
Lyons-la-Forêt is located in Normandy
Lyons-la-Forêt
Lyons-la-Forêt
Coordinates: 49°24′01″N 1°28′37″E
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentEure
ArrondissementLes Andelys
CantonRomilly-sur-Andelle
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Thierry Plouvier[1]
Area
1
26.99 km2 (10.42 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
709
 • Density26/km2 (68/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
27377 /27480
Elevation67–178 m (220–584 ft)
(avg. 163 m or 535 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Lyons-la-Forêt[3] is located 34 km (21 mi) from Rouen and 28 km (17 mi) 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 also found in the name of the stream: la Lieure Licoris /Ligoris. Same root as the river Loire < Liger and -ley in Beverley (Yorkshire) from Celtic *bibro *licos > Old English beofor beaver, *licc stream.

History

An early mention of a ducal residence in Lyons can be found in 936, when William I, Duke of Normandy used to stay. The castle of Lyons-la-Forêt was constructed at the start of the 12th century by Henry I of England, also known as "Henri Beauclerc".[4] He died there in 1135, supposedly from "a surfeit of lampreys".[5]

The town and the castle were occupied by King Philip II Augustus of France in 1193 but the following year, Richard I of England, back from captivity, obtained the restitution of Lyons; the king of England and Duke of Normandy stayed frequently until 1198. In 1202, Philip II Augustus re-conquered the city, and after him, several French kings were attracted by the Lyons forest and the good hunting grounds.

From 1359 to 1398, the castellan domain of Lyons was part of Blanche de Navarre's dower after she became the widow of King Philip VI of France. In 1403–1422, it was the dower of Isabeau de Bavière, wife of King Charles. In 1419, in the course of the Hundred Years' War, the English took Lyons.[6]

During the Second World War, the area was used for parachute drops of agents F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas and André Dewavrin.[7]

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
17931,650—    
18001,674+1.5%
18061,754+4.8%
18211,660−5.4%
18311,650−0.6%
18361,608−2.5%
18411,524−5.2%
18461,538+0.9%
18511,609+4.6%
18561,441−10.4%
18611,443+0.1%
18661,391−3.6%
18721,370−1.5%
18761,323−3.4%
18811,269−4.1%
18861,260−0.7%
18911,223−2.9%
18961,185−3.1%
YearPop.±%
19011,157−2.4%
19061,042−9.9%
19111,000−4.0%
1921931−6.9%
1926856−8.1%
1931818−4.4%
1936792−3.2%
1946878+10.9%
1954781−11.0%
1962749−4.1%
1968880+17.5%
1975772−12.3%
1982734−4.9%
1990701−4.5%
1999795+13.4%
2008754−5.2%
2012744−1.3%
  • Normandy style houses
    Normandy style houses
  • Maurice Ravel's mansion
    Maurice Ravel's mansion
  • Remains of the rampart
    Remains of the rampart

Sights
  • Gallo-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 state forest 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 numerous open spaces and clearings among which lie small villages and hamlets. This makes a transition between the Vexin plateau and the Andelle valley.[8]

Personalities

See also

References
  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. The city of Lyon, in France too, is sometimes written Lyons in English, but the writing and the pronunciation of /s/ is the result of a confusion with Lyons-la-Forêt. Lyon does not share the same etymology and is a former Lugdunu(m) that evolved step by step into Lyon.
  4. Base Mérimée: Château fort, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  5. Judith A. Green Henry I: King of England and Duke of Normandy, Cambridge University Press
  6. Site listing the communes of France.
  7. Marshall, Bruce. The White Rabbit. PAN. p. 29.
  8. Lyons Tourism office Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Lampetra fluviatilis" in FishBase. September 2012 version. (citing Bristow, Pamela (30 April 1992). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fishes. London: Chancellor Press. ISBN 9781851521364.).
  10. Deshpande, S. S. (29 August 2002). Handbook of Food Toxicology. CRC Press. p. 695. ISBN 978-0824707606.
  11. info site on the Pays de Bray. Archived 2008-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
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