Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Encyclopedia
Saint-Valery-en-Caux is a commune
in the Seine-Maritime
department in the Haute-Normandie
region in northern France
.
port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux
, some 20 miles (32.2 km) west of Dieppe
at the junction of the D53, D20, D79 and the D925 roads. Here, huge chalk
cliffs rise up from the pebble beach (sandy at low tide) to overlook the English Channel
. The SNCF station is no longer in use and the only way to get out of this beautiful town is by bus - which are few and far between.
in the 7th century. A monastery was built on the site of the present-day town and was known as ‘’’Sanctum Walaricum’’’ in 990 CE
, according to the charter in which Richard I, Duke of Normandy, gave the town (part of his personal property) to the abbey of Fecamp
.
A busy fishing port from the 13th to the 17th century, its decline was due to the growth of the much larger port of Fecamp, to the west.
It is perhaps best known as the place where the British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division
and French troops surrendered to Erwin Rommel
on June 12, 1940. The town was largely destroyed in the fighting in 1940. During the action, French cavalry on horseback faced German panzer
tanks. Saint-Valéry-en-Caux was liberated on 11 September 1944. On 17 January 1945, the railway station was destroyed when a runaway train full of American troops crashed into it. Eighty-nine American soldiers were killed and 152 were injured.
A lively and interesting little town that boasts a casino
, waterpark and the maximum four flowers on the France in Bloom placards. Tourism
now accounts for much of the town's prosperity.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
department in the Haute-Normandie
Haute-Normandie
Upper Normandy is one of the 27 regions of France. It was created in 1984 from two départements: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Normandy was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continues to provoke controversy, and some continue to call for reuniting the two regions...
region in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Geography
A small fishingFishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux
Pays de Caux
The Pays de Caux is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French département of Seine Maritime in Haute-Normandie. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cliffs on the English Channel coast - its coastline is known as the Côte d'Albâtre...
, some 20 miles (32.2 km) west of Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
at the junction of the D53, D20, D79 and the D925 roads. Here, huge chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
cliffs rise up from the pebble beach (sandy at low tide) to overlook the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The SNCF station is no longer in use and the only way to get out of this beautiful town is by bus - which are few and far between.
History
It is said to have been founded by Saint ValeryWalric, abbot of Leuconay
Saint Walric was the founder of the abbey of Leuconay on the Somme River ....
in the 7th century. A monastery was built on the site of the present-day town and was known as ‘’’Sanctum Walaricum’’’ in 990 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, according to the charter in which Richard I, Duke of Normandy, gave the town (part of his personal property) to the abbey of Fecamp
Fécamp
Fécamp is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Albaster Coast...
.
A busy fishing port from the 13th to the 17th century, its decline was due to the growth of the much larger port of Fecamp, to the west.
It is perhaps best known as the place where the British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division
British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (World War II)
For the First World War unit, see 51st Division .The 51st Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division that fought during the Second World War...
and French troops surrendered to Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
on June 12, 1940. The town was largely destroyed in the fighting in 1940. During the action, French cavalry on horseback faced German panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
tanks. Saint-Valéry-en-Caux was liberated on 11 September 1944. On 17 January 1945, the railway station was destroyed when a runaway train full of American troops crashed into it. Eighty-nine American soldiers were killed and 152 were injured.
A lively and interesting little town that boasts a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, waterpark and the maximum four flowers on the France in Bloom placards. Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
now accounts for much of the town's prosperity.
Heraldry
Population
Places of interest
- The church of St. Valery, dating from the fifteenth century.
- A NormanNormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
-style half-timber house . - The Commonwealth War Graves CommissionCommonwealth War Graves CommissionThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
cemetery. - A seventeenth-century cloisterCloisterA cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
from the old conventConventA convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. - The lighthouseLighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
. - The memorial to the 51st Highland Division, on the cliff tops.