Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados

Commune in Normandy, France

Coat of arms

Location of Pont-l'Évêque

(2020–2026) Yves Deshayes^[1]Area

12.98 km² (5.01 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

4,953 • Density380/km² (990/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

14514 /14130

Elevation5–148 m (16–486 ft)
(avg. 16 m or 52 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Pont-l'Évêque (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ levɛːk] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is known for Pont-l'Évêque cheese, a type of soft cheese, the oldest Normandy cheese in production.

During World War II, the town was severely damaged by a two-day battle in August 1944. On 1 January 2019, the former commune of Coudray-Rabut was merged into Pont-l'Évêque.^[3]

The town serves as the setting for Gustave Flaubert's story Un cœur simple and features heavily in the book 13 - Lucky For Some which is about the history of the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion. There are many then and now photographs as well as maps and diagrams of battles that took place in the region.

Geography and toponymy

The river Touques flows through Pont-l'Évêque, which takes its name from a bridge (pont) built over the river. Starting in the 10th century, the local bishop (évêque) took responsibility for building and repairing the bridges and roads in France. Pont-l'Évêque thus means "Bishop Bridge".^[4] It was Latinised as Pons-Episcopi.^[5] Pont-l'Évêque station has rail connections to Paris, Deauville, Évreux and Lisieux.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	3,644	—
1975	3,913	+1.02%
1982	4,021	+0.39%
1990	4,156	+0.41%
1999	4,466	+0.80%
2007	4,494	+0.08%
2012	4,825	+1.43%
2017	4,662	−0.68%
Source: INSEE^[6]

Transport

A13 autoroute
A132 autoroute
Route nationale 177
Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest

Twin Towns

Ottery St Mary, United Kingdom (since 1977)^[7]
Veitshöchheim, Germany (since 1994)^[7]

Personalities

Pont-l'Évêque was the birthplace of:

Roger de Pont L'Evêque (c. 1115–1181) – Archdeacon of Canterbury, and later Archbishop of York
Dière de Dièreville (c. 1670–?) – surgeon, botanist and writer who wrote about his 1699–1700 voyage to Acadia
Jacques Guillaume Thouret (1746–1794) – revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly
Ferdinand Alphonse Hamelin (1796–1864) – Navy officer, Admiral and Minister of Marine

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont-l'Évêque (Calvados).

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ Arrêté préfectoral 17 December 2018, p. 81 (in French)
^ James-Raoul, Danièle; Thomasset, Claude (2006). Les ponts au Moyen Âge (in French). Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 201. ISBN 9782840503736. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
^ Echard, Laurence (1786). Dictionnaire géographique-portatif, ou description des royaumes, provinces, villes, évêchés, duchés, comtés, marguirats (in French). Les libraires associés. p. 570. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ ^a ^b "Les jumelages à Pont-l'Évêque".