- Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon
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Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon
Notre-Dame-de-GravenchonLocation within Upper Normandy region
Notre-Dame-de-GravenchonAdministration Country France Region Upper Normandy Department Seine-Maritime Arrondissement Le Havre Canton Lillebonne Intercommunality Caux-Vallée de Seine Mayor Jean-Claude Weiss
(2008–2014)Statistics Elevation 0–138 m (0–453 ft)
(avg. 35 m/115 ft)Land area1 18.74 km2 (7.24 sq mi) Population2 8,541 (2006) - Density 456 /km2 (1,180 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 76476/ 76330 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. Coordinates: 49°29′24″N 0°34′19″E / 49.49°N 0.571944444444°E
Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.
Contents
Geography
A small town with a huge industrial area (Port-Jérome) to the southwest with farming and woodland to the north and east, in the Pays de Caux, situated by the banks of the river Seine, some 20 miles (32 km) east of Le Havre, at the junction of the D81, D373 and D110 roads.
History
- The parishes of Saint-Georges-de-Gravenchon and Notre Dame were part of the royal domain of Lillebonne. The Counts of Évreux built the medieval castle of Fontaine-Saint-Denis. The two parishes were joined as one commune in 1823 under the name of Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon.
- Napoleon III opened the new industrial area of Port-Jérôme. A commemorative stone recalls his visit on May 28, 1861. Until then, the commune was an agricultural town.
- In 1930, two oil refineries with two separate housing districts were established. "Standard" (for Esso employees) and "Vacuum" (for Mobil Oil's workers).
- During World War II, the refineries were partly destroyed (1940) but rebuilt after 1945. Notre Dame de Gravenchon has been occupied by the Germans as from 12 June 1940 and liberated on 31 August 1944 jointly by the British and Belgian armies (Brigade Piron).[1]
Heraldry
The arms of Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon are blazoned :
Per fess 1: per pale A: gules, a demi-lion issuant from the per pale line and B: Azure, the outline of a drakkar on waves argent; and 2: Vert, 2 stalks of wheat in saltire argent and in chief 3 chemical flasks outlined, and half full argent, middle one largest; all the lines of division fimbriated.Population
Population history 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 5488 6273 8335 8963 8901 8618 8541 Starting in 1962: Population without duplicates Places of interest
- The church of Notre-Dame, dating from the twelfth century.
- The church of St.Georges, dating from the twentieth century.
- A seventeenth century public washhouse.
- Vestiges of the medieval castle and chapel at La Fontaine-Saint-Denis.
Twinning
Notre Dame de Gravenchon is twinned with Street, a village in Somerset, a county in the south west of England.
See also
References
External links
- Official website of the commune (French)
- Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon on the Quid website (French)
Categories:- Communes of Seine-Maritime
- Le Havre geography stubs
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