Saint-Laurent-de-Brèvedent

French commune
name= Saint-Laurent-de-Brèvedent
region=Haute-Normandie
department=Seine-Maritime
arrondissement=Le Havre
canton= Saint-Romain-de-Colbosc
insee=76596 |cp=76700 |maire= Jean Moreau|mandat=
intercomm=
longitude=0.257222222222|latitude=49.5269444444|alt moy=46m |alt mini=33m |alt maxi=108m
hectares=778 |km²=7.78 |sans=1513 |date-sans=2005 |dens=193 |

Saint-Laurent-de-Brèvedent is a commune in the Seine-Maritime "département" of the Haute-Normandie region of northern France.

Geography

A village of farming and forestry, by the banks of the St.Laurent river, in the Pays de Caux, situated some convert|9|mi|km northeast of Le Havre, at the junction of the D34, D234 and D111 roads. The commune has a TER railway station and a reservoir providing water for the city of Le Havre.

History

The village is named after Lawrence of Rome, patron of the village church. The word "Brévedent" probably has its origins in an early Germanic language as "beber" (beaver) and "daum" (river), which can be translated as "beaver river" .
The village grew during medieval times, with the construction of the first church in the 12th century. Only the original tower still remains, the rest having been completely rebuilt between 1865 and 1879.
Unusually, a school has existed here since the Middle Ages, even if it functioned erratically. It was replaced by a new building in 1789, during the French Revolution, then again in 1892 and finally rebuilt in 1994.
The commune enjoyed considerable tourism during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, as the opening of the railway station in 1847 allowed the residents of Le Havre to spend weekends here in holiday villas, some of which can still seen in the district of Catillon (now nicknamed the "Riviera").
During the Second World War the area, with the calm of the countryside, became a place of refuge for the people of Le Havre, with its proximity and ease of access, far from the industrial and military targets of the large port.

Population

Places of interest

* The 19th century château d’Aplemont.
* The church of St.Laurent, dating from the 12th century.
* The reservoir and the woods.

See also

*Communes of the Seine-Maritime department
*Seine-Maritime
*Normandy

External links

* [http://www.st-laurent-de-brevedent.com/ Official website of the commune] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=16773&req=Saint-Laurent-de-Brèvedent Saint-Laurent-de-Brèvedent on the Quid website] fr

Notes

*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on October 9th 2008."