Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy.

History

Antiquity

thumb|Wall fragment with fresco of a [[Gallo Roman man, from Évreux, 250-275 AD]]

In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area. Mediolanum was a small regional centre of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. Julius Caesar wintered eight legions in this area after his third campaigning season in the battle for Gaul (56-55 BC): Legiones VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII and XIV.

Middle Ages

The first known members of the family of the counts of Évreux were descended from an illegitimate son of Richard I, duke of Normandy. These counts became extinct in the male line with the death of Count William in 1118 AD. The county passed by right of Agnes, William's sister and wife of Simon I de Montfort (died 1087 AD) to the house of the lords of Montfort-l'Amaury. Amaury VI de Montfort-Évreux ceded the title in 1200 to King Philip II. Philip IV presented it in 1307 to his brother Louis d'Évreux, for whose benefit Philip the Tall raised the county of Évreux into the peerage of France in 1317.

Philip d'Évreux, son of Louis, became king of Navarre by his marriage to Joan II of Navarre, daughter of Louis the Headstrong, and their son Charles the Bad and their grandson Charles the Noble were also kings of Navarre. The latter ceded his counties of Évreux, Champagne and Brie to King Charles VI of France in 1404.

Demographics

The inhabitants of Évreux are known as Ebroicians ().

Population

Catholicism

thumb|240px|Évreux Cathedral

Évreux Cathedral has been the seat of the bishops of Évreux since its traditional founder, Saint Taurin of Évreux, most probably working between 375 and 425; Bishop Maurusius was present at the Council of Orléans in 511. The earliest parts of the present building, which is mostly Gothic, date from the eleventh century. The west façade and its two towers are mostly from the late Renaissance; the octagonal central tower dates from the late fifteenth century. Of especial note are the Lady chapel and its stained glass, the rose windows in the transepts and the carved wooden screens of the side chapels. The church of the former abbey of St-Taurin is in part Romanesque. It has a choir of the 14th century and other portions of later date, and contains the thirteenth-century shrine of Saint Taurin.

Judaism

In the Middle Ages, Évreux was one of the centres of Jewish learning, and its scholars are quoted in the medieval notes to the Talmud called the Tosafot. The following rabbis are known to have lived at Évreux: Samuel ben Shneor, praised by his student Isaac of Corbeil as the "Prince of Évreux", one of the most celebrated tosafists; Moses of Évreux, brother of Samuel, author of the Tosafot of Évreux; Isaac of Évreux; Judah ben Shneor, or Judah the Elder, author of liturgical poems; Meïr ben Shneor; Samuel ben Judah; Nathan ben Jacob, father of Jacob ben Nathan, who in 1357 copied the five Megillot with the Targum for Moses ben Samuel.

Sights

thumb|240px|The [[Hôtel de Ville, Évreux|Hôtel de Ville (town hall)]]

thumb|240px|Église Saint-Taurin

Évreux is situated in the pleasant valley of the Iton, arms of which traverse the town; on the south, the ground slopes up toward the public gardens and the railway station. It is the seat of a bishop, and its cathedral is one of the largest and finest in France.

Henry I of France rebuilt the cathedral as an act of atonement to the Pope. Between 1194 and 1198, the conflict between Philippe Auguste and Richard the Lion-hearted damaged the new cathedral. The architecture of the present edifice shows this history, with its blend of Romanesque and Gothic styles. As did many towns in the regions of Nord and Normandy, Évreux and its cathedral suffered greatly from Second World War.

At Le Vieil-Évreux (), the Roman Gisacum, southeast of the town, the remains of a Roman theatre, a palace, baths and an aqueduct have been discovered, as well as various relics, notably the bronze of Jupiter Stator, which are now deposited in the museum of Évreux.

The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1895.

The Église Saint-Taurin dates back to the 10th century.

Administration

  • The communauté d'agglomération Évreux Portes de Normandie has 62 communes.

Cantons

Since 2015, Évreux is part of three cantons:

  • The canton of Évreux-1 includes a part of Évreux and the communes of: Arnières-sur-Iton and Saint-Sébastien-de-Morsent (pop: 24,125 in 2019);
  • The canton of Évreux-2 includes a part of Évreux and the communes of: Aviron, Le Boulay-Morin, La Chapelle-du-Bois-des-Faulx, Dardez, Émalleville, Gravigny, Irreville, Normanville, Reuilly, Saint-Germain-des-Angles and Saint-Vigor (pop: 28,128);
  • The canton of Évreux-3 includes a part of Évreux and the communes of: Angerville-la-Campagne, Les Baux-Sainte-Croix, Boncourt, Cierrey, Fauville, Gauciel, Guichainville, Huest, Miserey, Le Plessis-Grohan, Saint-Luc, Sassey, La Trinité, Le Val-David and Le Vieil-Évreux (pop: 22,912);

Mayors

Évreux has historically maintained socialist politics, with Roland Plaisance of the French Communist Party serving as mayor for over two decades (1977–2001). Plaisance was followed by Jean-Louis Debré, in some part due to the latter's friendship with Jacques Chirac. In 2014, Guy Lefrand (UMP, centre-right) a former member of the National Assembly of France, was elected mayor, with a mandate lasting six years.

Transport

The train station Gare d'Évreux-Normandie is on the railway line from Gare Saint-Lazare to Cherbourg, it is served by regular Intercity and regional rail services to both Paris and Normandy. There used to be two stations in Évreux, only one of which remains open to this day. The second station (Évreux-Nord) served the line from Évreux to Rouen.

Geography

The city is on the Iton river.

Climate

Notable people

  • Moses of Évreux was a French tosafist, and author of a siddur, who flourished at Évreux in the first half of the thirteenth century
  • Esteban Ocon, Formula 1 racing driver
  • Abdoullakh Abouyedovich Anzorov, terrorist
  • Éric Bernard, actor
  • Bintou Dieme, basketball player
  • Joseph Gomis, basketball player
  • Jean-Louis Hue (born 1949), writer, winner of the 1982 edition of the Prix Fénéon
  • Denis Lhuillier, footballer
  • Joseph Mendes, footballer
  • Bernard Mendy, footballer
  • Élodie Mendy, basketball player
  • Léon Walras, economist
  • Edmond Doutté, sociologist, orientalist and Islamologist
  • Mathieu Bodmer, footballer
  • Vincent Delerm, a singer of the Nouvelle scène trend
  • Didier Courrèges, an equestrian of the prestigious Cadre Noir, Olympic winner with the French team in Athens
  • Olivier Patience, tennis player
  • Ouleymata Sarr, footballer
  • Dayot Upamecano, footballer
  • Gérard Serée, artist
  • Jean-Yves Raimbaud, co-creator of Space Goofs with Philippe Traversat, creator of Oggy and the Cockroaches
  • Ousmane Dembélé, footballer, winner of Ballon d’Or 2025

Twin towns – sister cities

Évreux is twinned with:

  • Djougou, Benin
  • Kashira, Russia
  • Rugby, England, United Kingdom
  • Rüsselsheim, Germany

See also

  • Communes of the Eure department
  • Norman language

References

  • City council website (in French)
  • Photos of the Cathedral of Evreux
  • Tourism office of Evreux