Coordinates: 49°13′57″N 0°43′18″E / 49.2325°N 0.721666666667°E
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Commune of Le Bec Hellouin |
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| Location | |
  Le Bec Hellouin
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Haute-Normandie |
| Department | Eure |
| Arrondissement | Bernay |
| Canton | Brionne |
| Intercommunality | Portes de l'Eure |
| Mayor | Francis Cavelier |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 46–141 m (150–460 ft) |
| Land area1 | 9.55 km2 (3.69 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 406 (1999) |
| - Density | 43 /km² (110 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 27052/ 27800 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Le Bec Hellouin is a commune in the department of Eure in the region of Haute-Normandie in northern France.
It is best known for Bec Abbey and has recently been elected one of the "most beautiful villages of France".
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History
Bec Abbey was founded in 1034 by Herluin, who was a knight at the court of Brionne and a Benedictine. Near to the abbey, in the village, the church, dedicated to Saint-André, was built in 1039. The original church burned down 1264. It was rebuilt and damaged during the Hundred Years' War (1417). The nave and the bell tower were reconstructed in the 18th century.
In 1791 the abbey was closed because of the French Revolution and the leaving monks equipped the church with a lot of statues, even the tomb of Herluin was moved to the church in 1792. From 1792 to 1794 bells and valuable decorative objects were removed from the church and finally brought to Bernay.
The windows of the church were destroyed during the bombing of Bec Hellouin on 13 August 1944, in the course of World War II. The new windows were made 1959. The Benedictine monks returned 1948 and the tomb of Herluin was moved back to the abbey in 1959.
Further reading
- Dannenberg, Linda; Pierre Levec, Pierre Moulin (1989). Pierre Deux's Normandy. Oxford: Phaidon Press. pp. 56-61. ISBN 071482576X.
See also
References
External links
- Official site
- Le Bec Hellouin on the Institut géographique national site
- Le Bec Hellouin on the Insee site
- Le Bec Hellouin on the Quid site
- Le Bec Hellouin's location on a map of France
- Plan of Le Bec Hellouin on Mapquest
- Site for Bec Abbey
- Gite site with lots of useful information and pictures
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