Coutances

Coutances
Coutances Cathedral
Coutances
Location within Normandy region  Coutances
Coordinates: 49°03′N 1°26′W / 49.05°N 1.44°WCoordinates: 49°03′N 1°26′W / 49.05°N 1.44°W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Coutances
Canton	Coutances
Area^1	12.51 km^2 (4.83 sq mi)
Population (1999)^2	9,546
• Density	760/km^2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	50147 / 50200
Elevation	12–150 m (39–492 ft)
^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.

Coutances (French pronunciation: ​[kutɑ̃s]) is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.

History

American armored and infantry forces pass through the battered town of Coutances, France, in the new offensive against the Nazis. July 1944

Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. The surrounding region, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus subsequently became known as the Cotentin Peninsula.

The town was destroyed by invading Normans in 866, who later established settlements and incorporated the whole peninsula into the Duchy of Normandy in 933.

On July 17, 1944, during the Battle for Normandy in World War II, the city was bombed during the Allied offensive against the occupying Germans.

Sights

Coutances Cathedral is one of the major buildings of Norman architecture and contains a chapel and stained glass dedicated to Saint Marcouf. The bishop of Coutances exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Channel Islands until the Reformation, despite the secular division of Normandy in 1204. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569.

Coutances houses a well-known botanical garden and an art museum.

Jazz festival

Coutances is the location of Jazz sous les pommiers ("Jazz under the apple trees"), an annual jazz festival held since 1982. The festival traditionally takes place during the week of Ascension.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Coutances is twinned with:

Ochsenfurt in Germany Troina in Sicily, Italy Ilkley in England, United Kingdom[1][2]

Saint Ouen in Jersey, Channel Islands La Pocatière in Québec, Canada

Heraldry

The arms of Coutances are blazoned : Azure, in fess 3 columns argent, and on a chief gules, a leopard Or armed and langued azure.

References

1. "British towns twinned with French towns [via WaybackMachine.com]". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
2. "Ilkley and Coutances celebrate twin-ship". Ilkley Gazette. Newsquest Media Group. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-27.

External links

• Street map from Mapquest