Louvier

The river Er flowing through the city is divided into 7 branches on the territory of the commune.

Prehistoric Age

On the territory of Louvier, carved stones of the Paleolithic era were found ; some of them are presented in the city ​​museum , next to fragments of a mammoth tusk found near the city cemetery ^[1] . In addition to these findings, the presence of man here at various periods of primitive society is evidenced by the menhir at the Basse-Crémonville farm with a nearby crypt of the Neolithic period, as well as weapons, vases, stone and bronze implements found in the city and its environs ^[2] .

The Age of the Gauls and Gallo-Romans

An extremely small number of archaeological finds on the territory of Louvier belong to the Gallic era: one Celtic burial, discovered in 1863 near the wall of the Notre Dame church , and several Gallic coins. The assumption of the existence of a settlement of Gauls here has not yet found evidence.

The Gallo-Roman period of the history of Louvier has been studied more widely, although this place was not of particular importance at that time, since it is not mentioned either in the Itinerari Antonina index or on the map known as the Peitinger table . The center of Louvier in the Gallo-Roman era was supposedly located on a hill where the city hall now stands ^[3] .

Middle Ages

At the time of the Merovingians , there were already at least two cemeteries in Louvier, but the first historical events associated with the settlement took place only from the 9th century.

On February 10, 856, King Charles II the Bald arranged an engagement for his son, the future Louis II , with the daughter of King Brittany Erispoe , giving him the duchy of Mans along the Paris-Tour road. The Breton vassals were extremely dissatisfied with such arrangements, which became the reason for their conspiracy, which probably led to the death of the Breton king the following year ^[4] .

In 965, the Duke of Normandy, Richard I, transferred to the abbey of St. Taurin , based in Evreux , “churches in Louvier and Penterville, fishing and mills in Louvier, as well as 40 surants for these mills” ^[5] , ^[6] . It was at the end of the Carolingian era that the name Louvier was first mentioned in official documents. Later, in the XI and XII centuries, this gift was confirmed by the Dukes of Normandy Richard II and Richard the Lionheart .

In 1196, the King of France, Philip II Augustus and Richard the Lionheart made a truce in Louvier. In 1197, Richard the Lionheart, 2 years before his death, transferred Louvier to the Archbishop of Rouen, Gautier de Coutances ( FR. Gautier de Coutances ), in order to get Andely from him and build the Chateau-Gaillard castle there ^[7] . Starting from this year and up to the French Revolution, the Rouen archbishops held the title of Counts of Louvier ^[8] .

During the first years of the 13th century, Notre Dame church began to be built in Louvier, and by 1240 they completed the construction of its main elements - a choir , nave and transept , crowned with a traditional lamp tower for Normandy ^[9] .

Until the middle of the XIV century, thanks to cloth production, the city's welfare grew steadily, and the population of the city by this time supposedly reached 10,000 people. Evidence of such prosperity was the construction of an episcopal estate on the hill of Chatel ^[10] , half-timbered houses, as well as residential stone buildings for owners of cloth workshops and wealthy merchants.

The city was captured and plundered in 1346, and then again in 1356, after which it was occupied for 4 years, until 1360. On May 16 of that year, the Black Prince on behalf of his father, King of England Edward III , solemnly announced the ratification of a treaty by which French king John II captured by Poitiers was freed in exchange for a quarter of the territory of France ^[11] .

In 1364, the townspeople of Louvier asked permission from King Charles V , who had entered the throne, to build city ​​fortifications ; the first stone was laid on November 10, 1366. At the end of the 14th century, the city church was renovated and improved; the naves were raised significantly, and a spire 50 meters high, which existed for more than three centuries and was destroyed by a hurricane in 1705, was erected above the bell tower.

In 1409, the townspeople renewed the Louvier fortifications, which were abandoned after the victories of the Bertrand Duguecklen connetable over the British, and began to build a beffroy tower on the side of the city church, which in its style had a military purpose rather than a religious one. In 1418, the city was besieged by the British; resistance was desperate, and retaliation ruthless. The city fell after 26 days of the siege (according to English sources - after 15 days); 120 citizens were executed, and the rest saved their lives in exchange for paying a large ransom in the amount of 15,000 ecu . This was followed by 11 years of occupation of the city.

In December 1429, the city was conquered by La Gere , the famous ally of Joan of Arc . The British, who did not want to put up with this, surrounded the city in May 1431 with an army of 12,000 soldiers. This siege lasted about 6 months and the city surrendered on October 22, having lost most of its defenders ^[12] . Promising the remaining defenders the honorable conditions for surrender, the British completely destroyed the city ^[13] .

The troops of the king of France liberated Louvier in 1440, and the inhabitants began to rebuild the city. The last attempt by the British to seize the city happened in 1441. In the same year, King Charles VII of France granted to the inhabitants of Louvier a full exemption from royal taxes at all times, including from an especially burdensome waist . The city received the right to attach the slogan “Loviers le Franc” to its coat of arms, and its residents were privileged to use the letter “L” decorated with a crown “in stripes, in jewelry and wherever they like”. In 1440, at one time, the headquarters of King Charles VII was established in Louvier, from where he went on military campaigns to liberate Normandy ^[14] .

In the XV century, cloth production in Louvier, like other cities of Normandy, was under the royal patronage of Louis XI .

Renaissance

In 1506, the southern gate was built in the city in the style of flaming Gothic . Around the same time, the lamp tower was updated. During the reign of Cardinal Amboise , Archbishop of Rouen and First Minister of King Louis XII , the city completed the construction of fortifications and for some time planned the construction of the Episcopal Palace, which was eventually rebuilt from Guyon Castle .

In 1562, when Rouen came under Protestant rule, the Parliament of Normandy, at the direction of King Charles IX, moved to Louvier. Its sessions were held from August 5 to October 28.

In 1591, after battles with the forces of the Catholic League at Ark and Ivry, the troops of Henry IV, under the command of Marshal Biron, approached Louvier, and on June 6, after a short skirmish, occupied the city. In 1594, after the surrender of Rouen, Minister Sully stayed in Louvier, spending one night at the hotel at the Green Pillar on the market square, which he later wrote about in his memoirs ^[15] .

Louvier in the 17th and 18th centuries

In the XVII century, Louvier was struck five times by plague epidemics, which claimed many lives.

Great privileges and tax exemptions granted to citizens by King Charles VII were abolished in 1620 by King Louis XIII .

In 1681, the royal administration opened a manufactory in Louvier ^[16] , which allowed to slightly increase the well-being of the city, reviving the cloth business. And the detailed regulations of Jean-Baptiste Colbert allowed Louvier, who had specialization in high-quality fabrics, to begin competition with Elbeuf .

During the XVIII century, the city repeatedly suffered damage from natural disasters: the most severe winters (1709, 1740, 1776); 1705 hurricane flood (1740, 1776, 1784); large fires (1782, 1783).

In 1785, the first factory equipped with machinery was opened in Louvier. These were spinning machines that worked on advanced English technology.

New time

Restrained in their orders to the deputies, the inhabitants of Louvier maintained a moderate position during the French Revolution.

The massive famine in the era of the revolution and the deterioration of the situation of citizens during the Executive Directory became the reason for the support of the efforts of the new government by the inhabitants of Louvier, who unanimously voted for the constitution of the consulate. The first consul visited Louvier on October 30, 1802. His next visit to the city took place on June 1, 1810, when he, together with his wife Maria Louise, visited the factories of the city ^[17] . In 1815, the Louvier was occupied by Prussian troops.

Colbert's regulations, which encouraged the production of the most sophisticated fabrics in Louvier, as well as a decrease in demand for ready-made dresses and luxurious fabrics during the revolution, caused an acute crisis in urban industry ^[18] . The introduction of new technologies and the efforts of local entrepreneurs have allowed to maintain the quality of products, lowering their cost. These measures contributed to the revival of traditional activities and the recovery of the urban economy from the crisis; We managed to maintain the prosperity of the city until the middle of the 20th century. At that time, the number of workshops and factories in Louvier reached its maximum. Economic prosperity allowed to carry out major work on the improvement of the city. During the Restoration period in Louvier, the old city fortifications were liquidated by arranging green boulevards in their place. Under the July monarchy , a library, a savings bank, the first public school for boys were opened in the city and the Notre Dame church was renovated. During the Second Empire , new streets paved with stone were laid in the city, schools, a port, bridges were reconstructed, a lighting system was built, and a railway station was opened. Both revolutions of 1830 and 1848 passed without consequences for the city ^[19] .

In 1885, a higher school was opened in the city, which later became a college and lyceum. In 1899, electric lighting came to the streets of Louvier. Before the start of World War I , a municipal theater, museum, and various sports and music societies were opened in Louvier.

In June 1940, during the invasion of German troops , Louvier was badly damaged by the bombing. During the war years, several resistance groups functioned in the city. Louvier was liberated on August 25, 1944 by Allied forces . On October 8, 1944, General de Gaulle visited Louvier, and on June 26, 1949 the city was awarded the Military Cross ^[20] .

Post-war time was marked by the restoration of the destroyed parts of the city and the formation of new urban areas.

Urban facilities were hit hard during World War II . Despite the massive airstrikes in the city, some historical buildings survived, for example, the city ​​mansion of the XVIII century, where Napoleon III stayed.

Religious Architecture

• Church of Notre Dame, XI-XIII century, classified historical monument from 1846
• The cloister of repentant sinners: the ruins of the cloister of the Franciscans , and later the Dominicans ; the only "water cloister" in Europe; added to the additional list of historical monuments in 1994

Civil Architecture

• Palace of Justice, built in 1896; now there is a pre-trial court;
• Parliament building, 16th century; during the religious wars in France , the Parliament of Normandy sat here;
• 16th century city streets with half-timbered houses; since 1932 are included in the additional list of historical monuments ;
• Manor de Bigar: a small estate of the XVI century, expanded in the XVII century. The living room has a half-timbered structure, installed on the ground floor of brick and stone. Brownie chapel with stained glass windows. Three branches of the Er River cross the modern garden and tannins of the 16th century are located here;
• Chateau Saint-Hilaire, located on avenue Henri-Dunant; in 2002 included in the additional list of historical monuments;
• The architectural complex of the period of the Third Republic , under the roof of the city hall combining a museum , a library and an elementary school

Employment structure:

• agriculture - 0.4%
• industry - 21.1%
• construction - 4.6%
• trade, transport and services - 43.0%
• state and municipal services - 30.8%

The unemployment rate ( 2014 ) is 20.4% (France as a whole - 13.5%, Department of Air - 13.7%).
The average annual income per person, Euro ( 2014 ) - 17 802 (France as a whole - 20 150, Department of Er - 20 445).

Population dynamics, people

Since 2014, the mayor of Louvier has been a member of the Union of Democrats and Independents, François-Xavier Priollaud. In the 2014 municipal elections, the right-wing bloc headed by him won the 2nd round, gaining 45.83% of the vote and outstripping two blocs, including the left bloc with Frank Martin, who served as mayor of Louvier since 1995.

•   Weymouth , England
•   Holzwickede , Germany
•   San Vito dei Normanni , Italy

• Maurice Durufle (1902-1986), composer and organist

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  Chateau Saint-Hilaire

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  Street in the city center

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  Half-timbered house

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  City Museum

• List of counties in France

• Louis Béquet. L'Histoire de Louviers évoquée par les choses. - Louviers: Imprimerie Fromentin, 1978.

• National Institute of Statistics
• 2014 municipal election results
• The official site of Louvier