Bayeux
Bayeux is a small town and commune in the Calvados département, in Normandy, northern France.
Administration Bayeux is a sous-préfecture of Calvados. It is the chief-town of the arrondissement of Bayeux and of the canton of Bayeux.
Location Bayeux is located just a few kilometres from the coast of the English Channel, and between the city of Caen to the east and the base of the Cotentin Peninsula to the west.
History The area around Bayeux is called the Bessin which was a province of France until the French Revolution. The name of the town and of its region come from the Celtic tribe of Bajocasses who inhabited the area. During the Second World War Bayeux was one of the first French towns to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy, and on June 16, 1946 General Charles de Gaulle made his first important speech on liberated French soil in Bayeux.
Sights The town is a major tourist attraction, most well known for the Bayeux tapestry, made to commemorate the Norman conquest of England in 1066, which is displayed in a museum in the town centre.
Miscellaneous
Bishops Bishops of Bayeux include: Odo of Bayeux
Births Bayeux was the birthpace of: Saint Marcouf Alain Chartier (c. 1392-c. 1430), poet and political writer
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