Eu, Seine-Maritime

Château d'Eu

Coat of arms

Location within Normandy region

Coordinates: 50°02′53″N 1°25′14″E / 50.0481°N 1.4206°ECoordinates: 50°02′53″N 1°25′14″E / 50.0481°N 1.4206°E

Country

Gros Jacques

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Marie-Françoise Gaouyer

Area¹

17.93 km² (6.92 sq mi)

Population (2006)²

7,794

• Density

430/km² (1,100/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

76255 /76260

Elevation

2–140 m (6.6–459.3 ft)
(avg. 17 m or 56 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Eu [ø] is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.

Eu is located near the coast in the eastern part of the department, near the border with Picardy.

Its inhabitants are known in French as the Eudois.

Eu is situated at the junction of the RD 1015, the RD 925, the RD 940 and the RD 1314 roads, in the steep-sided valley of the Bresle River, whose mouth is 4 km (2.5 mi) away to the north in Le Tréport.

The name of the commune is related to that of the river on which it stands. Before being called the Bresle, this small river was known in the Middle Ages under the name of Ou, which then became Eu.

The County of Eu was created in 996 by Duke Richard I of Normandy for his illegitimate son Geoffrey, Count of Brionne. It was a march protecting Normandy from invasion from the east.

In 1050, William, Duke of Normandy, the future William the Conqueror and king of England, married Matilda, the daughter of the Count of Flanders, at the chapel of the castle in Eu. The chapel is the only part of this castle which still stands today.

In 1180, Laurence O'Toole, the archbishop of Dublin and papal legate, fell ill at Eu on his way to meet King Henry II of England. He died there. He was beatified in 1186 and canonised in 1225 as St Laurence, becoming the patron saint of the town. The collegiate church was named for the Virgin Mary and for him, Notre-Dame et Saint-Laurent, and still holds some of his preserved relics. In the 12th century, King Richard I of England, who was also Duke of Normandy, built the city walls.

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Wikipedia