Le Bec-Hellouin

Le Bec-Hellouin
Le Bec-Hellouin
Location within Upper Normandy region Le Bec-Hellouin
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Eure
Arrondissement	Bernay
Canton	Brionne
Intercommunality	Portes de l'Eure
Government
• Mayor (2009–2014)	Jean-Paul Vittecoq
Area1	9.55 km2 (3.69 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	46
• Density	4.8/km2 (12/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	27052 / 27800
Elevation	46–141 m (151–463 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.

Le Bec-Hellouin is a commune in the department of Eure in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.

It is best known for Bec Abbey and has recently been voted one of the "most beautiful villages of France". The current mayour is Jean-Paul Vittecoq who replaced Francis Cavelier in 2001.

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 in 1264. It was rebuilt but 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 departing monks transferred many statues to the village church; 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 Le Bec-Hellouin on 13 August 1944, in the course of World War II. The new windows were made in 1959. The Benedictine monks returned in 1948 and the tomb of Herluin was moved back to the abbey in 1959.

File:Normandie Eure Bec1.jpg

Etymology

Known as Beccensis Ecclesia in 1041 and in Beccus Herlevini 1160. The village takes its name from the Scandinavian word for creek mouth (bekkr). While Hellouin refers to Blessed Herluin, founder of the nearby abbey. whose name is of Germanic origin.

Notable People

• Théodore Cahu,
• Edmond Adam,

Landmarks

• Abbey of Bec-Hellouin.
• Monastery of Saint Francesca Romana
• St. Andrew's Church
• The village has a set of typical half-timbered houses, grouped around the Abbey Our Lady of Bec.

• Map commune FR insee code 27052.png

  map of commune

• Eglise de l'abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec-DSC.jpg

  Church in abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec

• Église Saint-André le Bec-Hellouin.jpg

  Church of St Andrews

• Blason ville fr Le Bec-Hellouin (Eure).svg

  Bec CoA

• Abbaye du Bec-Hellouin - Pano façade sud.jpg

  Bec Abbey

• 

  Bec Abbey

• 

  The village of Bec

• Mairie Le Bec-Hellouin.jpg

  Mairie Le Bec-Hellouin.

• 

  Tour Saint-Nicolas – face occidentale, à gauche, l'ancienne porterie et, à droite, le logis abbatial.

• Sarcophages.jpg

  Sarcophages dans le parc de l'abbaye

• Abbaye du Bec-Hellouin - Pano façade sud.jpg

  Façade sud de l'abbaye

• 

  Le cloîstre

• Abbaye du Bec-Hellouin - Bibliothèque.jpg

  Bec Abbey Library

Population

File:Population - Municipality code 27052.svg

population.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	710	—
1800	650	−8.5%
1806	546	−16.0%
1821	650	+19.0%
1841	708	+8.9%
1846	640	−9.6%
1851	680	+6.2%
1856	580	−14.7%
1861	610	+5.2%
1866	727	+19.2%
1872	647	−11.0%
1876	604	−6.6%
1881	686	+13.6%
1886	581	−15.3%
1891	600	+3.3%
1896	563	−6.2%
1901	490	−13.0%
1906	534	+9.0%
1911	401	−24.9%
1921	438	+9.2%
1926	429	−2.1%
1931	436	+1.6%
1936	402	−7.8%
1946	402	+0.0%
1954	450	+11.9%
1962	465	+3.3%
1968	566	+21.7%
1975	439	−22.4%
1982	470	+7.1%
1990	434	−7.7%
1999	406	−6.5%
2008	416	+2.5%

See also

• Communes of the Eure department

References

File:Église Saint-André le Bec-Hellouin.jpg

Church of Saint-André

File:Vallée du Bec.JPG

Vallée du Bec.

• INSEE

External links

• Official site
• Site for Bec Abbey