Arromanches and Bayeux, Saturday

Today, with Jèrome and Cèdric, we visited more D-Day sites. The first area was Arromanches, where British soldiers and engineers built a harbor in six days. Incredible! The Germans had blocked all the natural harbors, so this was the only way to get the large numbers of men and matériel to shore efficiently.

The modern D-Day Landing Museum was fantastic, with many videos and educational displays centered on the construction of the artificial harbor.

Letter from Commander Eisenhower to allied personnel

Map of Winston Harbor, showing caissons and floating piers

Port-en-Bessin harbor, a sign with movie locations, and an old tower

Lunch with our friends at O’plan B in Port-en-Bessin

After lunch we drove to a more intact gun battery at Longues-sur-Mer

Next, Valerie showed us some favorite sites in Bayeux

Note the missing sculptures above the windows; during the French Revolution, people rebelled against royalty by removing the faces of the old guard.

Bayeux Cathedral

Clare’s middle name is after this saint.

Stained glass from inside and outside and statues inside the Bayeux Cathedral

Flying buttresses from inside and outside, red sandstone pavers, and views from outside

Liberty trees such as this were planted throughout France in 1793, when the king was beheaded.

The following text is from a sign near the water features:

Two thousand years ago, the town of Bayeux was established on the western bank of the river Aure, now running through the city from the south to the north. From Gallo-Roman times to the beginning of the 20th century, a vast number of craft industries have grown up along its banks.

First, there was fishing. Part of the river, upstream of the lock gates, was thus set aside as a fishing reserve for the Bishop’s exclusive use.

Those craft industries requiring vast amounts of water were also concentrated along the banks: dyers, tanners, laundries. The wash-house that can be seen from the d’Ornano car park, on the opposite river bank, still bears witness to these activities.

Finally, water was used as an energy source as hydraulic power for the various mills: flour mills, tannin mills or even colza oil mills.

In the Middle Ages, some of the mills, such as the one facing us, belonged to the Bishop of Bayeux who derived considerable income from them.

The river has greatly influenced the city’s development. Stone bridges have been built at the main crossing points, notably here where the Aure was transformed into a canal as early as the 13th century to pass under the former Hôtel-Dieu hospital.