Saint-Lô

Saint-Lô
Prefecture and commune
A view of Saint-Lô from the Notre-Dame church [fr ]
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô Show map of France Saint-Lô Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°07′N 1°05′W / 49.12°N 1.09°W / 49.12; -1.09
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Saint-Lô
Canton	Saint-Lô-1 and 2
Intercommunality	Saint-Lô Agglo
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Emmanuelle Lejeune[1] (DVD)
Area 1	23.19 km2 (8.95 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	19,373
• Density	840/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	50502 /50000
Elevation	7–134 m (23–440 ft) (avg. 14 m or 46 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Lô (US: /sæ̃ ˈloʊ, seɪnt -, sənt -/,^[3][4][5] French: [sɛ̃ lo] ^ⓘ; Breton: Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.^[6]

Although it is the second largest city of Manche after

The commune has 18,931 inhabitants[Note 1] who are called Saint-Lois(es). The names of Laudois(es), Laudien(ne)s or Laudinien(ne)s are also cited.^[7] A martyr city of World War II, Saint-Lô was decorated with the Legion of Honour in 1948 and was given the nickname "Capital of the Ruins", a phrase popularised by Samuel Beckett.^[8]

Geography

Location

Saint-Lô is in the centre of Manche, in the middle of the Saint-Lois bocage, 57 km (35 mi) west of Caen, 78 km (48 mi) south of Cherbourg and 119 km (74 mi) north of Rennes.

The city was born under the name of Briovera on a rocky outcrop of schist belonging to the Armorican Massif, in the Cotentin Peninsula, between the confluences of the Vire – which dominates the city centre – with the Dollée and Torteron, two rivers channelled in their urban sections. This historic heart of the city became L'Enclos, a site well suited to passive defence.

The east of the territory is the former commune of Sainte-Croix-de-Saint-Lô, south of Saint-Thomas-de-Saint-Lô, absorbed in 1964.

Climate

Saint-Lô has a mild oceanic climate characterised by mild winters and temperate summers. It has an average annual rainfall of 800 to 900 mm (31 to 35 in) per year. Rainfall is quite frequent throughout the year but most abundant in autumn and winter, in connection with the disturbances coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Rarely intense, they often fall in the form of drizzle. The average temperature is 10 °C (50 °F).^[9] In winter, the average temperature ranges between 1 and 7 °C (34 and 45 °F). There are between 30 and 40 days of frost per year. In summer, the average temperature lies around 20 °C (68 °F).

Transport

Saint-Lô is located in the centre of the department of Manche and is therefore a node of communication between Nord-Cotentin and southern Manche.

Road

Saint-Lô lies halfway along the

The

Following the electrification of the section of railway between Lison and Saint-Lô during 2006, the SNCF and local communities experienced a direct Intercités service (without change of train) to the Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris for two years, between December 2008 and December 2010. This service was not sustained due to a lack a sufficient number of passengers.^[10] There is also the disused former industrial line to Condé-sur-Vire. The section between Gourfaleur and Condé-sur-Vire,^[11] adjacent to the towpath along the Vire, is used by the Vélorail [rail cycle] of the Vire valley since 2007.

Urban transport network

Urban transportation is provided by the Transports Urbains Saint-Lô Agglomération: TUSA (formerly Transport Urbains Saint-Lô Agneaux), was created in 1980. In 2010, the network consisted of four lines (Odyssée, Azur, Horizon and Alizé) with 15 buses and one Ocitolà transport on demand minibus. However, since 3 January 2011, it is composed of three lines (1, 2 and 3) still with 15 buses and one Ocitolà transport on demand minibus. In 2008, the company recorded more than 850,000 journeys.^[12]

On 15 May 2013, seven new vehicles were integrated with the fleet, namely five Vehixel [fr] Cytios 4/44, and two Mercedes-Benz Citaro K BHNS. The total fleet is composed of a Renault Master B.20 (for the Ocitolà transport on demand), 5 Vehixel Cytios 4/44, 2 Mercedes-Benz Citaro K BHNS, two Van Hool A320 [nl], five Heuliez GX 317 [nl], and a Heuliez GX 327 [nl].

A new vehicle wrapping campaign is underway,^[when?] the yellow livery will disappear in favour of a red livery. Added to this, a campaign of improving vehicle facilities, to meet the new standards of accessibility of public transit, including on-board announcements and scrolling banners. The old Renault PR 100.2 (nos. 97205, 97207 to 97210) and Renault PR112 [fr] (nos. 97211 and 97212) were scrapped.

Intercity transport network

The commune is associated with the departmental public buses (Manéo [fr]) by the lines:

• 001 : Cherbourg-Octeville – Valognes – Carentan – Saint-Lô
• 002 : Coutances – Marigny – Saint-Lô
• 109 : Saint-Lô – Periers
• 113 : Villedieu-les-Poêles – Saint-Lô
• 117 : Guilberville – Torigni – Saint-Lô
• 303 : Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët – Vire – Saint-Lô – Lison
• 304 : Brécey – Villedieu-les-Poêles – Saint-Lô – Lison

Air and river transport

Despite its status of prefecture, there is no airfield in the vicinity of the town. The nearest is that of Lessay, and for an airport, to join that of Caen-Carpiquet, Cherbourg-Maupertus or Rennes – Saint-Jacques.

Inland waterway transport on the Vire once existed with scows ensuring the transport of tangue [fr]. It is no longer possible, due to lack of maintenance of the various equipment and the Vire.

History

Saint-Lô has long been an important centre of the economy of Normandy. It has attracted the covetousness of neighboring nations, including England, resulting in many successive invasions. It lost its dominant position towards the end of the 19th century because it failed to take advantage of the first Industrial Revolution, which instead affected much of the predominantly peasant population. However, the decentralisation policy allowed the city to return to the foreground.

Briovère

Originally called Briovera (meaning "Bridge on the

Sainte-Croix Church was built in 300, said to be on the ruins of a temple of Ceres.^[14] Christianity grew quite late. There were only four bishops of Coutances [fr] before 511. Laud of Coutances, bishop in 525–565, had a residence here. After his death he was beatified and was particularly honoured by Briovera, which would have housed his tomb. A pilgrimage was conducted and the city took the name of Saint-Laud, and then the name Saint-Lô which has been known since the 8th century.

Middle Ages

The Bretons, led by King Salomon, began to occupy the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula from 836. Before their advances, in August 867, Charles the Bald gave Salomon the Comitatus Constantiensis, territory over which he had little influence. In 889, the Vikings travelled up the Vire and besieged Saint-Lô. Protected by solid ramparts built, according to tradition, in the early 9th century by Charlemagne, the town did not initially surrender. The attackers then cut the water supply, resulting in the surrender of the inhabitants. The Vikings massacred the inhabitants, including the Bishop of Coutances, and then razed the town. The seat of the diocese moved to Rouen. It was only in 1025 that Bishop Herbert decided to return to the walls of Saint-Lô and restore the episcopal see. Then, under Geoffrey de Montbray, the town experienced a great economic development, taking advantage of the Norman expedition in Sicily. Robert Guiscard, a close associate of Geoffrey, brought important loot to Apulia and Calabria, and it was thanks to this treasure that Geoffrey was able to rebuild Coutances Cathedral in 1056. Saint-Lô is famous for its goldsmiths and even Matilda of Flanders, the wife of William the Conqueror, ordered two candelabra for the Abbaye aux Dames [fr].

The population of the region participated in the

The English landed at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue on 12 July 1346 and then moved upon Saint-Lô on 22 July. Jean Froissart describes "the big town of Saint-Leu in Constentin,... for the hard times, was rich and mercantile."^[18] The town was sacked.

16th to 20th centuries

The period of peace had returned but the Cotentin lost its importance.

The Napoleonic period saw the creation of the national stud. In 1827,

Saint-Lô ruled out the Mantes-la-Jolie–Cherbourg railway because its inhabitants, having fear of industrial progress, refused a path linking them to Paris. It would be attached to the rail network in 1860. In the 19th century, Saint-Lô, in the heart of a rich farming area, established itself as an important place for trade in animals, but the fear of the rural population towards the industrial revolution was blocking its development. River traffic transit saw 53,000 tonnes of goods, only 6% of which were foodstuffs. A leak was discovered in the canal and the River Vire was decommissioned in 1926. The region experienced a significant rural exodus and suffered casualties of the war of 1870 and the First World War. The Valvire paper mill burned down in the 1930s and would never be rebuilt. The demographics of the department was very negative from 1850. The city entered World War II in a declining situation.

In 1914 and 1915, Saint-Lô welcomed the temporary hospital No. 2 of the 10th Army Corps.^{[citation needed]}

The criminal case of Jean Philippe took place in Saint-Lô, and was then judged by the Court of Assizes of Manche, at Coutances on 9 December 1940.^[21]

World War II

France was invaded in 1940 and the

A German soldier was shot in January 1944 and several local people were arrested. The cinema, theatre and bars were closed, radios confiscated and the curfew was extended to 8pm.[23]

During the Liberation, Saint-Lô suffered two series of air attacks during the Battle of Normandy. The first was the bombardment of the city by the Americans during the night of D-Day 6–7 June 1944.^[24] The first American air strike killed almost eight hundred civilians. Allied planes continued to attack the power plant and rail facilities daily for a week.^[25]

A second series of air attacks began on 17 July, during the

By order of Major General Charles Gerhardt, a jeep carried the body of Major Thomas Howie, later immortalized as "The Major of St. Lô", wrapped in a flag on its hood so that it could be said that he was the first American to enter the city.^[27]

Saint-Lô received the

After the war the question arose as to whether the town should be rebuilt or left with its ruins intact as a testimony to the bombing. One American soldier laconically commented: "We sure liberated the hell out of this place".^[29]

Almost totally destroyed (97%), Saint-Lô had the unenviable nickname of Capital of Ruins, an expression attributed to Archbishop

In April 1945, the Reconstruction [fr] Minister Raoul Dautry advocated a provisional wooden barracks building. These huts are built through the generosity of the donations. Thus, the association of the Swiss grant [fr] unblocked an appropriation of 620,000 Swiss francs to build homes and a community centre. On 10 October 1949, Switzerland offered a gold ingot to the city which yielded 649,490 francs. There were ten housing estates in 1948, some which contained over 70 houses. The barracks were delivered in kit form, and it was enough to build them on the spot. Each had different specifics according to their place of origin (Swedish, Finnish, Swiss, French, American, Canadian). The Irish Red Cross participated in the construction of a 100-bed hospital consisting of 25 buildings (located level with the Pasteur college) and landed 174 tons of equipment starting in August 1945.^[31] The hospital was inaugurated on Sunday, 7 April 1946 and the Irish medical team left Saint-Lô at the beginning of January 1947. This hospital, consisting of wooden shacks, operated until 1956.^[32]

By 1948, a more permanent Saint-Lô had to be rebuilt. This would be done on the basis of plans designed by the Chief Architect of the reconstruction André Hilt (died 1946), which had proposed to retain the general fabric of the town by adapting it to modern needs. President Vincent Auriol laid the first stone just four years after landing.

As partial reparation for the destruction of the city, the Americans, behind the bombing, decided to build a modern hospital. The plans were made by the architect Paul Nelson,^[33] who decided to build a contemporary-style building. It is located on the Route de Villedieu. Work began in 1949, and it was completed on 10 May 1956. A monumental mosaic was made by Fernand Léger, which pays tribute to peace and Franco-American friendship: Both hands towards the Cotentin Peninsula symbolised with an apple tree branch in bloom. It was at that time the largest hospital in Europe. On 29 November 1949, the journalist Frédéric Pottecher submitted a hypothesis to not move the prefecture of Manche from Saint-Lô. Although, during the reconstruction, it was temporarily placed in Coutances. The whole of the population reacted and a petition collected more than 2,400 signatures: in the journal le Réveil, an article quotes:

So come back to Saint-Lô, Sir! Not for burial, but to see the prefecture, the building sites, the plans, the nerve of the victims. You will see how keenly the people of Saint-Lô will kick your backside.^{[citation needed]}

The prefecture returned to Saint-Lô in 1953, into new premises.

Saint-Lô was rebuilt. The dominant style was a neo-regionalist functionalism which was dominated by concrete. Its dated and monotonous character was soon criticised. If this choice, dictated by the circumstances and the immediate problems of the housing of Saint-Lô, leaves regrets today, it makes Saint-Lô, on a smaller scale than Le Havre or Lorient, one of the most striking testimonies of the reconstruction period. A few streets contain vestiges of the old Saint-Lô: some houses on the Rue du Neufbourg, Rue Croix-Canuet and Falourdel, Rue Saint-Georges and Porte au Four. This last street houses the last medieval way of Saint-Lô. In 1964, Saint-Lô absorbed two neighbouring communes, Sainte-Croix-de-Saint-Lô (660 inhabitants in 1962,^[34] to the east of the territory) and Saint-Thomas-de-Saint-Lô (306 inhabitants^[35] to the south). The town benefitted from the economic growth of the Trente Glorieuses and the population grew by 30% between 1968 and 1975. It built neighbourhoods of buildings in the Valley of the Dollée and Val Saint-Jean. The theatre, meanwhile, was inaugurated in 1963.

The square of the town hall was completely redeveloped in the 1990s. The city organised a large demonstration on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Normandy landings. The edges of the Vire were reconfigured with the rehabilitation of the towpath and the creation of a green beach, at the Place du Quai-à-Tangue. A

For the revolutionary period, the destruction of most of the archives does not allow a definitive result.

Empires and Restoration

Third Republic

Since 1944

In 1944, the municipal council was suspended and a municipal delegation, chaired by Georges Lavalley, was temporarily responsible for administering the city.

Demography

Demographic evolution

In 2017, the commune had 19,116 inhabitants.^[42]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1793 7,304 —     1800 6,987 −4.3% 1806 7,601 +8.8% 1821 8,271 +8.8% 1831 8,421 +1.8% 1836 9,065 +7.6% 1841 8,951 −1.3% 1846 9,185 +2.6% 1851 9,682 +5.4% 1856 9,768 +0.9% 1861 9,810 +0.4% 1866 9,693 −1.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1872 9,287 −4.2% 1876 9,706 +4.5% 1881 10,121 +4.3% 1886 10,580 +4.5% 1891 11,445 +8.2% 1896 11,121 −2.8% 1901 11,604 +4.3% 1906 12,181 +5.0% 1911 11,855 −2.7% 1921 10,661 −10.1% 1926 10,718 +0.5% 1931 10,985 +2.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1936 11,814 +7.5% 1946 6,010 −49.1% 1954 11,778 +96.0% 1962 15,388 +30.7% 1968 18,615 +21.0% 1975 23,221 +24.7% 1982 23,212 −0.0% 1990 21,546 −7.2% 1999 20,090 −6.8% 2007 19,320 −3.8% 2012 18,931 −2.0% 2017 19,116 +1.0%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
From 1962 to 1999: Population without double counting; for the years following: municipal population. Source: Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1999[43] and INSEE (1968-2017)[42]

Age structure

In 2017, the distribution of the population of the commune by age group was as follows:

Heraldry

The arms of Saint-Lô are blazoned : Gules, a unicorn salient argent, on a chief azure, three fleurs de lys Or. Comments: The unicorn symbolises the purity of the Louis XI to thank Saint-Lô for its loyalty to the Crown of France. Also found, in place of the chief of France, is a quarter of azure with the star of argent .

Gules, a passing unicorn argent, to shield quartered azure, charged with a capital N Or topped with a star Or. During the First Empire, the city was granted another coat of arms, according to Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun.

Full arms of the city of Saint-Lô.

Economy

The city, at a crossroads between Caen, Cherbourg and Rennes, has a natural vocation of marketplace in the centre of the Manche bocage. A city of craftsmen and trade, which owes part of its prosperity to its status of prefecture, it has experienced a late industrialisation and attempts to assert its place, today, in the regional agri-food industry. Despite this, the Saint-Lô country became one of the less industrial areas of the region. Its unemployment rate of 6.7% also hides an exodus of young workers to the area of Caen and Rennes.^[45] The entry into service of the RN 174 [fr] helped open up the centre of Manche and create a new industrial zone (ZAC Neptune).

In 2008, Saint-Lô was equipped with fibre optic cable to allow companies and individuals to have very high speed internet (approximately 1 Gbps and 100 Mbit/s for individuals). Companies should have had access to this speed by September 2008, with individuals not before September 2009. Saint-Lô will be one of the first cities in France of this size to be equipped with a fibre optic internet network.^[46]

Tax rate

Industries

• Lecapitaine: Manufacturer of automotive bodywork and refrigeration, a subsidiary of Petit Forestier (320 employees – €33M turnover).
• Moulinex: The Moulinex factory has long been the largest plant in Saint-Lô. When the group went bankrupt in 2004, the factory was a subsidiary of SEB, and general company for electric motors was revived as Euromoteurs, with SEB as the only customer. Part of the production lines were dismantled, sold to China and resettled there by the Green de Gourfaleur company. The Saint-Lô site had 150 employees and manufactured small and medium power electric motors. Suffering from only having the single client SEB, Euromoteurs was put into liquidation in 2007.
• Alios, production plant which manufactures smart cards and CEV, a company that manages electronic transactions, grouped in the same building (80 employees) and subsidiaries of the Group Chèque Déjeuner. It is one of the key players in the Secure Electronic Transactions competitive cluster [fr].
• MT Verbom, company specialising in press tools. Created in 1985 on the Promenade des ports, the Martignoni-Traisnel company specialises in the production of auto parts, and moved in 1990 into the Chevallerie zone. In 1998 the company became closer with Canadian group Verbom and employed 65 people on the site in 2008.

Tertiary sector

The town of Saint-Lô is very oriented towards services, thus since the fall of Moulinex, the France-United States Memorial Hospital became the first employer in the city. There are many jobs in administration related to its status of prefecture. Its location in the heart of the bocage allows it to sustain services connected historically with agriculture: It may be noted the presence of one of the seats of the Crédit agricole of Normandy [fr], whose closure was announced in June 2010, but also the insurer Groupama, clearly visible from the Major Howie roundabout, and Mutualité sociale agricole [fr]. Finally, many businesses have developed along the ring road.

Agriculture and agro-food hub

The city hosts activities associated with the rearing of cattle and horses. Each week, a calf market took place in the market installed until 30 December 2008 near Les Ronchettes. From January 2009, it was removed and attached to the calf market at Torigni-sur-Vire. The city also has the Livestock Promotion Centre, located next to the stud farm, which hosts the equestrian competition of the Normandy horse show, each year in August. The agri-food cluster has developed since 1990 with the aim of hosting companies in this sector, several public or parapublic bodies are installed:

• Adria normandie: technical advice centre for agro-processing.
• The agri-food nursery.
• Lilano: Laboratoire interprofessionnel laitier de Normandie [Inter-professional dairy laboratory of Normandy].
• The Centre of agri-food formation of Saint-Lô, an extension of the Thère Farming School located at Le Hommet-d'Arthenay.
• Ardefa: Association régionale pour le développement de l'emploi et des formations dans les industries alimentaires [Regional Association for the development of employment and training in the food industries.]
• Workshop of agri-food rotation.
• The agri-food park of Saint-Georges-Montcocq / Le Mesnil-Rouxelin on which the master dairies are established; through lack of implementation, much remains undeveloped.

In 2008, the only success in the agri-food field was the success of the France Kebab enterprise,^[48] which had won many prizes in 2007.

Media

Several regional media are disseminated in Saint-Lô and have an office.

• La Manche libre [fr] (weekly newspaper), headquarters
• Ouest-France (daily press), departmental daily
• La Presse de la Manche [fr] (daily press)
• Tendance Ouest [fr], formerly Radio Manche (radio)
• France Bleu Cotentin [fr] (radio)

Education

The city of Saint-Lô falls within the Academy of Caen [fr].^[49]

University Institute of Technology

The site of Saint-Lô is a component of the IUT of Cherbourg-Manche [fr] which offers the following courses:

• DUT Multimedia Professions and the Internet [fr]
• DUT Thermal Engineering and Energy [fr]
• Professional licence, development and protection of the cultural heritage, option virtual reality and multimedia training
• Professional licence, management maintenance and industrial exploitation.

A part of the Groupe FIM, training organisation of the CCI of Centre Sud-Manche [fr] and that of Cherbourg [fr].

School of Management and Commerce

The School of Management and Commerce of Saint-Lô was established in 1988 under the auspices of the FIM Group and is currently headed by Yves Ricolleau. A member of the national network of the EGC, the school offers post-BAC training [fr] consisting of three years of responsible marketing, commercialisation and management. The school gains about 40 new students each year.

Garrisons

Saint-Lô has been the site of various garrisons at the Bellevue barracks:

• ? – 1923 : 3 battalions (1st, 2nd and 3rd) of the 136th Infantry Regiment [fr]
• 1924–1929 : 1st Battalion of the 1st Colonial
• 1929–1939 : 8th Infantry Regiment [fr]
• ? – ? : 208th Infantry Regiment [fr]
• 1963 – ? : 512th Transport Group, coming from Constantine
• 1978–1984 : 1st RIMA^[56]

Culture

Facilities

• The Jean Lurçat Cultural Centre: media library, museum of fine arts [fr], auditorium, drawing school and community building.
• Municipal music school
• The Roger Ferdinand Theatre
• The Normandy: concert hall for current music
• Lieu Pluri-artistique Art Plume [Multi-artistic Pen Art Place] in the Valley of the Dollée
• The cinema Cinemoviking, on Esplanade Jean-Grémillon.

The Cinemoviking cinema opened on 1 April 2009, and was the first cinema of Lower Normandy to offer 3D films.^[57]

Events

• Asian Culture Festival and manga (in February)
• Housing fair: Parc des expos (late February)
• The Hétéroclites (in June): Street theatre, acrobatics, music, in the bucolic atmosphere of the Valley of the Dollée.
• Festival of the Vire: At the Plage verte (last weekend in June)
• Festival of music with the Tendance Live Show organised by Tendance Ouest [fr]
• Chess Festival (early July) Festival
• Criterium of the ramparts of Saint-Lô: Around the Enclos (last Wednesday of July)
• The Jeudis du haras [Thursdays of the Stud]: Saint-Lô stud farm (July and August)
• Normandy horse show: equine complex (August)^[58]
• Foire aux Croûtes et à la brocante [Fair of the Crusts and of the flea market]: City centre (in September): exhibition and sale of paintings of local artists and garage sale^[59]
• Polyfollia [fr]: Choral festival (October, biennial; ended in 2014)^[60]
• Challenges de la ville de Saint-Lô de tir [Challenges of the city of Saint-Lô of shooting] (rifle, pistol and field crossbow) organised annually by Saint-Lô shooting club at the Salle Saint-Ghislain on the Rue de l'Exode, the second weekend of October.
• Fair of Saint-Lô: Parc des expos (October)^[61]
• National stallion competition (October)
• Sonic Meetings (in November), music festival^[62]

Personalities linked to the commune

Births

• Jacques Davy Duperron (1556–1618), poet and diplomat.^[63]
• Daniel Saint [fr] (1778–1847), miniaturist of the 19th century.^[64]
• Urbain Le Verrier (1811–1877), astronomer and mathematician, born in Saint-Lô where he spent the first years of his childhood. A plaque is installed at the Place du Champ-de-Mars on the building where he lived.^[65]
• Alexandre Blanchet [fr] (1819–1867), physician
• Leonor Couraye du Parc [fr] (1820–1893), legal and artistic personality of Manche and grandson of the last Viscount Granville, François Léonor Couraye du Parc [fr].
• Académie française
  when 40 years old.
• Valérie Feuillet [fr] (1832–1906), woman of letters and wife of the previous
• Daniel de Losques [fr] (1880–1915), cartoonist
• Raymond Brulé [fr] (1897–1944), resistant, died during deportation
• Jacques Datin (1920–1973), composer who wrote for France Gall, Juliette Gréco, Serge Lama, Claude Nougaro, Édith Piaf, etc.
• Jean-Pierre Brulé [fr] (1929), director of IT companies, son of Raymond Brulé [fr]
• Michel Brulé [fr] (1932), son of Raymond Brulé
• Claude Rolley, (1933–2007), archaeologist, Emeritus Professor of the University of Burgundy, writer on the art of Gaul and ancient Greece, President of the Académie du Morvan [fr]
• Jean Teulé (1953), novelist, who also performed in film and on television
• Jacky Vimond (1961), first French motocross rider to become world champion in 1986
• Stéphane Puisney [fr], designer writer
• Éric Levallois [fr], gold medallist team rider at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games
• Olympic Games in Athens
• Alexis Loret (1975), actor who was in the film Mariages ! [fr] by Valérie Guignabodet
• Hugues Duboscq, French swimmer, bronze medallist in the 100m breaststroke at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics
• Mathieu Johann, singer, candidate in the fourth season of Star Academy
• Benoit Lesoimier, professional footballer who plays for Stade Brestois 29
  .
• Florian Geffrouais (1988), decathlete.

Others

• François Léonor Couraye du Parc [fr] (1746–1818), the last Viscount of Granville, died at Saint-Lô, where he was president of the court of first instance, on 30 August 1818
• Pierre Le Menuet de La Jugannière [fr] (1746–1835), deputy Mayor of Saint-Lô, public prosecutor and president of the Criminal Court of Manche, deputy of Manche in the Council of Ancients.
• Édouard-Léonor Havin [fr] (1755–1829), lawyer in Saint-Lô and member of the convention
• Louis Caillemer [fr] (1764–1827), military
• Pierre Yver [fr] (1768–1826), politician of Manche was a borough councillor of Saint-Lô under the Empire
• Jean Follain, author, devoted a book entitled Chef-lieu (1950), in Saint-Lô where he spent his adolescence. Many documents are gathered in the Museum of Fine Arts of the city
• Samuel Beckett, Nobel Prize winning writer, who enlisted as a steward at the Irish Hospital of Saint-Lô. He dedicated four lines which are today engraved at the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts.^{[Note 17]}
• Paul-Jacques Bonzon, youth novelist
• Prince of Monaco, who carries Baron of Saint-Lô amongst his many titles [fr
  ].
• Ant Middleton, the British former special forces soldier, TV personality and author, lived in the town with his family in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Sports

Sports disciplines

Football

In 2014–2015,

The Union sportive Sainte-Croix-de-Saint-Lô develops a football team in the League of Lower Normandy and two others in district divisions.^[67]

Other sports clubs

• Championship of France elite
  in 2006, the club was dropped for the 2007 season for financial reasons and evolved at the regional level in 2008.
• The Normandy Horse Show is a major riding event for the promotion of the saddle horse. The annual event takes place around the week of 15 August.^[58]
• Team Nissan France Dessoude,^[68] directed by André Dessoude, participates in Rally raid Championship, including the Dakar Rally. In 2002, he hired Johnny Hallyday.
• ASPTT Saint-Lô Handball inhabited the French Championship of handball National 3 [fr] in 2012.
• Saint-Lô Rugby Club.
• Saint-Lô shooting club, formerly Buffalo Club, created 4 August 1952; the main shooting stand is located at 91 Rue Poterne to the level of the Tour des Beaux-Regards in the tunnels of the old unfinished German underground hospital, dug during the World War II.
• Agneaux-Saint-Lô Chess Club. Recognised as one of the most dynamic chess clubs in France.^{[citation needed]} The young team is part of the Top 16, first national division.
• Saint-Lô Volley was playing in the Men's volleyball Championship of France National 3 [fr] in 2012.
• Saint-Lô Floorball [fr], the first club of floorball in Manche.
• ARC Club saint-lois: Archery club established in 1977, premier club in Manche.
• Patronage laïque saint-lois [Saint-lois secular patronage]: Table tennis club.

Facilities

• Sports complex of Saint-Ghislain (former indoor pool on Rue de l'Exode):
  • Weight
    room
  • Marcel Cerdan Boxing Hall
  • Straw wall, in the gym, for archery
  • Stadium
  • Tennis courts
• André-Guilbert – Maréchal-Juin Gym
• Gym Hall of the Bois Ardent & Dojo Alain-Crépieux Dojo – Place George Pompidou
• Table tennis hall – Rue du Mesnilcroc
• Complex of the Vaucelle: Jean-Berthelem Stadium – base of canoeing
• Louis-Villemer Stadium [fr] – Ronchettes: football pitch
• Aurora Stadium – Ronchettes: rugby ground
• Fernand-Beaufils Sports Centre – Champs de Mars: basketball, fencing room
• Aquatic Centre – Bois Jugan, opened in January 2005. It has a 25 m pool with a movable floor to adjust depth, a leisure pool (wild river, seat massage, etc.), a wading pool, an outdoor pool open year-round and a gym (cold bath, Jacuzzi, hammam, fitness room and massage shower).
• The tennis courts of the Memorial Tennis Club – France-United States Memorial Hospital [fr]
• Equestrian centre of the Gourmette saint-loise
• Squash – Bois Jugan (near the aquatic centre)
• Compact golf – Bois Jugan
• Archery field – Rue Valvire (at the end)
• Baseball field.

Sites and monuments

Religious heritage

Church of Notre-Dame

The

The building suffered heavy destruction during World War II,^[71] although it was among the only standing buildings after the 1944 bombings. If the stained-glass windows were saved, after being always present since temporary removal during the war, the nave was gutted following the collapse of the North Tower which was shelled by German artillery. Its roof and façade were destroyed, as well as the top of the other tower. Instead of rebuilding the church identically, the architect of Historic Monuments decided to build a greenschist frontage to highlight the scar left by the war. The statue of Notre-Dame du Pilier is from 1467; having been destroyed and remade several times, it is now housed on a column in the apse chapel.

Church of Sainte-Croix

The abbey church of Sainte-Croix [fr] is, according to the tradition, the heir of a chapel built here by St. Helena in the 4th century and of an abbey founded by Charlemagne. Better documented is the creation of an Augustinian abbey by Algar, the new bishop of Coutances (formerly the prior of Bodmin Priory, Cornwall) in 1132. The Romanesque church was consecrated in 1202, being largely remade in the following centuries with successive renovations. The choir was remade in the 16th century while the bell tower is from 1860 to 1863. During World War II, the bell tower (located laterally) collapsed and it was on its ruins where the body of Major Howie was placed; a new bell tower was rebuilt in 1957 on the forecourt in a modern style. On the church square stands the departmental monument in memory of the victims of the wars of Algeria and Indochina, opened in 2005.

Cemetery of Saint-Lô

The cemetery of Saint-Lô is located between the Saint-Croix Church and the national stud, on the Route de Lison. The cemetery is much marked by the Second World War with the plot of the civilian victims of the bombing of 1944, also the mausoleum of the Blanchet family, and Major Glover S. Johns Junior who installed the first command post before releasing the city. One can still find the tomb of the French revolutionary general [fr] Dagobert. Also note the weeping statue which has traces of shrapnel, a bronze sculpture of Cabet, who was a student of F. Rude.

Other buildings

The parish of Saint-Lô has other

• Church of Saint Jean-Eudes located in Val Saint-Jean
• The chapel of the Memorial Hospital
• The chapel of the Saint Jean clinic
• The chapel of the Bon-Sauveur psychiatric hospital
• The John XXIII Chapel in the Dollée quarter

The city also has a temple of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. It was built by architect Verrey with the glazing of Max Ingrand and was inaugurated on 23 October 1955.

Historical civil heritage

Several sites are registered as historic monuments:^[72]

• The Madeleine Chapel.
• The Château de la Vaucelle, registered on 11 July 1975.
• Notre-Dame church, recorded in 1840, contains ten objects registered in respect of objects classified as historical monuments.
• The Sainte-Croix church.
• The National Stud and its park, registered on 18 February 1993.
• The wards and the lobby of the France-United States Memorial Hospital [fr].
• The Manor of Bosdel, constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries, registered as an historic monument on 1 April 1946.
• The remains of the walls recorded on 12 December 1945 but the Rue de la poterne and the Place des Beaux-Regards had been registered as early as 22 October 1937.

The Maison-Dieu [House of God] (not to be confused with the Hôtel-Dieu) located opposite the church and built in the second half of the 15th century was razed during the bombings of 1944. This bourgeois construction presented a half-timbered façade with corbels and sculptures.^[73] Another House, called Poids Royal, located in the quad at 11 Rue Thiers in the Enclos had been included in historical monuments on 3 October 1929,^[74] it was also destroyed.

Ramparts

Saint-Lô also has remains of its medieval line of walls. Ramparts still exist on three of the four sides of the Enclos. The remains include: Tour des Beaux-Regards ("Tower of Beautiful Glances"), commanding the steepest part of the spur of the town, and the Tour de la Poudrière ("Tower of the Gunpowder Store"), an impressive military relic of the old citadel, are the two most notable elements of the ramparts. On the south side, the wartime disaster of 1944 had the paradoxical effect of clearing the base, where houses had grown around the Rue du Torteron.

National Stud

Saint-Lô is home to the largest of the 23 national stud farms in France. In 1806, Napoleon provided Saint-Lô with a deposit of stallions by the Imperial Decree of 4 July 1806 [fr].^[75] From its origin, the deposit was installed on buildings and abandoned land of the old Abbey of Sainte-Croix (3 ha (7.4 acres) first leased and then owned from 22 September 1807). The stud then recruited from the breeding of the Haras du Pin.^[75]

In 1826, the military remount depot moved premises which the stud had given to it; most stallions were taken from the stud to provide cavalry. On 28 May 1874, the Boscher Law enabled supervision of the allocations of the regiments and allowed to provide the stud with over 230 horses. On 28 June 1881, the municipal council decided to transfer the stud to adjoin the Route de Bayeux. Thus, the current stud farm buildings date from 1884 (the first stone was laid on 11 June 1884), and the transfer was finished three years later. During World War I, five mares out of six were requisitioned, but no stallions. Grooms fought at the front, and German prisoners dug a pond. In 1939, the old stable housed the staff of the Haras de Strasbourg (40 stallions and staff) at the time of the German breakthrough. Then, in 1944, fifty horses were killed by the bombing and other stallions were stolen by German soldiers in flight.^[76] The old stud was destroyed and claimed by the city. Thus, there only remains the street of the same name and the Normandy building which was previously the former riding school. The new stud was then built. General de Gaulle offered to the Sultan of Morocco Bois de Rose, a thoroughbred which had been stationed at the stud for two years. The stud then grew gradually in the field of reproduction, by investing in an artificial insemination centre, a centre for the freezing of semen and an embryo transfer unit. Thus, the electoral district of Saint-Lô has the highest density of breeding deposits of France.

Château de la Vaucelle

Located on the bank of the Vire, the

Built by the architect Eugène Leseney, the Jean-Lurçat Cultural Centre is situated on the Place du Champ-de-Mars, opposite the Sainte-Croix Church. It houses the Museum of Fine Arts where, within the collections of the city since 1989, are found: The writings and sketches of

Museum of the Norman Bocage

Boisjugan farm is a farmhouse from the 17th century which was in use until 1970. Converted into a museum, it traces the history and ethnography of agriculture in the Norman bocage since the 18th century with agricultural practices, horse and cattle breeding. Typical sites are reconstructed (workshop, stable, barn and creamery).^[78]

Chapel of Madeleine

The Chapelle de la Madeleine [fr] is located right next to the national stud, on the road to Bayeux. It is a relic of a former leprosarium from the 14th century. It was classified as an historical monument on 3 August 1974 and was restored between 1988 and 1994. A memorial was inaugurated in May 1995 in honour of the soldiers of the 29th and 35th divisions who liberated Saint-Lô in 1944. Photos, commemorative plaques, tables and flags are on display.^[79]

Other notable places

A memorial in the city honours Major Thomas Howie, Commander of the 3d Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army's 29th Division; the unit that liberated the city on 18 July 1944. Howie was killed just before his unit entered the city and was so highly respected that his men placed his flag-draped body on the hood of a jeep at the front of the column so he could be the first American to enter the city. He became famous as the "Major of Saint-Lô".

Place de la Mairie

Redesigned in 1990, the city square is all black asphalt lit by spotlights on the ground. At night it has a resemblance to an airport runway. The statue of the dairywoman or Femme d'Isigny^[80] [Woman of Isigny] can be seen at the top of the square. Arthur Le Duc [fr] (1848–1918) introduced a plaster statue in 1887, a Norman woman marked by the hard work of the Earth, a milk rod (a typical Normandy container)^[81] on her shoulder. A few years later, the bronze arrived in Saint-Lô. It is set on a round plinth, surrounded by a basin, on the Place des Beaux-Regards in front of the Notre-Dame church. She moved a little further when the Poilu of the Great War was installed. It was then unbolted and melted on 8 February 1942, by the Germans, to recover the bronze for the arms industry. In January 1984, André Leplanquais, a merchant of Saint-Lô, wanted to create a replica of this statue. A fundraiser gained significant donations from residents. Once the money was together, the sculptor Louis Derbré [fr], the famous sculptor of Ernée, fashioned a new statue based on the original plans. Moved several times, one can find it near stairs of the square. The base and the granite basin are the original.

The Havin fountain^[82] also created by Arthur Le Duc in 1887^[83] was located near the Museum of Saint-Lô; its statue was also melted by the Germans, however no replica has been created. Nearby is the prison entrance, a remnant of the bombing in 1944. An urn containing the ashes of deportees is placed at the foot of it. A memorial in honour of the victims of Nazi repression, it became the departmental monument to the Resistance. The belfry can also be observed from the square, which seems to spring from the heart of the city. Built in 1954, it was once used to dry the hoses of firefighters. Renovated several times since 1990, it is the symbol of the reconstruction of the city. At the top are a weathervane in the shape of Unicorn and a viewpoint, from which one can admire the entire region. Previously open to the public by the tourist office, its access is now forbidden.

The Caisse d'Épargne squirrel

A granite statue representing a squirrel can be seen in Saint-Lô, which is the logo of the Caisse d'Épargne banking group; It is located in the Rue Saint-Thomas. What may seem incongruous, it is that there's no bank of this group nearby. However, the bank did have a branch in front, but it was moved in the 1990s. Then arose the question of whether or not to keep the statue for advertising purposes. The people of Saint-Lô had become attached to the squirrel, and it was finally decided to leave it in place.

Quarters

The town of Saint-Lô consists of a number of quarters:

• The Val Saint-Jean, composed mainly of buildings and apartment towers.
• The Aurore, composed mostly of single family homes and social housing. One can discover, the Rue des Sycamores open school of Aurore. This modern architecture is a work of Eugène Leseney.
• The Bois Ardent–Bois Jugan: Located on the south side of the city, these twp quarters include leisure spaces (urban golf, pool, and squash, etc.) as well as service spaces (employment service, retirement home) and a ZAC [fr].
• The Dollée composed mainly of a large number of social and private apartment buildings.
• La Ferronnière
• The Enclos, historic centre of the city within the walls with its prefectural administrative centre.

Parks and green spaces

The commune is a floral city, having obtained three flowers in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris [contest of floral cities and villages].^[84]

• The public garden: It is located in the Enclos, between the Tour des Beaux-Regards and the administrative area. The view is breathtaking on the Vire and Rue Torteron.
• The Plage Verte [Green Beach]: A green space created in 2001 on part of the old tangue wharf in the vicinity of the River Vire, between the ramparts and the railway station. The modern Henri Liébard footbridge connects the two banks of the river roughly at the location of the former which had been destroyed during the bombing of June 1944. It is also the setting of the festival of the Vire which is held annually during the last weekend of June. It also allows access to the piers for boat tours.
• The islands of the river Vire: Lebroussois island and Möselman Island are separated by the weir. An arboretum has been planted at the foot of the brick chimney, only remnant of the paper mill which was burned in the 1930s.
• The towpath: Between the station and the Rocreuil bridge, many Saint-Lô people walk, do their jogging and cycling there. One can see the Château de la Vaucelle.
• The Valley of the Dollée: At the foot of the Route de Lison, there is a mill race and a watermill and a fitness trail. It is also part of the festival of "hétéroclites".
• The Boisjugan Urban Park: A green area linking the new subdivisions, which border it, and the old farmland property of the city which borders the south ring road. This landscape with an area of 12 ha (30 acres) is located behind the Museum of the Norman Bocage, of the Aquatic Centre and in the immediate vicinity of the golf course. It includes green spaces with ponds and wetlands, crossed by stone walkways overlooking the old paths, all exclusively for walkers. There is also a playground for children and a fitness trail.
• The village of Le Hutrel [fr]: In the middle of the Saint-Lô bocage, Le Hutrel has a village festival, in its square, every year on Ascension Thursday.
• The park of the Haras de Saint-Lô: Park and gardens protected as historical monuments since 18 February 1993.^[85]

The city has also two remarkable trees [fr] according to the CAUE 50 that are a saucer magnolia, located in a courtyard of the Rue du Neufbourg, and a giant sequoia, located in the courtyard of the district school, on Rue du Général Dagobert.

Twinning programmes and sponsorship

The town of Saint-Lô is twinned with:^[86]

• Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, since 9 September 1962
• Aalen, Germany, since 3 June 1979
• Christchurch, since 20 April 1985^[87]
• Kervénanec, Lorient, France, since 11 September 1988^{[citation needed]}
• Roanoke, USA, since 19 June 1999

Saint-Lô is the sponsor of the patrol vessel

A French stamp representing the coat of arms of the city was issued on 17 December 1966, the stamp was the sixth of the Arms of cities series. Its face value was 20 centimes. It was designed by Mireille Louis.^[89]

See also

• Communes of the Manche department
• USS St. Lo (CVE-63), the United States Navy escort carrier named after the city following the landings at the city following Operation Overlord. She was sunk by kamikaze aircraft during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, being the first kamikaze casualty of the war.
• Fernand-Marie-Eugène Le Gout-Gérard

Notes

References

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Bibliography

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• Leduc, Andrée; Bekaert, Martine (1996). Relevé des mariages de la paroisse de Saint-Lô de Rouen : table filiative [Succession of marriages from the parish of Saint-Lô in Rouen: filiative table] (in French). Rouen: Cercle généalogique Rouen Seine-Maritime.
• Bernard, Abbé (1953). Histoire de la ville de Saint-Lô et de ses environs [History of the city of Saint-Lô and its surroundings] (in French). Saint-Lô: R. Jacqueline.
• Toustain de Billy, René (1812). Mémoires sur l'histoire du Cotentin et de ses villes: villes de Saint-Lô et de Carentan [Memoirs on the history of the Cotentin peninsula and its cities: cities of Saint-Lô and Carentan] (in French). Saint-Lô: F. Le Tual.
• Boscher, Jean-Yves (1970). La Tenture des amours de Gombaut et Macée au musée de Saint-Lô [The drapes of the loves of Gombaut and Macee at the Museum of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Jacqueline.
• Bouin, Jean (1763). Observation de l'éclipse de lune du 3 février 1757 faite à Rouen au prieuré de Saint-Lô [Observation of the lunar eclipse of 3 February 1757 made in Rouen to the Priory of Saint-Lô] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie Royale.
• Cailleux, Phillippe (1998). Trois paroisses de Rouen, XIIIe XVe siècle (Saint-Lô, Notre-Dame-la-Ronde et Saint-Herbland) étude de topographie et d'urbanisme [Three parishes of Rouen, 13th–15th century (Saint-Lô, Notre-Dame-la-Ronde and Saint-Herbland) topography and urban planning study] (in French). Lille: A.N.R.T,
  Université de Lille III
  , Université de Paris IV, Paris-Sorbonne. Thèse de doctorat.
• Catalogue du manuscrit des heures de Saint-Lô de Rouen et de livres et manuscrits rares, le manuscrit des heures de Saint-Lô provenant de feu M. Lebrument [Catalogue of the manuscript of the hours of Saint-Lô, of Rouen and books and rare manuscripts, the manuscript of hours of Saint-Lô from the feu M. Lebrument] (in French). Paris: Lib. Bachelin-Deflorenne. 1869.
• Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France. Tome X, Départements. Avranches, Coutances, Valognes, Cherbourg, Bayeux, Condé-sur-Noireau, Falaise, Flers, Domfront, Argentan, Lisieux, Honfleur, Saint-Lô, Mortain, Chapitre de Bayeux, Pont-Audemer, Vire [General catalogue of the manuscripts of the public libraries of France. Volume X, departments. Avranches, Coutances, Valognes, Cherbourg, Bayeux, Condé-sur-Noireau, Falaise, Flers, Domfront, Argentan, Lisieux, Honfleur, Saint-Lô, Mortain, Chapitre de Bayeux, Pont-Audemer, Vire] (in French). Paris: Plon. 1889.
• ISBN 2-9502616-1-2
  .
• Claudin, A. (1894). Les Origines de l'imprimerie à Saint-Lô en Normandie [The origins of printing at Saint-Lô in Normandy] (in French). Paris: A. Claudin.
• Le Clerc, R. (1930). Histoire du Bon Sauveur de Saint-Lô [History of the Bon Sauveur of Saint-Lô] (in French). Coutances: Imprimerie Notre-Dame.
• Plum, Gilles; Corbierre, Pascal (1994). Saint-Lô : la reconstruction, Manche [Saint-Lô: Reconstruction, Manche] (in French). Saint-Lô: Inventaire général des monuments et richesses artistiques de la France.
• Cliquet, Dominique; Fichet de Clairfontaine F., François; Marcigny, Cyril. 2000 – 5000 ans d'histoire aux portes de Saint-Lô, Archéologie préventive et aménagement du territoire, catalogue de l'exposition de Saint-Lô (Manche) [2000 – 5000 years of history at the gates of Saint-Lô, preventive archaeology and spatial planning, catalogue of the exhibition of Saint-Lô (Manche)] (in French). Saint-Lô. 64 p. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Corbin, Stéphane (2003). La vie associative à Saint-Lô : l'autre reconstruction [The Associational life in Saint-Lô: another reconstruction] (in French). Paris: L'Harmattan.
• Dilasser, François; Le Dantec, Jean-Pierre (1996). Arthotèque de Caen, Musée de Saint-Lô, Musée de Valenciennes, Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix des Sables d'Olonne [Arthotèque Caen, Museum of Saint-Lô, Museum of Valenciennes, Museum of the Abbey of Sainte-Croix des Sables d'Olonne] (in French). Cognac: Le temps qu'il fait.
• Davodet, Auguste (1933). Quelques notes sur le " Corot " du Musée de Saint-Lô [Some notes on the "Corot" of the Museum of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Jacqueline.
• Bachelin-Deflorenne, Antoine (1869). Description du Livre d'heures du prieuré de Saint-Lô [Description of the book of hours of the priory of Saint-Lô] (in French). Paris: Bachelin-Deflorenne.
• Delamare, Jean (1851). Jugement du Tribunal de Coutances : Ministère public contre Jean Delamare, imprimeur à Saint-Lô [Judgement of the Court of Coutances: Ministère public v Jean Delamare, printer in Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: C.J. Delamare.
• Delauney (1863). Notice sur l'église Notre-Dame de Saint-Lô [Record on the church Notre-Dame de Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Élie.
• Delisle, Léopold (1904). L'Imprimerie à Saint-Lô au XVIIe siècle, appendice, description en vers des tableaux de la grande galerie du château de Thorigny [Printing at Saint-Lô in the 17th century, Appendix, description of the tables of the great gallery of the Château de Thorigny] (in French). Saint-Lô: F. Le Cual.
• Deries, Madeleine (1922). Le District de Saint-Lô pendant la Révolution, 1787 – an IV [The District of Saint-Lô during the Revolution, 1787 – year IV] (in French). Paris: A. Picard.
• Du Ciseau du sculpteur au sourire des saints : Sculpture gothique de la Manche, XIIIe XIVe siècle. Catalogue de l'exposition du musée des beaux-arts de Saint-Lô, 19 novembre 2005–29 janvier 2006 [The chisel of the sculptor in the smile of the saints: Gothic Sculpture of Manche, 13th–14th century. Catalogue of the exhibition of the Museum of fine arts, Saint-Lô, 19 November 2005 – 29 January 2006] (in French). 2005. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Dubosq, René. Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Lô [Cartulary of the abbey of Saint-Lô] (in French). S.l: s.n. 1800-1899. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• ISBN 978-2-9508231-3-7
  .
• Exposition de l'industrie à Saint-Lô du 15 au 29 mai 1859 [Exhibition of industry in Saint-Lô from 15 to 29 May 1859] (in French). Saint-Lô: Élie. 1859.
• Exposition des beaux-arts à Saint-Lô, du 15 au 29 mai 1859 [Exhibition of fine arts at Saint-Lô, from 15 to 29 May 1859] (in French). Saint-Lô: Élie Fils. 1859.
• Fouace, Jean (1994). Musée des beaux-arts de Saint-Lô, du 10 novembre 1994 au 3 janvier 1995 [Museum of fine arts, Saint-Lô, 10 November 1994, to 3 January 1995] (in French). S.l: s.n.
• Gancel, Pierre (1976). Saint-Lô en cartes postales anciennes [Saint-Lô in old postcards] (in French). Paris: S.F.L.
• de Gerville, Charles (1989). Les Châteaux de la Manche : L'arrondissement de Saint-Lô [The Châteaus of Manche: The arrondissement of Saint-Lô] (in French). Paris: Res Universis.
• de Gerville, Charles. Voyage archéologique dans la Manche. 1818–1820 / II [An archaeological journey in Manche] (in French). Vol. II. 1818-1820.
• de Glanville, Léonce. Histoire du Prieuré de Saint-Lô de Rouen ses prieurs, ses privilèges, ses revenus, d'après les documents authentiques tirés des archives de la Seine-Inférieure et mis en ordre [History of the Priory of Saint-Lô de Rouen its priors, its privileges, its revenues, based on authentic documents from the archives of Seine-Inférieure and put in order] (in French). Rouen: E. Cagniard. 1890-1891.
• Grente, Georges (1915). Saint-Lô, évêque de Coutances [Saint-Lô, Bishop of Coutances] (in French). Saint-Lô: Jacqueline.
• Grosset, Charles (1974). Catalogue provisoire du Musée de Saint-Lô [Provisional catalogue of the Museum of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Manche.
• Guéné, Elie (1970). La Manche – Bocage saint-lois et pays de Coutances [Manche – Bocage saint-lois and country of Coutances] (in French).
• Hébert, Edmond. Phyllades de Saint-Lô et conglomérats pourprés dans le nord-ouest de la France : Cambrien, Précambrien, Archéen [Saint-Lô phyllite and purple conglomerates in the northwest of France: Precambrian, Cambrian, Archean] (in French). Lagny: F. Aureau. 1887, 1886.
• Histoire de la ville de Saint-Lô. Publication [History of the city of Saint-Lô. Publication] (in French). Caen: F. Poisson. 1825.
• Histoire du prieuré de Saint-Lô de Rouen, ses prieurs, ses privilèges, ses revenus d'après les documents authentiques tirés des archives de la Seine-Inférieure et mis en ordre [History of the Priory of Saint-Lô in Rouen, its priors, its privileges, its revenues based on authentic documents from the archives of Seine-Inférieure and put in order] (in French). Rouen: E. Cagniard. 1890-1891.
• Houben, Daniel (1994). Saint-Lô [Saint-Lô] (in French). Rennes: A. Sutton.
• Houël, Gabriel. Histoire de la ville de Saint-Lô [History of the City of Saint-Lô] (in French). Paris: Res Universis. 1825, 1992.
• Rathouis, Édouard; Hucher, Eugène (1873). Le Vitrail royal de l'église Notre-Dame de Saint-Lô (Manche) restauré à la manufacture de vitraux peints du Carmel du Mans [The royal window of the church Notre-Dame de Saint-Lô (Manche) restored to the manufacture of painted stained glass windows of the Carmel of le Mans] (in French). Paris.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Jouet, Roger (1984). Découvrir Saint-Lô [Discover Saint-Lô] (in French). Condé-sur-Noireau: S.n.
  ISBN 978-2-85480-075-3
  .
• Dufresne, Jean-Luc; Jugan, Régine (1991). Le Monde de Follain : artistes et vestiges : de juin à octobre 1991 à Saint-Lô en Cotentin [The world of Follain: artists and remains: from June to October 1991 at Saint-Lô in Cotentin] (in French). Saint-Lô: musée des beaux-arts.
• Perrette-Lamarche, Jérôme Frédéric (1851). Extrait d'un dictionnaire du vieux langage, ou patois des habitants des campagnes des arrondissements de Cherbourg, Valognes et Saint-Lô [Extract from a dictionary of old language, or patois of the inhabitants of campaigns of the boroughs of Cherbourg and Valognes-Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Elie fils.
• ISBN 978-2-9508090-3-2
  .
• Lantier, Maurice (1974). Crise des subsistances à Saint-Lô au printemps 1789 [Crisis of subsistances in Saint-Lô in the spring of 1789] (in French). Caen: CRDP.
• ISBN 978-2-9516067-0-8
  .
• Lantier, Maurice (2001). Renaissance et reconstruction de Saint-Lô, Manche. 1944-1964. Étude collective menée par une équipe de l'université inter-âges, antenne du bocage saint-lois, président Robert Legigan [Renaissance and reconstruction of Saint-Lô, Manche. 1944–1964. collective study by a team of the Inter-Ages University, branch of the bocage saint-lois, president Robert Legigan] (in French). Vol. II. Saint-Lô: Université inter-âges, antenne du bocage saint-lois.
• Lantier, Maurice (1969). Saint-Lô au bûcher : le martyre d'une cité de Basse-Normandie pendant la seconde guerre mondiale (juin-juillet 1944) [Saint-Lô at the stake: The martyrdom of a city of Lower Normandy during the Second World War (June–July 1944)] (in French). Saint-Lô: Jacqueline. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Jubé de Laperelle, Auguste (1801). Rapport fait au nom d'une commission spéciale... sur les réclamations de plusieurs citoyens de l'arrondissement de Saint-Lô [Report made on behalf of a Special Committee... on the claims of several citizens of the District of Saint-Lô] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie nationale.
• La Vie à Saint-Lô : du XVIe siècle à 1939 [Life in Saint-Lô: 16th century to 1939] (in French). Saint-Lô. 1974. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Lechevallier, Hippolyte (1920). La propriété foncière du clergé et la vente des biens ecclésiastiques dans le district de Saint-Lô [Land ownership of the clergy and the sale of church property in the district of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: R. Jacquelin.
• Lecourt, Jean-Luc (1983). Étude du haras de Saint-Lô depuis 1945 : évolution du cheptel équin [Study of haras de Saint-Lô since 1945: evolution of equine cattle] (in French). Maisons-Alfort. Thèse doctorat vét. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Lefrançois, Auguste (1967). Quand Saint-Lô voulait revivre, juillet à Noël 1944 [When Saint-Lô wanted to revive, July to Christmas 1944] (in French). Coutances: P. Bellée. Illustrations de Louis Wit.
• Leclerc, Jacques; Lelégard, Marcel (2003). Saint-Lô sous les bombes : dans les ruines de l'Enclos [Saint-Lô under the bombs: In the ruins of the enclosure] (in French). Condé-sur-Noireau: C. Corlet.
  ISBN 978-2-84706-134-5
  .
• Dulague, Vincent; Messier, Charles (1776). Observations de la comète découverte par M. Messier le 1. avril 1771 faites à l'observatoire de Saint-Lô, à Rouen [Observations of the comet discovered by Dr. Messier 1 April 1771 made at the Observatory of Saint-Lô, in Rouen] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie Royale.
• Mourier, Guillaume (2004). Les Sinistrés saint-lois au 6 juin 1944, essai typologique sur les sinistrés de l'Enclos [Saint-lois disaster on 6 June 1944, typological test on claims of the enclosure] (in French). Saint-Lô.
  ISBN 2-914329-11-3. 150 p. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
  )
• Nomenclatures des rues de Saint-Lô, 1839-1944: matériaux pour une histoire topographique de la ville [Classifications of the streets of Saint-Lô, 1839-1944: Materials for a topographical history of the city] (in French). Saint-Lô: Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Manche. 1969.
• Penez, Maurice (1974). 1914–1974, 60 ans à Saint-Lô [1914–1974, 60 years in Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: M. Penez.
• de Saint-Lô, Sainte-Croix (1870). Cartulaire de Saint-Lô [Cartulary of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Jacqueline fils.
• Seguin, Jean (1930). Cent Réimpressions de vieilles gravures sur bois ou sur métal provenant d'imprimeries d'Avranches, de Coutances, de Saint-Lô et de deux grandes planches de cartes à jouer [One hundred reprints of old engravings on wood or metal from the printers of Avranches, Coutances, Saint-Lô and two boards of cards to play] (in French). Paris: Groves & Michaux.
• Toussaint, Joseph. La percée américaine à l'ouest de Saint-Lô, La Chapelle-Enjuger dans la bataille [The American breakthrough to the west of Saint-Lô, La Chapelle-Enjuger in the battle] (in French). Marigny: Inédits & introuvables. 1950, 2000.
• Travers, Émile (1895). Les premiers imprimeurs de Saint-Lô [The first printers of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: F. Le Tual.
• Trochon, Charles. Histoire du Collège de Saint-Lô [History of the College of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: Élie Fils. 1871, 1983.
• Potier de La Varde, R. Sur deux Mousses rares observées aux environs de Saint-Lô [On two rare mosses observed around Saint-Lô] (in French). S.l.: s.n. s.d.
• La bataille de Saint-Lô [The battle of Saint-Lô] (in French). Saint-Lô: R. Jacqueline. 1951. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Wit, Robert (1999). Les gueules de Saint-Lô et les autres : rétro souvenir de 520 portraits-charge de 1946 à 2000 [The hangovers of Saint-Lô and others: Retro souvenir of 520 ornate portraits 1946–2000] (in French). Saint-Lô: S.n.
• Jouet, Roger (2012). Saint-Lô [Saint-Lô] (in French). éditions OREP.

Digital media

• Saint-Lô retrouvé (Media notes). DVD of the association of the same name, which reconstitutes the urban landscape before the bombing of 6 June 1944.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Lô.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Saint-Lô.

• Town council website
• The bombing of Saint-Lo – June 1944
• The heroic and painful memory of the summer of 1944 (In French)
• History of the château and the churches of Saint-Lô (In French)
• Map of the commune in 1749
• Old views of Saint-Lô on the site of the Manche archives (In French)
• "St Lô" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.