Louviers

Louviers (French pronunciation: ​[luvje] ) is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in north-western France.

Louviers is 100 km (62 mi) from Paris and 30 km (19 mi) from Rouen.

In the area around Louviers, cut stones from the Paleolithic era have been found. Some of these are in the town's museum, alongside fragments of a mammoth tusk found not far from the cemetery. Other evidence of human presence in the area at different periods of prehistory includes the menhir of Basse-Cremonville and the Neolithic tomb which was close to it. Various objects from these periods - weapons, vases, stone and bronze tools - have also been found in the area.

A few elements dating from the period of Ancient Gaul have been found at Louviers: a Celtic grave found in 1863 against the wall of the Église Notre-Dame, and several Gallic coins. A hypothesis of a fortified Gallic village has been formulated, but not proven. The Louviers of Roman Gaul is, however, better known. It was not, however, unimportant, as judged by the fact that it appeared in neither the Antonine Itinerary nor the Tabula Peutingeriana.

Under the Merovingians, Louviers had at least two cemeteries, but it is only from the 9th Century that certain historical events can be dated.

During the French Revolution, Louviers' citizens were moderate in their cahiers de doléances (grievances presented to the king), and followed the currents of thought and action of the rest of the country. This moderation was shown by constitutional royalists at the time of the first two revolutionary assemblies; by Girondists at the start of the National Convention, and by the Thermidorian Reaction after the execution of Robespierre.

Food shortages under the Revolution and the fact that they became worse under the French Directory favoured support of a strong government, and the consular constitution was accepted unanimously by the voters. The first consul (Napoleon) visited Louviers on 30 October 1802. He returned on 1 June 1810 with his wife Marie-Louise and they visited the town's factories.

The town was occupied by the Prussians in 1815.

The regulations of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) had led the manufacturers of Louviers to specialise in extremely fine cloth. But the Revolution did not favour luxury fabrics, leading to a severe downturn in manufacturing in the town. With the introduction of new manufacturing methods, however, the quality was maintained while lowering the price. With this, the town enjoyed a new prosperity that lasted up to the middle of the twentieth century. This prosperity was reflected in some important civic projects:

The revolutions of 1830 (the July Revolution) and 1848 passed almost unnoticed in Louviers.

In 1870, the war against Prussia caused 16 deaths, 13 wounded and 23 prisoners. The town was evacuated at the beginning of March 1871, then life resumed as normal under the Third Republic. In 1855 the école primaire supérieure was established – it subsequently became a college then a lycée. In 1899, Louviers' streets were lit with electricity. Before World War I, a municipal theatre, a museum and a range of organisations – scholarly, sporting, musical, cooperative – flourished.

In June 1940, Louviers suffered greatly under the bombardments of the Battle of France. Members of several of the Resistance groups in the town were arrested and deported. On 25 August 1944, the Americans, then the British, liberated the town after several bombardments. On 8 October 1944, Louviers was visited by General de Gaulle, and on 26 June 1949, the town was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

After the Second World War, the town was reconstructed, and several new quarters were created: Saint-Lubin, Saint-Germain, la Roquette, la Côte de Paris, Saint-Jean.

In the second half of the twentieth century, Louviers' political history has a left-wing tilt. From 1953–1958, the mayor was Pierre Mendès France (1907–1982), a member of the left-wing Radical Party. From 1965–69, the mayor was Ernest Martin of the DVG (Miscellaneous left). The candidates on the list that he headed were left-wing and anti-authoritarian; their party allegiances went from the Parti Socialiste Unifié (PSU) to the anarchists. They sought self governance (autogestion), and the events of May 1968 led in Louviers to the establishment of self-managing bodies – neighbourhood committees, avant-garde cultural policies, and so on.

The right won the municipal elections in 1969. For eight years, town hall debates were stormy, but then in 1977, Henri Fromentin was elected mayor on a platform of implementing Ernest Martin's revolutionary programme.

Its church, Notre-Dame, has parts which date from the thirteenth century. The 16th century porch on the south side is an example of Late Gothic Flamboyant architecture.

It is also well known for its Musée des décors de Théâtre, d'Opéra et de Cinéma (Fondation Wakhévitch), after Georges Wakhévitch (1907–1984) who lived nearby. The composer Maurice Duruflé (b. in Louviers 1906 - d. in Louveciennes 1986) was born in Louviers. Other famous persons include:

MAURICE DURUFLÉ organiste

Louviers is twinned with: