Cherbourg-Octeville

Commune of Cherbourg-Octeville Image:Cherbourg-Basilique-trinité.jpg
Location
Longitude	01°38' W
Latitude	49°38'22 N
Administration
Country	France
Region	Basse-Normandie
Department	Manche (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Cherbourg-Octeville
Canton	Chief town of 3 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté Urbaine de Cherbourg (CUC)
Mayor	Bernard Cazeneuve
Statistics
Land area¹	6.91 km²
Population² (1999)	44,108
- Density (1999)	3,667/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	50129/ 50100 and 50130
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Cherbourg-Octeville is a town and commune in Normandy, north-west France. It was formed when the city of Cherbourg absorbed Octeville on February 28, 2000, and was officially renamed Cherbourg-Octeville.

Cherbourg holds an arsenal of the French Navy.

Geography

Cherbourg-Octeville is situated at the north of the Cotentin Peninsula. It is in the Manche département (of which it is the sous-préfecture) in the Basse-Normandie région. The city has an area of 6.9km².

Demographics

The combined population of Cherbourg and Octeville at the 1999 census was 42,318 inhabitants. Population of Cherbourg metropolitan area (the aire urbaine de Cherbourg) at the 1999 census was 117,855 inhabitants.

History

Cherbourg-Octeville

Cherbourg was the first stop of RMS Titanic after it left Southampton, England. On 19 June 1864, the naval engagement between USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama took place off Cherbourg. The Battle of Cherbourg, fought in June 1944 following the Normandy Invasion, ended with the capture of Cherbourg on June 30.

Periphery

La Glacerie comes from the French for glass factory. In 1655, Lucas de Néhou built a glass factory which was provided for buildings like Galerie des Glaces and Château de Versailles. The factory in La Glacerie was destroyed by Allied bombardments in 1944.

Sites of interest

La Glacerie has a race track. The Cité de la mer is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects. Cherbourg Basilica:[1]

Public Transport and Infrastructure

Cherbourg-Octeville is a seaport on the English Channel, with the majority of its cross channel ferry services being operated by Brittany Ferries to Poole and Portsmouth. Services to Rosslare, Republic of Ireland, are operated by Irish Ferries and Celtic Link.

The city's station is at the end of a railway line built by the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest from Paris. As well as a main line station was the Gare Maritime Transatlantique station. Cherbourg is also at the end of the N13 road from Paris and Caen.

The nearest airport is in Maupertus-sur-Mer which is named Cherbourg Maupertus (IATA code: CER, IACO code: LFRC).

See also

• Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), a musical film
• Cité de la mer

Wikipedia information about Cherbourg-Octeville This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cherbourg-Octeville". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.