Sainte Mère Église - Normandie, France
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member PetjeOp
N 49° 24.587 W 001° 19.097
30U E 621990 N 5474370
Hotel de Ville in Sainte Mère Église played a main part during WWII
Waymark Code: WM16HDQ
Location: Normandie, France
Date Posted: 08/04/2022
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member fi67
Views: 1

The hotel de ville is a detached villa.
The yellow color of the stones suggests that sandstone was used in their construction. A staircase with a landing gives access to the two-storey building.
Especially the roof stands out, it consists of 3 parts and consists of several different roof types.
The middle part consists of a Mansard roof, while the two side roofs consist of a combination of a hip roof with a cross gable.

During WWII hotel de ville was occupied by the germans
"Toward 4:30 a.m. and the first rays of the sun of a new day of June 6, Lieutenant Colonel personally made his way to the town hall of Sainte-Mère-Église, to the North of the square, and halfway between the heart of the town and the Northern outskirts. In the course of the previous four years of occupation since June 1940, Hôtel de Ville was accommodated by the Germans and the local District Civil Affairs Office of the German army. In those early hours of June 6, 1944, the American flag was raised above the building, the one that the 505th regiment had previously raised in the Italian city of Naples back in October 1943, another proud victory of the 82 Airborne Division. Once the town was secured and the German garrison liquidated, Krause also cut the German communication cable to Cherbourg and now block posted the main road from South to the North. Summing up, toward the sunrise of D-day, one of the key objectives (taking Sainte-Mère-Église and securing the highway) on D-Day in the American sector was achieved."
(visit link)

"The city
Sainte-Mère-Eglise, it's John Steele on the steeple, but it is also a pretty and authentic Normandy village where life is good in contact with nature. Its horse farms are renowned and dairy cows produce high quality milk from which exceptional butter is made and excellent cheeses including the famous Camembert.. Apple trees found in orchards are also used to make good cider and calvados.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise and its two museums : the Airborne museum in memory of the paratroopers. Numerous souvenirs are gathered under its parachute-shaped domes, documents photos, offering a real history lesson. This museum is one of the highest tourist places in the region thus receiving many French and foreign visitors. the Cotentin farm museum, rich in a historical past, Ste Mère Eglise is also one of its ancient agricultural traditions. In the Beauvais farm, now a Cotentin farm museum, we present objects in an authentic setting of an old house, images, models linked to agricultural life ... About twenty fully furnished rooms are equipped to receive the public.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise is also ...
A middle-school (Saint Exupéry college,
a public school (Manor School) and a private school (Notre Dame School) A gym, two tennis courts and many sports activities…
A private campsite and various associations
An industrial zone, shopping, a large area.
A dynamic community tourism office
An open municipal media library 6 7 days a week
A community association HOME (centre social rural) : RAM , CLSH, carrying meals…

Sainte-Mère-Eglise, it's also :
Its fairground market on Thursday morning.
Twinning since 1987 with St Ode, town near Bastogne in Belgium. Twinning with Locust-Valley, USA.

"Operation Democracy" gave the city four panels and a commemorative bronze plaque identical to that located in Locust-Valley, near New York. It is from 1947 that the inhabitants of Sainte-Mère-Eglise receive from Locust-Valley parcels containing clothing,materials for schools and dispensary. The choice of our commune was suggested by Colonel Augustin S. Hart because it housed thousands of graves of American soldiers including that of General Theodore Roosevelt, from a neighboring town of Locust-Valley. The aim of the “Operation Democracy” association is to promote the concepts of freedom and democracy.

History
In the old days…
The first mentions on life at Sainte-Mère-Eglise are found over a period of 911 and 1066 in the acts of William the Conqueror and Queen Mathilde. His name was Sancté-Marie-Eclésié or Sancta-Maria-Eclésia. The village was located outside the present city and was deserted during the Hundred Years War. The village undergoes the invasions of the English and was then destroyed. Sainte-Mère-Eglise was rebuilt at the current location. There was a Sainte-Mère-Eglise family : Robert de Sainte-Mère-Eglise was born around 1100 ; this branch of the family died out on 8 December 1764.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise in 1944
Sainte-Mère-Eglise is the first city in France to be freed from German occupation during the Second World War. The 6 June 1944 towards 4 h 30, the city is under the final control of the 3rd battalion of the 505th regiment of the 82nd Airborne as well as elements of the 101st Airborne. Liberated City Will Never Be Recovered Despite Enemy Counterattacks From The South, North and West.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise today
Visitors interested in the history of this city and our country will not fail to visit the site of La Fière a few kilometers from the town where they will discover an orientation table and the remarkable statue of Iron Mike. Sainte-Mère-Eglise was thus "the first American bridgehead in France". Sainte-Mère-Eglise , first liberated city is therefore the starting point of the Way of Freedom (materialized by Terminal O) The last terminal located in Bastogne in Belgium. constitutes a historical ensemble whose interest is expressed by the visit of more than 130 000 people per year. Two key pieces ; a WACO glider and a DAKOTA C-47 plane at the Airborne museum. The church dates from the 11th century, 13th and 15th centuries. Two of his stained glass windows were donated in memory of the liberation. A memorial museum, dedicated to liberators, was inaugurated on 6 June 1964."

The surface of Sainte-Mère-Église is 32.08 km², the population density is 81 inhabitants per km². This has been since the neighboring communes of Beuzeville-au-Plain, Chef-du-Pont, Écoquenéauville and Foucarville were abolished and incorporated as communes déléguées in the commune of Sainte-Mère-Église. The municipality still had 1629 inhabitants in 2008, in 2013 Sainte-Mère-Église and the four municipalities incorporated on 1 January 2016 had a total of 2588 inhabitants. On January 1, 2019, the commune of Carquebut and Ravenoville were also included in the commune nouvelle.
Name: Hotel de ville

Address:
Rue cap de laine


Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link]

Date of Construction: Not listed

Architect: Not listed

Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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PetjeOp visited Sainte Mère Église - Normandie, France 08/10/2022 PetjeOp visited it