Lower-Normandy, France

By Andrew LaPlante

Were lower-Normandy is.Lower Normandy is North west of France on the coast of the English Channel.

The blue map of France and the one region that is dark blue is lower- Normandy.

The region departmentsLower Normandy has three departments. The first department is (14 Calvados Caen)The second one is (50 Manche Saint-Lo) the third one is (61 Orne Alencon)

Regional capital-CaenCaen is the capital of lower Normandy or in French Basse-Normandie. The area, of which Caen is a part, was invaded by the Norsemen during the 9th and 10th centuries. In the 10th century, Caen first became important under the dukes of Normandy.

The terrain in lower Normandy Lower Normandy has sandy beaches, and rocky cliffs in the Cotentin peninsula, the famous white cliffs of Etretat, and an inland area full of wonderful small towns and villages, many boasting fine half-timbered houses.

Castle in lower Normandy named Mont-Saint-Michel

It was called Mont Tomb [a sanctuary ] that was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, on October 16, in 708. Mont Saint-Michel was built on a strong rock that measures 84 meters high. It is pure granite and is so hard that it has resisted the passage of time. In 1256, the island was fortified. From 1337 to 1453, during the Hundred Years War, and from 1562 to 1598, over the course of the Wars of Religion, the fortified island resisted many sieges. During the Hundred Years’ War it was the only part of northwestern France to remain constantly in French hands.

The most beautiful village in lower Normandy is BarfleurBarfleur was the Anglo-Norman Kingdom’s leading port in the Middle Ages and is still a big yachting and fishing port today. Its grey granite houses jut out over the English Channel under the watchful eye of the semaphore and Gatteville lighthouse.

Other cities in lower-Normandy Saint-LoThe battle of St-Lo was won alone by the 29th Infantry Division. Well there was a lot of deaths for any a couple hundred yards to get the defensive side. There was bombing at St-Lo and among the standing buildings was the Notre-Dame church. After the war the city was re-build and it looked like a bombings and a battle was their in the first place.

History of Lower-Normandy: D-Day

D-Day is the name given to the landing of 160,000 Allied troops in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. The success of the invasion of Normandy was really the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. The invasion, also called “Operation Overlord,” involved five separate landings by American, British, and Canadian troops and was commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Stiff German resistance resulted in nearly 10,000 Allied casualties, but the Germans were ultimately unable to repel the Allied forces. Although German resistance continued even after all five beachheads were taken, they had too few troops in the area to be effective. By August 1944, all of Northern France was under Allied control as Eisenhower began to prepare for the invasion of Germany.

1, Many scholars have tried to explain the term “D-Day,” suggesting it stood for “decision day” or “disembarkation day,” but most likely it comes from the army’s use of the term to mean an “undefined day,” or the first day of any operation.

2, D-Day was originally scheduled for June 5, but the weather did not cooperate. The operation was pushed back to June 6, 1944.

3, The D-Day invasion involved 5,000 ships carrying men and vehicles across the English Channel as well as 800 planes dropping over 13,000 men in parachutes. A further 300 planes dropped bombs on German troops defending the beaches. Over 100,000 Allied troops made it to shore that day.

4,The most difficult landing of D-Day was at Omaha beach. Navigation problems resulted in many men drowning before they reached land. Omaha Beach also had the largest amount of German troops, and the fighting was fierce. It is the Omaha Beach battle that is reenacted in the opening of the movie Saving Private Ryan.

5, The success of D-Day was a death knell for the Germans. Hitler was forced to fight a two-front war against the Russians on the East and the Americans, British, Canadians, and French on the West. Within a year, Hitler committed suicide, and the war was over.

lower-Normandy tourist site The Lower Norman town of Givenry contains the former estate of artist Claude Monet, who painted numerous masterpieces from the gardens there. The gardens now host over 500,000 visitors annually, many of which are art enthusiasts interested in seeing where Monet live and worked. The flower garden contains restored flowerbeds featuring roses, poppies and annuals arranged around winding paths. The nearby Japanese garden holds a pond carrying Monet's famous water lilies, as well as a crossing bridge and Asian-themed plants such as bamboo and weeping willows.

Claude MonetWas a famous painter. His full name is Oscar Claude Monet . Claude Monet was born on 14 November 1840 on the 5th floor of 45 rue Laffitte, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Monet and Camille Doncieux had married just before the war (28 June 1870) and, after their excursion to London and Zaandam, they had moved to Argenteuil, in December 1871. It was during this time that Monet painted various works of modern life. Camille became ill in 1876. They had a second son, Michel, on 17 March 1878, (Jean was born in 1867). This second child weakened her already fading health. In that same year, he moved to the village of Vétheuil. On 5 September 1879, Camille Monet died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-two; Monet painted her on her death bed. At the beginning of May 1883, Monet and his large family rented a house and 2 acres from a local landowner. The house was situated near the main road between the towns of Vernon and Gasny at Giverny. There was a barn that doubled as a painting studio, orchards and a small garden. The family worked and built up the gardens and Monet's fortunes began to change for the better as his dealer Paul Durand-Ruel had increasing success in selling his paintings. By November 1890, Monet was prosperous enough to buy the house, the surrounding buildings and the land for his gardens. During the 1890s, Monet built a greenhouse and a second studio, a spacious building well lit with skylights. Beginning in the 1880s and 1890s through the end of his life in 1926, Monet worked on "series" paintings, in which a subject was depicted in varying light and weather conditions. His first series exhibited as such was of Haystacks painted from different points of view and at different times of the day. Fifteen of the paintings were exhibited at the Galerny Durand-Ruel in 1891. He later produced several series of paintings including: Rouen Cathedral, Poplars, the Parliament, Mornings on the Seine, and the Water Lilies that were painted on his property at Giverny. Monet died of lung cancer on 5 December 1926 at the age of 86 and is buried in the Giverny church cemetery. Monet had insisted that the occasion be simple; thus only about fifty people attended the ceremony.