As usual lately, digging into my cd rom vault of memories found me pictures on the church so will keep this post as an introduction to the town in my black and white series, no pictures. The town of Gisors is located in the Eure department 27, in the Normandie region of my belle France. It sits on the edge of the French Vexin region, bordering the Oise department 60, its architectural heritage bears witness to the bitter struggle between the Capetian and Plantagenet rulers during part of the Middle Ages. Therefore, this is my take on this is Gisors !!!Hope you enjoy this new find as I.
The town of Gisors is 33 km from Beauvais, 60 km from Rouen, 70 km from Évreux, 73 km from Versailles, and 486 km from my current home, I came here from Versailles, coming up to bd Saint Antoine on the D186 road that connects with the N186 road dir Saint Germain en Laye bearing left on the N13 and into the N184 by Conflans Sainte Honorine bear left onto the D203 road dir Cergy and right on the Bd du Port to connect with the A15 autoroute exit/sortie 15 dir Rouen, this road changes name to D14 same road, continue dir Rouen before at exit/sortie 17 go dir Commeny on the D43 dir La Bellay en Vexin road changes name to D53 same road then by Lierville changes name again to D915 and continue to the church in Gisors.
Other things to see here in addition to the later post on the Church Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais are the château de Gisors castle is a construction from 1096 decided by William II of England and entrusted to Robert II of Bellême whose keep occupies a castle mound. It is famous for the popular legend of the Templar treasure which is said to be hidden there, but the Templars were only responsible for it between 1158 and 1160 , The Chapel of Saint-Luc is one of the main remains of the Saint-Lazare leper colony, founded in 1210 by Jean de Gisors , The lavoir or washhouse of the rue des Argillières origins date back to the 15C. Located on the banks of the Epte River, An anecdote, in 1887, the town served as the setting for a short story by Guy de Maupassant: Le Rosier de Madame Husson.
A bit of history I like on the town tell us that many agreements were signed there between the Dukes of Normandy and the Kings of France, notably in 965 when the Peace of Gisors recognized the authority of Richard I of Normandy over Normandy and recommended the abandonment of his suzerainty by Lothair, King of the Franks. In 1119, the city saw the passage of Pope Calixtus II who was returning from the Council of Reims. The King of England Henry I invited his guests to examine the knowledge of his protégés, the Beaumont twins, who would emerge victorious from a philosophical discussion with the cardinals. In 1169, Thomas Becket of Canterbury went to Gisors a year before his martyrdom. A chapel was dedicated to him near the great tower where a mass was said until the destruction of the chapel in 1793. On June 28, 1180, the Treaty of Gisors was signed between Philip Augustus and Henry II of England, marking the end of the series of continuous wars between the King of France and the Duke of Normandy. On January 13, 1188: at the start of the Third Crusade at Gisors, Philip Augustus, Henry II of England and Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders, agreed to distinguish their men by color. The cross of gules (red) was awarded to the French, argent (white) to the Anglo-Normans and vert (green) to the Flemish. On January 21, 1189, Philip Augustus, Henry II of England, and Frederick Barbarossa met again in Gisors, took up the cross, and gathered troops for the Third Crusade. Henry II died on July 6, 1189, and Richard the Lionheart, succeeding him, resumed his father’s promise of a crusade. Philip Augustus conquered the town in the early 13C and established a castle, complete with a courthouse and prison. During this time, Gisors acquired infrastructure: a washhouse, a hospital, and a new church.
On July 19, 1742, Gisors became a duchy, elevated to a duchy-peerage on June 9, 1748, in favor of Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet de Belle-Isle, Marshal of France. The latter ceded Belle-Île-en-Mer to Louis XV in October 1718, in exchange for the County of Gisors and the Viscounties of Vernon, Andely and Lyons and the Marquisate of Bissi near Vernon. Upon his death in 1761, the Marshal’s estates reverted to the Crown. On March 28, 1762, Louis Charles de Bourbon-Maine, Duke of Aumale, exchanged the Principality of Dombes with Louis XV for the Marshal’s estates (including the Duchy of Gisors) and the lands of Gretz-Armainvilliers and Pontcarré. His inheritance passed to the collateral branch of the Bourbon-Penthièvre in 1775. Then Louise Marie de Bourbon-Penthièvre, Madame Égalité, brought the inheritance to the Orléans. Henri, “Count of Paris”, “Duke of France”, head of the House of Orléans, was the heir. Louis Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld d’Enville, Duke of La Rochefoucauld was killed on September 4, 1792 by volunteers from Sarthe and Orne, on their way to fight the Prussians who had just taken Verdun and who were hunting down aristocrats. He was the only victim of the September massacres in the city, despite the efforts of the town and Dolomieu who were unable to save him. Napoleon Bonaparte visited Gisors as First Consul in October 1802 and spoke with the workers of a spinning mill there. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Prussians entered Gisors, a town almost completely liberated, on Sunday, October 9, 1870. Prince Hohenlohe was welcomed by Louis Passy himself. The town was damaged during WWII. It was liberated on the morning of August 30, 1944, by a British armored column moving towards Beauvais from Vernon.
The local Vexin Normand tourist office on the church in Gisors : https://en.vexin-normand-tourisme.com/discover/visit-gisors/gisors-church/
The town of Gisors on its heritage (see découvrir) : https://www.ville-gisors.fr/
There you go folks, another quant off the beaten path trip in my old backyard. Oh yes there is more to see an ever ending source of wonderful architecture and history in my belle France, I am working on it ! Gisors is nice and walking its main streets is a delight. Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Gisors !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 