Vernon, Eure

Vernon
Commune
Old mill on the broken bridge
Coat of arms
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Eure
Arrondissement	Les Andelys
Canton	Vernon
Intercommunality	Seine Normandie Agglomération
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	François Ouzilleau
Area1	34.92 km2 (13.48 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)2
INSEE/Postal code	27681 / 27200
Elevation	10–148 m (33–486 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Vernon (French pronunciation: ​[vɛʁnɔ̃]; Norman: Vernoun) is a commune in the French department of Eure, administrative region of Normandy, northern France.

It lies on the banks of the river Seine, about midway between Paris and Rouen. Vernon–Giverny station has rail connections to Rouen and Paris. The town is known for its production of engines by the SNECMA group.

History

Mentioned in a Latin written document as Vernum, the /m/ at the end could be the last remains of the Celtic magus 'plain' or 'market', or it is a simple latinization, and the origin is just the Celtic word *uerno, alder tree (Breton gwern, Welsh gwern, Irish fern, modern French verne).

The village gave its name to a family who took part in the Norman Conquest of England, and then became a British first name.

The village is home to Établissement Saint-Adjutor, a notable private school.

Important dates

• 750 – First mention of name Vernon by Pepin the Short.
• 1070 – Birth of Saint Adjutor.
• 1123 – Building of Vernon Castle
• 1153 – Vernon is besieged by king Louis VII.
• 1196 – Vernon is joined to the royal domain by King Philip II Augustus.
• 1227 – Saint-Louis comes to Vernon.
• 1415 – Vernon becomes English.
• 1449 – Vernon passes to France (king Charles VII).
• 1596 – 8 October, Henry IV visits Bizy Castle.
• 1600 – Construction of the Vieux-Moulin (old mill).
• 1606 – Henry IV creates a school.
• 1723 – Creation of the Avenue des Capucins.
• 1789 – Thomas Jefferson, his family, and Sally and James Hemings stop at Vernon on their way to Le Havre to return to America.
• 1804 – Vernonnet is attached to Vernon.
• 1810 – Napoleon I comes to Vernon.
• 1843 – Arrival of the Paris-Rouen-Le Havre railroad.
• 1858 – Building of the Saint-Louis Hospital.
• 1860 – Highworks urbanism in the centre by Suchet d'Albuféra.
• 1862 – Building of the library.
• 1895 – Inauguration of the new town hall by Adolphe Barette.
• 1897 – First cinema show at the Vernon Theatre.
• 1910 – The Seine river floods the town.
• 1946 – Arrival of 28 German scientists from Peenemünde to develop French rockets.
• 1951 – First attempt to launch a Véronique rocket (Vernonelectronic) [1]
• 1955 – Inauguration of the Clémenceau Bridge.
• 1966 – Building of the Georges Dumézil high school.
• 1983 – First edition of the Foire aux Cerises (cherry fair).
• 1992 – Building of the Espace Culturel Philippe Auguste.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 4,029 —     1800 5,202 +3.72% 1806 4,793 −1.36% 1821 4,812 +0.03% 1831 4,888 +0.16% 1836 5,301 +1.64% 1841 6,128 +2.94% 1846 5,204 −3.22% 1851 6,463 +4.43% 1856 7,674 +3.49% 1861 7,410 −0.70% 1866 7,787 +1.00% 1872 7,961 +0.37% 1876 7,636 −1.04% 1881 7,881 +0.63% 1886 8,164 +0.71% 1891 8,288 +0.30% 1896 8,492 +0.49%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 8,757 +0.62% 1906 8,667 −0.21% 1911 8,733 +0.15% 1921 8,814 +0.09% 1926 9,725 +1.99% 1931 10,621 +1.78% 1936 11,330 +1.30% 1946 11,242 −0.08% 1954 14,460 +3.20% 1962 17,247 +2.23% 1968 18,872 +1.51% 1975 22,422 +2.49% 1982 22,243 −0.11% 1990 23,659 +0.77% 1999 24,056 +0.19% 2007 24,598 +0.28% 2012 24,112 −0.40% 2017 23,872 −0.20%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Vernon is twinned with:

• Bad Kissingen, Germany
• Massa, Italy

Notable people

• Michel de La Vigne (1588–1648), doctor
• Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), English Romantic painter
• Philippe Montanier (born 1964), football player and manager
• Chantal Jouanno (born 1969), politician
• Tongo Doumbia (born 1989), footballer
• Marie-Charlotte Garin (born 1995), politician
• Ousmane Dembélé (born 1997), footballer
• Jared Khasa (born 1997), footballer

Gallery

• 

  Collégiale Notre-Dame (now Parish Church)

• 

  Tour des archives (Philippe Auguste's Keep)

• Vernon MH-maison temps jadis.jpg

  Maison du Temps Jadis (Medieval House)

• 

  Corner of Rue du Pont and Rue Carnot

• 

  Museum

• 

  Place Barette

• 

  Town hall

• 

  Tomb of Saint-Mauxe

• 

  War memorial

• 

  Pont Clemenceau

• 

  Medieval bridge

• Vernon - Place du Général-De-Gaulle01.jpg

  Place Charles de Gaulle's Market Day

• 

  Espace Philippe-Auguste Culture Centre

See also

• Communes of the Eure department

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Nouvelle Normandie Tourisme – official tourist board website in English