Le Bec-Hellouin | |
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 Houses in Le Bec-Hellouin | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Le Bec-Hellouin | |
  Le Bec-Hellouin  Le Bec-Hellouin | |
| Coordinates:49°13′57″N0°43′18″E / 49.2325°N 0.7217°E /49.2325; 0.7217 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Eure |
| Arrondissement | Bernay |
| Canton | Brionne |
| Intercommunality | Bernay Terres de Normandie |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Pascal Finet[1] |
Area 1 | 9.55 km2 (3.69 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 378 |
| • Density | 39.6/km2 (103/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 27052 /27800 |
| Elevation | 46–141 m (151–463 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Le Bec-Hellouin (French pronunciation:[ləbɛkɛlwɛ̃]) is acommune in thedepartment ofEure in theNormandyregion in northernFrance.
It is best known forBec Abbey and has recently been voted one of the "most beautiful villages of France".The current mayor is Pascal Finet who replaced Jean-Paul Vittecoq in 2014.
The commune along with another 69 communes shares part of a 4,747 hectare,Natura 2000 conservation area, calledRisle, Guiel, Charentonne.[3]
Bec Abbey was founded in 1034 byHerluin, who was a knight at the court ofBrionne and aBenedictine. Near to the abbey, in the village, the church, dedicated toSaint-André, was built in 1039. The original church burned down in 1264. It was rebuilt but damaged during theHundred Years' War (1417). The nave and the bell tower were reconstructed in the 18th century.
In 1791 the abbey was closed because of theFrench Revolution and the departing monks transferred many statues to the village church; even the tomb of Herluin was moved to the church in 1792. From 1792 to 1794 bells and valuable decorative objects were removed from the church and finally brought toBernay.
The windows of the church were destroyed during the bombing of Le Bec-Hellouin on 13 August 1944, in the course ofWorld War II. The new windows were made in 1959. The Benedictine monks returned in 1948 and the tomb of Herluin was moved back to the abbey in 1959.
Known as Beccensis Ecclesia in 1041 and in Beccus Herlevini 1160. The village takes its name from the Scandinavian word for creek mouth (bekkr). While Hellouin refers to BlessedHerluin, founder of the nearby abbey.[4] whose name is ofGermanic origin.[5]
Arnost,bishop of Rochester, England, 1076
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