Évreux
[key], town , capital of Eure dept., N France, in Normandy. It is an
industrial town where metals, textiles, rubber, radio and television parts,
and pharmaceuticals are manufactured. Founded in Roman times and known as
Mediolanum, the town became (10th cent.) the seat of a county that
frequently changed hands throughout the Middle Ages. From 1349 to 1425 the
counts of Évreux were also kings of Navarre. The French crown, which had
held the county in the 12th cent. and again from 1404 to 1569, acquired it
permanently in 1584. In 1642, Louis XIV exchanged Évreux for
Sedan with
Frédéric Maurice, duc de Bouillon, who kept it until the
county was abolished during the French Revolution. Devastated many times
during the course of its history, the town was extensively rebuilt following
World War II. Several monuments remain, the most famous of which are the
Notre Dame Cathedral (14th–17th cent.), noted for its magnificent
stained-glass windows, and St. Taurin Church, with its remarkable
13th-century shrine.
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