Fécamp
[key], town, Seine-Maritime dept., N France. A major port from the 12th to
17th cent., when Le Havre superseded it, Fécamp is now a resort on
the English Channel with a casino, sports facilities, and a beach. The town
also has shipyards, and food, textile, and machine-building industries.
Fécamp dates back to Roman times. A monastery founded there c.660
became a pilgrimage site. Destroyed by Norsemen, it was rebuilt at the end
of the 10th cent. and became the Benedictine Abbey of the Trinity. The abbey
church, a magnificent example of 12th-century Norman architecture, has
numerous additions from the 14th cent. Fécamp is famous for benedictine liqueur, which was first
made by the monks in the 16th cent. and which is now made by a private
company on the grounds of the old abbey.
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