Coutances

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Administration
Commune of Coutances
Location
Longitude	49°02'46" N
Latitude	01º26'38" W
Country	France
Région	Basse-Normandie
Département	Manche (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Coutances
Canton	Canton of Coutances
Statistics
Altitude	12 m–150 m
Land area¹	12.51 km²
Population² (1999)	9,546
- Density (1999)	763/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	50147/ 50200
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).
Image:Flag of France.svg

Coutances is a commune of Normandy, France, in the Manche département, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

It is the chief-town of the Arrondissement of Coutances.

[edit] History

Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. The surrounding region, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus subsequently became known as the Cotentin Peninsula.

The town was destroyed by invading Normans in 866, who later established settlements and incorporated the whole peninsula into the Duchy of Normandy in 933.

In 1973, Gavray amalgamated Le Mesnil-Bonant and Le Mesnil-Hue. Le Mesnil-Bonant (old INSEE code: 50307) and Les Mesnil-Hue (old INSEE code: 50314) kept the statute of communal partners in 1973. Le Mesnil-Bonant no longer has the statute in 1988.

[edit] Sights

Image:Cathedrale de Coutances.jpg

Coutances Cathedral is one of the major buildings of Norman architecture and contains a chapel and stained glass dedicated to Saint Marcouf. The bishop of Coutances exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Channel Islands until the Reformation, despite the secular division of Normandy in 1204. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569.

Coutances houses a well-known botanical garden and an art museum.