Evreux

Administrative centre of Eure département, situated in the Iton river valley in northwest France, 90 km/56 mi northwest of Paris; population (1990) 51,500. It produces pharmaceuticals, rubber, and textiles; there are also printing and electronic companies.

Features Evreux dates from Gallo-Roman times. There are Roman remains nearby, including an aqueduct, palace, and theatre. It also has a 12th-16th-century cathedral, one of the largest in France, with notable stained-glass windows. A partly fortified 15th-century bishop's palace now houses a museum.

The former Benedictine Abbey church of St Taurin, named after Taurinus, one of its first bishops, contains a silver-gilt reliquary (a receptacle for relics), given to him by Louis IX and in the form of a miniature Sainte-Chapelle. The city centre was badly bombed during World War II, and was rebuilt thereafter.