Coordinates: 49°40′16″N 1°15′48″W / 49.6711111111, -1.26333333333

Commune of Barfleur
Location
Administration
Country	France
Region	Basse-Normandie
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Cherbourg-Octeville
Canton	Quettehou
Intercommunality	Communauté de Communes du Val de Saire
Mayor	Jacques Houyvet (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	m–m (avg. 4 m)
Land area¹	0.6 km²
Population² (1999)	642
- Density	1,070/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	50030/ 50760
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: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Barfleur is a small picturesque fishing-port and commune in north-western France, in the Manche département in the Basse-Normandie région.

History

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages Barfleur was one of the chief ports of embarkation for England.

• 1066 - A large medallion fixed to a rock in the harbour marks the disembarkation of the Normans from Barfleur prior to the Battle of Hastings.
• 1120 - The White Ship, carrying Prince William, only son of Henry I of England, went down outside the harbour.
• 1194 - Richard I of England departed from Barfleur on return to England following his captivity by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.

Later

• 1692 - Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue

Trivia

About 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north is Cape Barfleur, with a lighthouse 233 ft (71 m). high.

A Brittany Ferries vessel is named after the village and operates from nearby Cherbourg-Octeville to Poole in the United Kingdom.

External links and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Barfleur

• Barfleur official website (in French)
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• 'Postcard from Barfleur'

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