The area around Bayeux is called the Bessin which was a province of France until the French Revolution. The name of the town and of its region come from the Celtic tribe of Bajocasses who inhabited the area.
During the Second World War Bayeux was one of the first French towns to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy, and on June 16, 1946 General Charles de Gaulle made his first important speech on liberated French soil in Bayeux. The town hosts the largest ...