Sées is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It is classed as a Petite Cité de Caractère.

Geography

It lies on the river Orne 3 mi from its source and 13 mi north-by-northeast of Alençon. Sées station has rail connections to Argentan, Caen and Le Mans. Sées along with another 69 communes is part of a 20,593 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called the Haute vallée de l'Orne et affluents.

Name

The town's name derives from the Latin (civitas) Sagiensis "city of the Sagii", a Gaulish tribe that turned it into its capital city. The traditional spelling was Séez, which has been retained by the Church; the Diocese of Séez is headed by the Bishop of Séez. However, the spelling Sées was adopted for the town by the civil authorities following Napoleon's successful Italian campaign of 1796–7, one result of which was to bring another (Savoyan) Séez into France.

History

The first bishop of Sées was St Lain, who lived about the fourth century. In the ninth century, Sées was a fortified town and fell prey to the Normans. At that period Sées had two distinct parts: the Orne: the bishop's borough to the north and the new count's borough (Bourg le Comte) to the south. The counts of Alençon took control in 1356. It was captured and recaptured in the wars between Henry II of England and his sons. In the Hundred Years' War it was one of the first towns of Normandy to fall into the hands of the English, in 1418. Pillaged by the Protestants during the Wars of Religion, Sées attached itself to the Catholic League in 1589, but voluntarily surrendered to Henry IV of France in 1590.

Heraldry

Population

Points of interest

Sées Cathedral

Sées Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral that is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Séez. The cathedral dates from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and occupies the site of three earlier churches. The west front, which is obscured by the buttresses flying from it, has two stately spires of open work 230 ft high. The nave was built towards the end of the thirteenth century. The choir, built soon afterwards, is remarkable for the lightness of its construction. In the choir are four bas-reliefs of great beauty representing scenes in the life of the Virgin Mary; and the altar is adorned with another depicting the removal of the relics of St. Gervais and St. Protais. The church has been the object of frequent restoration and reconstruction. In 1875 it was declared a monument historique.

National heritage sites

In addition to the cathedral, Sées has nine other buildings and areas listed as a monument historique.

Museums

Transport

Sées station has rail connections to Argentan, Le Mans and Flers.

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Sées is twinned with: