It lies on the river Orne 3 miles (5 km) from its source and 13 miles (20 km) north-by-northeast of Alençon. Sées station has rail connections to Argentan, Caen and Le Mans.
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.[6]
Heraldry
Arms of Sées
The arms of Sées are blazoned : Azure, in pale a fleur de lys Or, a heart argent enflamed Or, and 2 hands clasping argent.
Sées Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral that is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Séez.[8][9] The cathedral dates from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and occupies the site of three earlier churches.[10] The west front, which is obscured by the buttresses flying from it, has two stately spires of open work 230 feet (70 m) 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.[10]
National heritage sites
In addition to the cathedral, Sées has nine other buildings and areas listed as a monument historique.[11]
Palais d'Argentré built in 1778 is the former Bishopric of Diocese of Séez, it was listed as a monument in 1908.[12]
Notre-Dame-du-Vivier church is the remains of a former thirteenth-century church, that would have been the first place of worship in Sées. It was registered as a monument in 1975[13]
chapter house a former chapter house built in the fifteenth century, that was registered as a monument in 1972[14]
Saint-Martin Abbey a former abbey dating from the sixth century, by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul.[15] The abbey consists of twelfth- and seventeenth-century components, and was listed in 1968[16]
Canonical chapel a former chapel, just north of the cathedral, dating back to the thirteenth century and registered as a monument in 1939[17]
Butte Saint-Pierre castle mound a former eleventh-century fortification with a 40-metre diameter base it was registered as a monument in 1996[18]
Hotel of Count Curial a former sixteenth-century hotel and listed as a monument in 1937[19]
grain Market was built in the nineteenth century and listed in 1980[20]
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception built between 1854 and 1859, it was designed by Victor Ruprich-Robert.[21][22] The church was registered as a monument in 2006.[22]
Museums
Musée départemental d'art religieux de Sées is a museum dedicated to showcasing religious art.[23] It was first opened in 1969 and is based in the old chapter of the cathedral, it houses over 2000 pieces.[24]
^Elisabeth Deniaux, Claude Lorren, Pierre Bauduin et Thomas Jarry, La Normandie avant les Normands : de la conquête romaine à l'arrivée des Vikings, Rennes, Éditions Ouest-France, coll. « Université », 2002 (ISBN2-7373-1117-9), p.320-321.
^Jones, Terry. "Hadelin". Patron Saints Index. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
^Pierre Bouet et François Neveux, Les Évêques normands du XIe siècle : Colloque de Cerisy-la-Salle (30 septembre – 3 octobre 1993), Caen, Presses universitaires de Caen, 1995, 330 p. (ISBN2-84133-021-4), « Les évêques normands de 985 à 1150 », p. 19-35.
^Pierre Bouet et François Neveux, Les évêques normands du XIe siècle : Colloque de Cerisy-la-Salle (30 septembre – 3 octobre 1993), Caen, Presses universitaires de Caen, 1995, 330 p. (ISBN2-84133-021-4), « Les évêques normands de 985 à 1150 », p. 19-35
