EVREUX, a town of north-western France, capital of the de partment cf Eure, 67 m. W.N.W. of Paris on the Ouest-Etat rail way to Cherbourg. Pop. (1931) 15,2o5. It stands on the slopes of the valley of the Icon. Vieil-Evreux (Mediolanum Aulercorum) was the capital of the Gallic tribe of the Aulerci Eburovices and a flourishing city during the Gallo-Roman period. Its bishopric dates from the 4th century. The first family of the counts of Evreux which is known was descended from an illegitimate son of Richard I., duke of Normandy, and became extinct in the male line with the death of Count William in i 118. The countship passed in right of Agnes, William's sister, wife of Simon de Montf ort 1'Amaury (d. 108 7) to the house of the lords of Montfort l'Amaury. Amaury III. of Montfort ceded it in 1200 to King Philip Augustus. Philip the Fair presented it (13o7) to his brother Louis, for whose benefit Philip the Long raised the countship of into a peerage of France (1317) . Philip of Evreux, son of Louis, became king of Navarre by his marriage with Jeanne, daughter of Louis the Headstrong (Hutin), and their son Charles the Bad and their grandson Charles the Noble were also kings of Navarre. The latter ceded his countships of Evreux, Champagne and Brie to King Charles VI. (14o4). In 1427 the countship of Evreux was bestowed by King Charles VII. on Sir John Stuart of Darnley (c. 1365-1429), the commander of his Scottish body guard, who in 1423 had received the seigniory of Aubigny and in Feb. 1427-28 was given the right to quarter the royal arms of France for his victories over the English (see Lady Elizabeth Cust, Account of the Stuarts of Aubigny in France, 1422-1672, i891). On Stuart's death (before Orleans during an attack on an English convoy) the countship reverted to the crown. It was again tempo rarily alienated (1569-84) as an appanage for Francis, duke of Anjou, and in 1651 was finally made over to Frederic Maurice de la Tour d'Auvergne, duke of Bouillon, in exchange for the prin cipality of Sedan.
Evreux is the seat of a bishop. Part of the cathedral nave dates from the I i th century ; the west façade is mostly late Renaissance. The elaborate north transept and portal are in the Flamboyant style ; the choir is earlier Gothic. The Cardinal-bishop de la Balu built the octagonal central tower and the Lady chapel (i 5th cen tury), which is remarkable for its stained glass. Two rose windows in the transepts and the carved wooden screens of the side chapels are masterpieces of i6th-century workmanship. The episcopal palace (i 5th century), adjoins the south side of the cathedral. An interesting 1 sth century belfry faces the modern town hall. The church of St. Taurin is Romanesque (i4th century) and later. At Vieil-Evreux, 31 m. S.E. of the town, the remains of a Roman theatre, a palace, baths and an aqueduct have been discovered; various finds are in the museum of Evreux. Evreux is the seat of a prefect, a court of assizes, of tribunals of first instance and commerce, a chamber of commerce and a board of trade arbi trators. The making of ticking, metal-founding and scientific glass-making are carried on.