Saint-Lô

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The town of Saint-Lô/St Lô is the departmental town of La Manche. The adjective for its features, products and its residents is saint-lois.

It was almost destroyed in WWII, nicknamed the Capital of Ruins so called also in Samuel Beckett's work on the town, however the association Swiss Aid alloted St Lô a sum of 620,000 swiss francs to construct bulidings and community centre. On 10 October 1949, Switzerland offered a gold ingot fetching 649,590 francs. It included in 1948 ten communities, sometimes of just 70 houses. The town profited from the economic prosperity of the period called the "Trente Glorieuses" and its population grew 30% between 1968 and 1975. Apartment areas in the valleys of la Dollée and of Saint-Jean were built. The theatre records its construction as 1963. The town continues its expansion in taking in the two neighbouring locations (Sainte-Croix-de-Saint-Lô and Sainte-Thomas-de-Saint-Lô). Population: 20,000.