Dreux

Sister cities

• Todi
• Bautzen
• Almeirim
• Evesham
• Melsungen
• Koudougou

History

Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum Drocas. In the Middle Ages, Dreux was the centre of the County of Dreux. The first count of Dreux was Robert, the son of King Louis the Fat. The first large battle of the French Wars of Religion occurred at Dreux, on 19 December 1562, resulting in a hard-fought victory for the Catholic forces of the duc de Montmorency. The Hôtel de Ville is a former private residence completed in 1886. In October 1983, the Front National won 55% of the vote in the second round of elections for the city council of Dreux, in one of its first significant electoral victories.

Geography

Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granville. The Route nationale 12 (Paris–Rennes) passes north of the town.

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  613
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  551
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  544
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  513
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  492
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  484
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  473
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  433