The name Villedieu-les-Poêles means Town-of-God-the-frying-pans, and if you need pots and pans, you couldn't go to a better place.

The town is full of little workshops where coppersmiths hammer away at all sorts of vessels in copper, brass and pewter. Their products are very much sought after by culinary chefs all over the world.

In early times it was a hamlet depending on Henry the 1st, duke of Normandy and King of England. In 1130 the land was given to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem - becoming the Order of the Knights of Malta two centuries later. The knights built an hospice and all the territory belonging to it was named Villedieu. Favoured with numerous privileges, the order established a colony of copper craftsmen.

In this present day the historic link with the knights is not forgotten. The tradition of Le Grand Sacre - a religious procession dating from the XVIIth Century - was revived some decades ago. Every four years the Knights of Malta are commemorated in this event.

Another attraction of Villedieu is the bell-foundry, one of the biggest and oldest in France. Here tools from old times are still in use: an archaic windlass moving along a wooden trail helps to carry the loam over the pits to build the moulds. A unique reverberating oven of 20 tons, to melt the alloy of copper and tin, occupies the centre of the factory. In the same room craftsmen prepare the decorations to be put on the bells using the old cire perdu or 'lost wax' process.

You are sure to fall in love with the town's ancient courtyards, workshops and museums. The main church contains a number of examples of the finest post-war stained glass in this part of Normandy.