Thury-Harcourt

Thury-Harcourt

Coat of arms
Thury-Harcourt

Coordinates: 48°59′02″N 0°28′23″W / 48.984°N 0.4730°W / 48.984; -0.4730Coordinates: 48°59′02″N 0°28′23″W / 48.984°N 0.4730°W / 48.984; -0.4730
Country France
Region Normandy
Department Calvados
Arrondissement Caen
Canton Thury-Harcourt
Intercommunality Suisse Normande
Government
  Mayor (2014-2020) Paul Chandelier
Area1 4.90 km2 (1.89 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 1,914
  Density 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 14689 / 14220
Elevation 18–156 m (59–512 ft)
(avg. 100 m or 330 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Thury-Harcourt is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Le Hom.[1] The town is 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Caen, in the Orne valley. It is part of Norman Switzerland, which attracts visitors for various sports and outdoor activities with its hilly terrain.

History

The original name is Thury, but the Marquis of Thury received a benefice from Henry d'Harcourt under the name of the Duke of Harcourt in 1709, requiring a change of name. 75% of the town was destroyed in the Battle of Normandy, in July 1944.

Administration

Town hall
The Orne valley takes an oxbow curve near Thury-Harcourt

At the local elections of March 2014, the mayor Paul Chandelier was re-elected. The municipal council consists of 19 members, including the mayor and 5 deputy mayors.[2]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19621,191    
19681,190−0.1%
19751,363+14.5%
19821,586+16.4%
19901,803+13.7%
19991,825+1.2%
20081,914+4.9%

Sights

Frontage of the Château of Thury-Harcourt
Saint Sauveur Church

In the battles of the Second World War, after the Normandy landings the town was bombed for the first time on 30 June 1944; the château escaped damage. It was during fierce fighting against the British 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division on 13–4 August 1944 that the German forces retreated from the town and set fire to the chateau, which had suffered little damage up to that point. The fire destroyed many public archives, a library of nearly 15,000 volumes, and hundreds of family records.

Thury-Harcourt railway station was destroyed by air strikes in 1944 and reconstructed in the 1950s. The passenger line opened in 1873 and was closed in 1971. Freight service stopped in 1983. A tourist train from Louvigny (close to Caen) to Clécy operated from 1991 to 1994.

Personalities

Statue of Paul Heroult

Events

In the sixteenth century many families emigrated to Canada, taking with them the curate and abbot of the parish, (Lesueur). He founded the parish Saint-Sauveur, Quebec. Pierre Legardeur got general control of Nouvelle-France and gave his name to the towns of Le Gardeur and Repentigny in Quebec.

See also

References

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