Bellême (French pronunciation: [bɛlɛm] ) is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France.[3] It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère.[4] The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810-1877), owner of Le Bon Marché, the world's first department store. This town is possibly the origin of the English and French surname Bellamy.
Bellême | |
|---|---|
 An aerial view of Bellême | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Bellême  | |
  Bellême  Bellême | |
| Coordinates: 48°22′38″N 0°33′41″E / 48.3772°N 0.5614°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Orne |
| Arrondissement | Mortagne-au-Perche |
| Canton | Ceton |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Rémy Tessier[1] |
Area 1 | 1.71 km2 (0.66 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 1,456 |
| • Density | 850/km2 (2,200/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 61038 /61130 |
| Elevation | 162–230 m (531–755 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Location
editAt the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche, in the Orne Department, Bellême is on a hill that dominates the Perche area.
Population
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1,742 | — |
| 1975 | 1,843 | +0.81% |
| 1982 | 1,849 | +0.05% |
| 1990 | 1,788 | −0.42% |
| 1999 | 1,774 | −0.09% |
| 2009 | 1,547 | −1.36% |
| 2014 | 1,616 | +0.88% |
| 2020 | 1,455 | −1.73% |
| Source: INSEE[5] | ||
Heraldry
edit| |
The arms of Bellême are blazoned : Sable, a triple-towered keep Or. or
|
Sights
edit- 17th century and eighteenth century houses.
- 17th century Hôtel de ville.
- Sundials on rue du Château, place de la République and place Liègeard.
- Château gatehouse 15th century, and moat.
National heritage sites
editThe Commune has six buildings and areas listed as a Monument historique.[6]
- Saint-Sauveur de Bellême Church 15th century, 16th century, rebuilt between 1675 and 1710.[7]
- Crypt of the Saint-Santin Chapel, dating from the tenth century.[8]
- Bansard des Bois Hotel - 18th Century hotel.[9]
- Governors House - 17th to 19th Century house built from the Hotel De Fontenay.[10]
- City gate entrance - Built in the 15th Century[11]
- Clock Tower - 13th Century polygonal tower and the only remaining parts of the old city walls.[12]
Landscape
edit- The town is built around the crest of a natural bowl, in which sits an outdoor lido (swimming pool), moto-cross circuit, stables and an expansive 18-hole golf course with adjacent hotel and holiday apartments.
Events
edit- Les Mycologiades internationales : Annual international wild mushroom festival.
International relations
editBellême is twinned with:
- Goring-on-Thames
United Kingdom since 1979. - Stühlingen
Germany since 1980.
Sports
edit- The town's football club, FC Pays Bellêmois, compete in the Ligue de Football Basse-Normandie and the Coupe de France, playing their home games at the town's Terrain Intercommunal.
- Moto Club Bellêmois hosts motocross events that welcome an international field of competitors.
Notable People
edit- Yves de Bellême (died c. 1005), Seigneur de Bellême, the first known progenitor of the House of Bellême.[13]
- Guillaume André Villoteau (1759- 1839) was a French musicologist born in Bellême.[14]
- Aristide Boucicaut (1810 – 1877) French entrepreneur who created Le Bon Marché, was born here.[15]
- Alfred Bansard des Bois (1848–1920) a French politician who died here.[16]
- Théodore Tuffier (1857 – 1929) a French surgeon who was born here.[17]
- Augustin de Romanet de Beaune (b. 1961) a French political advisor and business executive, chief executive officer of Groupe ADP was a municipal councillor here for 19 years.[18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Commune de Bellême (61038)". INSEE.
- ^ "Bellême et La Perrière conservent leur label de Petites cités de caractère pour 5 ans". actu.fr. 23 October 2019.
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ "Les Monuments Historiques en Orne - 61". monumentum.fr.
- ^ "Eglise Saint-Sauveur à Bellême - PA00110741". monumentum.fr.
- ^ "Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Vieux-Château, dite chapelle Saint-Santin à Bellême - PA00110740". monumentum.fr.
- ^ "Hôtel Bansard des Bois à Bellême - PA00110742". monumentum.fr.
- ^ "Maison du Gouverneur à Bellême - PA00110743". monumentum.fr.
- ^ "Ville Close à Bellême - PA00110744". monumentum.fr.
- ^ "Tour de l'Horloge à Bellême - PA00110992". monumentum.fr.
- ^ Jacobs, Crescida (8 May 2019). "Poison, Power and Perception: A Biography of Mabel of Belleme (1030-1082)" – via uh-ir.tdl.org.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Guillaume-André Villoteau". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
- ^ "L'histoire de Marguerite et Aristide Boucicaut". Ouest-France.fr. 25 July 2018.
- ^ "Alfred, Alexandre Bansard des Bois - Base de données des députés français depuis 1789 - Assemblée nationale". www2.assemblee-nationale.fr.
- ^ "History Today in Medicine - Dr. Theodore Tuffier". CME India. 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Les premiers pas sur le marché du travail d'Augustin de Romanet de Beaune, PDG d'Aéroports de Paris". 12 December 2014 – via Le Monde.
External links
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellême.