Fleury-sur-Orne

Fleury-sur-Orne
A general view of Fleury-sur-Orne
Location of Fleury-sur-Orne
Fleury-sur-Orne
Fleury-sur-Orne
Coordinates: 49°08′49″N 0°22′31″W / 49.1469°N 0.3753°W / 49.1469; -0.3753
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentCalvados
ArrondissementCaen
CantonCaen-5
IntercommunalityCaen la Mer
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Marc Lecerf[1] (DVG)
Area
1
6.75 km2 (2.61 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
5,941
 • Density880/km2 (2,280/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
14271 /14123
Elevation2–66 m (6.6–216.5 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Fleury-sur-Orne (French pronunciation: [flœʁi syʁ ɔʁn] , literally Fleury on Orne) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is part of the Communauté urbaine Caen la Mer and of the agglomeration of Caen.[3]

Geography

The river Orne is the only watercourse to flow through the commune.[4]

History

Until 1916 Fleury-sur-Orne was known as Allemagne (Calvados) after the Alamanni tribe which once guarded the ford across the Orne.[6] During the First World War this name, meaning in French Germany, became inconvenient and embarrassing for the inhabitants (unlike those of Allemagne-en-Provence in Southern France).[7] The town council therefore decided on 23 August 1916, to change the name and to call it Fleury-sur-Orne in memory of the commune of Fleury-devant-Douaumont, a commune of the Meuse (in 1914: 422 inhabitants, school, church, town hall, 13 tradesmen, 10 landholding farmers), which was destroyed in 1916.[6]

Massacre of the Athis fort

In 1047, Duke William of Normandy (later William the Conqueror), helped by Henry I, king of France, put an end to a revolt of Norman barons at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes, close to the villages of Chicheboville, Secqueville, Vimont and Bourguébus.[8] Little is known about this battle, but it seems to have been a purely cavalry contest, with neither infantry nor archers playing a significant role.

After a series of disorderly cavalry skirmishes, the rebellious barons fled. They were slaughtered as they tried to cross the Orne, at the Athis ford close to Fleury-sur-Orne. Carried downstream en masse, the bodies of the massacred knights blocked the mill of Barbillon on the level of current Ile Enchantée.[9]

The victory allowed William to remain Duke of Normandy, thus setting the stage for his later brilliant battles and statecraft.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 2,817—    
1975 2,861+0.22%
1982 3,650+3.54%
1990 3,861+0.70%
1999 4,231+1.02%
2007 4,014−0.66%
2012 4,299+1.38%
2017 4,915+2.71%
2023 5,941+3.21%
Source: INSEE[10]

Points of Interest

National heritage sites

The commune has two sites listed as a Monument historique.[11]

  • Église Notre-Dame d'Allemagne-la-Basse - an eleventh centaury church registered as a monument in 1913.[12]
  • house - a private dwelling built in 1717 registered as a monument in 2009.[13]

Personalities

  • Nicole Oresme (1325 – 1382), also known as Nicolas Oresme, Nicholas Oresme, or Nicolas d'Oresme, a philosopher of the later Middle Ages, was born here.[14]

Twin towns – sister cities

Fleury-sur-Orne is twinned with:[15][16][17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
  3. ^ Commune de Fleury-sur-Orne (14271), INSEE
  4. ^ Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - Orne (I2--0200)".
  5. ^ "Fleury-sur-Orne · 14123, France". Fleury-sur-Orne · 14123, France.
  6. ^ a b "1916: Allemagne becomes Fleury-sur-Orne". Ouest-France. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Église Notre-Dame de Basse Allemagne - FLEURY-SUR-ORNE".
  8. ^ "La bataille du Val-ès-Dunes, un circuit à découvrir". Ouest-France. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  9. ^ "The Battle of Val-ès-Dunes". 24 November 2010.
  10. ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  11. ^ "Les Monuments Historiques en Calvados - 14 - Monumentum". monumentum.fr.
  12. ^ "Eglise d'Allemagne-la-Basse ou église Notre-Dame à Fleury-sur-Orne - PA00111338". Monumentum.
  13. ^ "Maison à Fleury-sur-Orne - PA14000083". Monumentum.
  14. ^ "Biography of Nicole Oresme". www.nicole-oresme.com.
  15. ^ "À Bretteville-sur-Odon, le jumelage d'Ouonck a besoin d'un président". Ouest-France. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Waldbüttelbrunn".
  17. ^ "Le Fleurysien No. 46 – October 2012" (PDF). Ville de Fleury-sur-Orne. Municipality of Fleury-sur-Orne. October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  18. ^ "Établissement ASSOCIATION JUMELAGE FLEURY SUR ORNE - MAR DEL PLATA in Fleury-sur-Orne". Annuaire des Entreprises. Government of France. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2025.