Thury-Harcourt
Encyclopedia
Thury-Harcourt is a French commune
in the Calvados
department in the Basse-Normandie
region
in northwestern France
.
Situated in the Orne
valley, its surroundings are much like Clécy
, but the Rock of Oëtre
contrasts with the plateau of Caen
to the north.
This part of Swiss Normandy
, with its hilly terrain, attracts visitors for various sports and outdoor activities.
, in July 1944.
The mayor and his deputies were re-elected by the council on 14 March 2008.
The roles of the officers are in parentheses
The council has 19 members.
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 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.
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.
, 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
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
department in the Basse-Normandie
Basse-Normandie
Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in northwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Situated in the Orne
Orne River
The Orne is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées...
valley, its surroundings are much like Clécy
Clécy
Clécy is a French Commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.In 1932 it was awarded the title The Capital of Swiss Normandy by the Tourism Minister Monsieur Gourdeau.-Geography:...
, but the Rock of Oëtre
Rock of Oëtre
The Rock of Oëtre is situated in the middle of Swiss Normandy, in the commune of Saint-Philbert-sur-Orne, not far from the border between the départements of Calvados and Orne, and almost equidistant from Thury-Harcourt and Écouché...
contrasts with the plateau of Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
to the north.
This part of Swiss Normandy
Swiss Normandy
Swiss Normandy is a part of Normandy that bestrides Calvados and Orne.Its name comes from its rugged and verdant relief resembling the Swiss Alps, with gorges carved by the Orne River and its tributaries, and by erosion in the Armorican Massif between Putanges-Pont-Écrepin and Thury-Harcourt...
, with its hilly terrain, attracts visitors for various sports and outdoor activities.
History
The original name is Thury, but the Marquis of Thury received a benifice from Henry d'Harcourt under the name of the Duke of Harcourt in 1709, requiring a change of name. The town shrank by 75% in the Battle of NormandyBattle of Normandy
The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in World War II. It was the largest amphibious operation in history...
, in July 1944.
Administration
The roles of the officers are in parentheses
- Mayor : Paul Chandelier.
- First deputy : Pierre Morel (finance and general administration)
- Second deputy : Daniel Gandon (Social services and education )
- Third deuputy : Guy Bizet (heritage, roads, resources)
- Fourth deputy : Michel Durand (town planning, environnement, safety),
- Fifth deputy: Gérard Géhanne (associations and communication).
The council has 19 members.
Population
Sights
- The park and gardens of the Château of the Dukes of Harcourt were constructed in 1635 by Odet d'Harcourt and expanded upon in 1714 and 1723.
In the battles of the Second World War, after the Normandy landings
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with 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 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.
- Roman Catholic church of Saint Sauveur, 12th century, in the middle of the town. It was bombed in the summer of 1944, and only the nave remained. It has now been restored to what it was before the war.
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
Louvigny
Louvigny is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Louvigny, in the Calvados département*Louvigny, in the Moselle département*Louvigny, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département*Louvigny, in the Sarthe département...
(close to Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
) to Clécy
Clécy
Clécy is a French Commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.In 1932 it was awarded the title The Capital of Swiss Normandy by the Tourism Minister Monsieur Gourdeau.-Geography:...
operated from 1991 to 1994.
- The village of Saint-Benin merged with Thury-Harcourt in 1858. Its Roman Catholic church is from the 16th century. The choir's ogival is in good condition, but the nave was lost in a fire in the 19th century. The church is constructed from limestone and mortar. The roof is made of bâtière and is supported with cross gables. The belltower is supported by four 13th century buttresses, decorated with gargoyleGargoyleIn architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s bearing human faces.
Personalities
- Pierre GringorePierre GringorePierre Gringoire was a popular French poet and playwright. He was born in Normandy, at Thury-Harcourt, but the exact date and place of his death are unknown. His first work was Le Chasteau de Labour , an allegorical poem....
, the poet laureatePoet LaureateA poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
of Louis XIILouis XII of FranceLouis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
, was born here. - In 1863 Paul HéroultPaul HéroultThe French scientist Paul Héroult was the inventor of the aluminium electrolysis and of the electric steel furnace. He lived in Thury-Harcourt, Normandy.Christian Bickert said of him...
, invented the extraction of aluminium by elecrometallurgy. He also invented the electric oven in 1900. - Jean Lesueur (1598–1668), priest of the parish, accompanied many local families in their migration to Canada. He became the first secular priest in New France (now QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
). - Jean Baptiste Legardeur de Repentigny, born at Thury-Harcourt about 1632, first lady of QuébecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. - Raoul Tesson, (1150–1213) Vicomte de Saint Sauveur, Seigneur de Thury et de la Roche Tesson, Sénéchal de Normandie.
- Maurice Delaunay (1901–1995), politician, leader of Calvados 1936-1940.
Events
In the sixteenth century many families emigrated to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 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
Le Gardeur, Quebec
Le Gardeur was a town in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River in the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption, and connected to Montreal by Route 138, Autoroute 40, and Via Rail on the Canadian National rail line....
and Repentigny
Repentigny, Quebec
Repentigny is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, located north of Montreal, on the lower end of the L'Assomption River and on the Saint Lawrence River. Repentigny and Charlemagne are the first towns off the island of Montreal.-History:...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.