Gouffern en Auge

Gouffern en Auge
Commune
Location of Gouffern en Auge
Gouffern en Auge Show map of France Gouffern en Auge Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 48°45′18″N 0°04′08″E / 48.755°N 0.069°E / 48.755; 0.069
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Argentan
Canton	Argentan-2
Intercommunality	Argentan Intercom
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Philippe Toussaint[1]
Area 1	165.79 km2 (64.01 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	3,660
• Density	22/km2 (57/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	61474 /61160, 61200, 61310
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Gouffern en Auge (French pronunciation: [gufɛʁn ɑ̃.n‿oʒ], literally Gouffern in Auge) is a commune in the department of Orne, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Silly-en-Gouffern (the seat), Aubry-en-Exmes, Avernes-sous-Exmes, Le Bourg-Saint-Léonard, Chambois, La Cochère, Courménil, Exmes, Fel, Omméel, Saint-Pierre-la-Rivière, Survie, Urou-et-Crennes and Villebadin.^[3]

Geography

The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets: Survie, Saint-Pierre-la-Rivière, La Frênée, Omméel, Avernes-sous-Exmes, Fel, Aubry-en-Exmes, Villebadin, Chantereine, Courménil, Fougy, La Bélière, Le Bourg, Exmes, Le Bourg-Saint-Léonard, Silly-en-Gouffern, Urou-et-Crennes, Cayenne, La Cochère and Gouffern en Auge.^[4]

Five rivers run through Gouffern en Auge: the Dives, the Dieuge, the Ure, the Vie and the Barges. In addition there are 20 streams that also traverse the commune:

Population

Points of Interest

• Hippodrome du pays d'Argentan is a racecourse for horse racing, based in Urou-et-Crennes.^[6]
• Forest of Gouffern is a 4120 Hectare Forest that is split into two parts by the River Ure, Petite Gouffern to the south of the river and Grande Gouffern to the North.^[7]
• Le coteau de la Butte is a Sensitive Natural Space of Orne, in Courménil.^[8] It is a 4 Hectare reserve, which you can observe its flagship species of Dactylorhiza viridis, Neotinea ustulata and Marsh fritillary.^[9]
• Carrière de la Tourelle is a 2-hectare site in Aubry-en-Exmes classed as a Sensitive Natural Space of Orne.^[8] The site was created in 1987, and features fauna and flora such as dropwort, round-headed rampion and the Adonis blue butterfly.^[10]

National heritage sites

The commune has 12 buildings and areas listed as monument historiques

• Château du Bourg-Saint-Léonard, an 18th-century chateau listed as a monument in 1942^[11] in 1954 it was bequeathed to the local municipality.^[12]
• Donjon de Chambois, a former medieval dungeon built in the 12th century, by William de Mandeville.^[13] It was registered as a monument historique in 1901.^[14]
• Château d'Exmes, the remains of a tenth-century castle listed as a monument in 1979^[15]
• Château de Villebadin, a 17th-century chateau listed as a monument in 1978^[16]
• Château d’Aubry-en-Exmes, a 14th-century chateau listed as a monument in 1968^[17]
• Château de Courménil, an 18th-century chateau listed as a monument in 1991^[18]
• Manor of Argentelles, a 15th-century manor house listed as a monument in 1926.^[19] Henry IV of France stayed here in 1591.^[20]
• Chateau de la Roche, an 18th-century chateau listed as a monument in 1974.^[21]
• Saint-André Church, an 11th-century church in Exmes listed as a monument in 1913^[22]
• Fougy Church, a 12th-century church in Le Bourg-Saint-Léonard listed as a monument in 1971^[23]
• Saint-Martins Church, 12th-century church, that apart from Sées Cathedral is the only stone spire to have been built before the 15th Centaury in Orne.^[24] Registered as a monument in 1914.^[24]
• Pierre Levée Menhir, a Neolithic Menhir that was classed as a Monument historique in 1889.^[25]

• 
  Aubry and Exmes Chateau
• 
  Avernes-sous-Exmes. Saint-Léger church
• 
  Bourg St Leonard
• 
  Chateau Bourg St Leonard
• 
  Chambois
• 
  La Cochère. The Church of Saint-Sauveur
• 
  Courménil. Notre Dame Church
• 
  Exmes. Saint Andrew's Church
• 
  Fel. Saint-Medard church
• 
  Omméel. Saint Peter's Church
• 
  Saint-Pierre-la-Rivière. Saint Peter's Church
• 
  Saint-Malo chapel of Belhôtel, Survie
• 
  Church of Saint-Martin de Survie
• 
  Church of Our Lady of Sorrows of Urou-et-Crennes
• 
  Church of Our Lady of the Nativity of Urou-et-Crennes
• 
  Manor of Argentelles Villebadin
• 
  Villebadin. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church

Notable people

• Opportuna of Montreuil (died 770), a Frankish Benedictine nun and abbess who was born here.^[26]
• Herbert de Losinga (died 1119), the first Bishop of Norwich was born here.^[27]
• François Le Prévost d'Exmes (1729-1793), a French writer, playwright and literary critic who was born here.^[28]
• Marie Louis Descorches (1749-1830), a French diplomat was born here.^[29]
• Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), a French Gold and Silversmith was born here.^[30]
• Victor Paysant (1841-1921) a priest who created The living and talking church of Ménil-Gondouin was born here.^[31]
• Léon Bazalgette (1873-1928), a French literary critic, biographer and translator lived and was buried here.^[32][33]

See also

• Communes of the Orne department

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gouffern en Auge.