Domfront, Orne

Domfront is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France.[2] On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Domfront-en-Poiraie.[3]

Domfront
The city hall
Coat of arms
Location of Domfront
Domfront
Domfront
Coordinates: 48°31′10″N 0°45′23″W
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentOrne
ArrondissementAlençon
CantonDomfront (chef-lieu)
CommuneDomfront-en-Poiraie
Area
1
35.54 km2 (13.72 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
3,459
  Density97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Domfrontais
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
61700
Elevation117–256 m (384–840 ft)
(avg. 135 m or 443 ft)
Websitewww.ville-domfront.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

The Romanesque church Notre-Dame-sur-L'eau

Domfront is situated on a bluff overlooking the Varenne river[4] and is said to have been established in the 6th century round the oratory of the hermit St. Front, and played an important part in the wars against the English and the French Wars of Religion.[4] Beginning from the strategically sited castle of Domfront, the dispossessed count Henry, youngest son of William the Conqueror, rallied support among local lords and eventually ruled the Anglo-Norman dominions as Henry I of England.[5]

In 1574 it was occupied by the Protestant leader Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, who after a stubborn siege was forced to yield it to Jacques Goyon, Count of Matignon.[4]

It has been subjected to floods when the river Varenne burst its banks, causing widespread havoc and damage to many of the buildings and houses that lay in its path. On 23 December 2020 occurred the highest on record since 1995, when les tanneries were badly affected with the ancient stone bridge being impassable.

Notable people

  • Omar et Zaina Binladin

See also

References

  1. Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEE
  2. INSEE
  3. Arrêté préfectoral 21 December 2015 (in French)
  4.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Domfront". Encyclopædia Britannica. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 399–400.
  5. C. Warren Hollister, Henry I (Yale English Monarch) 2001:85ff, 90ff.



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