Valognes

Valognes
Commune
Thermes de Valognes
Location of Valognes
Valognes Show map of France Valognes Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°31′N 1°28′W / 49.52°N 1.47°W / 49.52; -1.47
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Cherbourg
Canton	Valognes
Intercommunality	CA Cotentin
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jacques Coquelin[1]
Area 1	15.63 km2 (6.03 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	6,791
• Density	430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	50615 /50700
Elevation	19–87 m (62–285 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Valognes (French pronunciation: [valɔɲ]) is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.

Geography

Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg.

History

The town was built not far from the

nuns, which existed in Valognes prior to 1792, only the latter remains and was transformed into the hospice of the Rue des Religieuses.

The 14th-century church of Notre Dame had a dome (dated 1612), the only example of a Gothic dome in France. The whole building was destroyed in 1944 during the Battle of Normandy.

Before the

.

The 1928 Methuen guide book to Normandy by Cyril Scudamore rather more prosaically describes Valognes as "a clean and well-built town, whose fine old houses bear witness to its former prosperity".

Little remains of Valognes's famous architectural heritage, as many of the aristocratic mansions were reduced to rubble during the battle of Normandy. The lovely hôtel de Beaumont, however, still stands.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	5,932	—
1975	5,871	−0.15%
1982	6,727	+1.96%
1990	7,412	+1.22%
1999	7,537	+0.19%
2007	7,235	−0.51%
2012	6,932	−0.85%
2017	6,803	−0.37%
Source: INSEE[3]

Heraldry

The arms of Valognes are blazoned : Azure, a lynx courant argent between in chief 2 stalks of wheat crossed in saltire and in base 2 stalks palewise Or.

Museums

The town has two museums devoted to the two alcoholic drinks for which Normandy is known: one for

.

Twin towns

Valognes is

with

• Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England, United Kingdom^[4]
• Stolberg in Rhineland, Germany

Notable people

• Félix Vicq-d'Azyr born on 23 April 1746
• Léopold Victor Delisle born on 24 October 1826, French medievalist and Administrator General of the Bibliotheque Nationale
• Edelestand du Méril (1801–1870), French medievalist and philologist.
• Frédéric Guilbert born 24 December 1994 in Valognes, French professional footballer.

See also

• Communes of the Manche department

References

External links

• Valognes ville d'art et d'histoire (official site)
• History of the Hotel de Beaumont, grand historic house in the town