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Flers (French pronunciation: ​[flɛʁ]) is a commune in the Orne department in Normandy, France.[3]

Flers
Commune
Château de Flers
Coat of arms
Location of Flers
Flers Show map of France Flers Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 48°45′06″N 0°33′38″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Argentan
Canton	Flers-1 and 2
Intercommunality	Flers Agglo
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Yves Goasdoué[1]
Area 1	21.15 km2 (8.17 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)[2]	14,762
• Density	700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	61169 /61100
Elevation	182–276 m (597–906 ft) (avg. 189 m or 620 ft)
Website	www.flers-agglo.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants are called Flériens.

Geography

Flers is bordered to the north by the communes of Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers and Aubusson, to the north-east by Ronfeugerai, to the west by La Lande-Patry and Saint-Paul, to the south-west by La Chapelle-Biche, La Chapelle-au-Moine and Messei, and to the south-east by La Selle-la-Forge.

The commune is situated in the north-west of the Orne département, about ten kilometres from the border of the Calvados, an hour east of Granville, and two hours by train from Paris. It depends on a prefecture located an hour north in Caen.

The commune is crossed by the river Vère which ends in the river Noireau in Pont-Erembourg (commune of Saint-Denis-de-Méré).

Climate

Flers is part of the region that stretches from the Bocage to the Écouves forest, the wettest part of the Orne département, with relatively mild temperatures thanks to its proximity to the English Channel and the effect of the sea. It benefits from an oceanic climate with mild winters and temperate summers.[4]

History

The first written mentions of Flers appear at the end of the twelfth century as Flers (1164–1179) or Flex (1188–1221). Some authors think that the name of the town derives from the German toponym Hlaeri, meaning wasteland or common grazing land, while others suggest an origin in the German Fliessen, from the Dutch vliet or the Latin fluere Latin Fluere, indicating a waterflow, basin or marsh. Yet another etymology links Flers to the Latin flexus, meaning the bend in a road or river. Finally, the Breton term fler or flear means bad smell, indicating the stench of stagnant water. All etymologies seem to agree however that the town is named for its topography and the water close to it.[5]

Middle Ages

From the tenth century on, the de Flers family headed a barony. Tradition has it that in the 11th century, the two brothers Foulques d'Aunou and Guillaume de Gasprée married two sisters who were Ladies of Flers. Foulques d'Aunou received as his wedding gift Flers, seat of the barony.[6]

The construction of the castle of Flers began in the 12th century as a fortified location of wood and stone surrounded by water. The chronicles of the Hundred Years War do not mention a fortified place in Flers, revealing that it didn't present a major strategic interest at the time.

Construction of the castle

In 1790, in the revolutionary period, Flers formed a canton in the district of Domfront, in the Orne département.[7] The countess of Flers, Jacqueline Le Goué de Richemont, wife of Pierre-François de Paule de La Motte-Ango, supported the counter-revolutionary chouans. The castle of Flers became the headquarters of count Louis de Frotté, one of the leaders of the Normandic Chouannerie.[8]

Owners of the Flers domain

Year	Owner
1901	The town buys the castle
1820–1901	Schnetz family
1806–1820	de Redern family
1736–1806	de La Motte-Ango family
1547–1736	de Pellevé family
1404–1547	de Grosparmy family
1396–1404	Guillaume de Tournebu
1320–1396	Robert III d'Harcourt Robert IV d'Harcourt Robert V d'Harcourt
1180–1320	Foulques d'Aunou Thomas d'Aunou
10th to 12th century	de Flers family

Industrial Revolution

In 1901, Julien Salles, mayor of Flers, bought the castle for the community.

World War II

Like other towns near the D-Day landing, Flers was one of the targets of strategic bombing of Normandy on 6 and 7 June 1944, aimed at reducing the advance of German reinforcements. 80% of the town was destroyed. What remained of the town was liberated on 16 August by the British 11th Armoured Division[9] and the memorial to the division is at Pont de Vère, north of Flers.

Heraldry

The arms of Flers are blazoned : Gules, 2 shuttles in saltire Or, between 3 bobbins argent, a chief of France (Azure, 3 fleurs de lys Or.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1793 2,603 —     1800 2,656 +2.0% 1806 2,821 +6.2% 1821 3,454 +22.4% 1831 4,386 +27.0% 1836 4,895 +11.6% 1841 6,113 +24.9% 1846 7,042 +15.2% 1851 8,461 +20.2% 1856 9,217 +8.9% 1861 10,054 +9.1% 1866 10,260 +2.0% 1872 10,678 +4.1% 1876 11,155 +4.5% 1881 12,304 +10.3% 1886 14,013 +13.9% 1891 13,860 −1.1% 1896 13,404 −3.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1901 13,680 +2.1% 1906 13,704 +0.2% 1911 13,610 −0.7% 1921 12,812 −5.9% 1926 12,948 +1.1% 1931 13,022 +0.6% 1936 12,900 −0.9% 1946 12,336 −4.4% 1954 13,010 +5.5% 1962 14,634 +12.5% 1968 17,683 +20.8% 1975 20,486 +15.9% 1982 18,911 −7.7% 1990 17,888 −5.4% 1999 16,947 −5.3% 2007 15,808 −6.7% 2012 14,968 −5.3% 2017 14,734 −1.6%
For the census from 1962 the official population corresponds with the population without duplicates Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE[10]

Transport

Flers station is served by TER Normandie trains between Paris and Granville. It has a local bus system for Flers and the surrounding communities, and departmental lines connecting it with other major towns in Orne and Calvados. Flers also has a small airstrip[11]

Monuments and interesting places

The castle, dating back to the 16th and 18th century, houses a museum of ancient and 19th century paintings and sculptures, applied art (furniture and decoration) and local history. Other interesting visits are the early 20th century neo-gothic Saint-Germain church and the 19th century neo-Romanesque Saint-Jean church, and the covered market built in 1883 on a former cemetery.[12]

• 
  Flers castle
• 
  Flers castle
• 
  The covered market
• 
  Saint-Germain church

Notable people

• Paulette Duhalde (1921–1945), heroine of the resistance, died when deported to Ravensbrück

Born in Flers

• Jean-Pierre Brard, politician
• Tony Chapron, international football (soccer) referee
• Gérard Larcher, President of the Senate of France
• Patrice Lecornu, professional football (soccer) player
• Alain Lemercier, racewalker
• Sébastien Lewis, chef

Guy Mollet, politician

• François Morel, comedian, writer and singer
• Thibault Moulin footballer who plays for Legia Warsaw.

Twin towns

• Warminster, United Kingdom, since 1973
• Poundou, Burkina Faso, since 1977
• Wunstorf, Germany, since 1994

See also

• Communes of the Orne department

References

External links

Official local sites

• Official site of the agglomeration
• Tourist Office
• Castle of Flers Museum

Maps

• National geographic institute

На других языках

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[de] Flers (Orne)

Flers [.mw-parser-output .IPA a{text-decoration:none}flɛʁ] ist eine französische Gemeinde mit 14.762 Einwohnern (Stand 1. Januar 2019) im Département Orne in der Region Normandie.

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- [en] Flers, Orne

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[ru] Флер (Орн)

Флер (фр. Flers) — коммуна на северо-западе Франции, находится в регионе Нормандия, департамент Орн, округ Аржанатан. Центр кантонов Флер-1 и Флер-2.

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