Briouze () is a commune in the Orne department of Normandy in northwestern France. It is considered the capital of the pays d'Houlme at the western end of the Orne in the Norman bocage.
William de Braose, First Lord of Bramber (Guillaume de Briouze) was granted lands in England after the Norman conquest and used his wealth to build a priory in his home town.
The name Briouze probably comes from an older Norman form of the word "boue", or "mud".
Geography
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Bougonnière,La Grivagère, Saint-Gervais and Briouze. The commune is spread over an area of with a maximum altitude of and minimum of
The commune has 9 watercourses running through it, the rivers Rouvre and the Val du Breuil, plus 7 streams. The seven streams are known as the Maufy, the Roussieres, la Haie, the Arthan, la Prevostiere, the Lange and la Source Philippe.
Briouze also has the largest marsh in the Orne department, shared with Bellou-en-Houlme at 167.41 Ha, called the Grand-Hazé.
Land distribution
The 2018 CORINE Land Cover assessment shows the vast majority of the land in the commune, 55% () is meadows. The rest of the land is arable land at 29%, urbanised areas at 7%, heterogeneous agricultural land at 5% and wetlands at 3% ().
Climate
Briouze has an oceanic climate with mild winters and temperate summers.
Population
Heraldry
Transport Briouze station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granville.Plan du réseau, TER Normandie, accessed 24 September 2023.
Points of Interest
Grand-Hazé is a 500 acres of Marshland that has been under the protection of the Natura 2000 since 2002, that is shared with Bellou-en-Houlme. The Marshland features Camargue horses and Highland cattle.
National heritage sites
Saint-Gervais Chapel is an eleventh century chapel built between 1080 and 1093 by Guillaume de Briouze. It was listed as a Monument historique in 1975.
Culture
Since 1996, each year the commune hosts a music festival, Festival Art Sonic at the end of July. The festival attracts about 20,000 people featuring Contemporary music.
Notable people William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber (died 1093-1096) lord of Briouze.The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families, Lewis Christopher Loyd, David C. Douglas, The Harleian Society, Leeds, Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company, 1975, , Foulques du Merle - (1239 - 1314) was Seigneur of Gacé and Bellou-en-Houlme, and Baron of Le Merlerault, Briouze and Messei.Louis de La Roque, Catalog historique des généraux français, connétables, maréchaux de France, lieutenants généraux, maréchaux de camp. Connétables et maréchaux de France depuis les premiers temps de la monarchie jusqu'à la fin du règne de Louis XIV (Paris, A. Desaide, 1896-1902), p.25. Alexandre Bisson - (1848 - 1912) French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist was born here.
Twin towns – sister cities
Briouze is twinned with:
Beverungen, Germany
See also Communes of the Orne department
References