Gacé () is a commune in the

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department in Lower-Normandy, north-western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The commune is part of the area known as

Pays d'Auge The Pays d'Auge (, literally ''Land of Auge'') is an area in Normandy, straddling the '' départements'' of Calvados and Orne (plus a small part of the territory of Eure). The chief town is Lisieux. Geography Generally it consists of the basin ...

Geography

The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Chapelle Mongenouil and Gacé. The Commune is one of 27 communes that make up the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

protected area of

Bocages et vergers du sud Pays d'Auge Bocages et vergers du sud Pays d'Auge translated as the Bocages and orchards of the southern Pays d'Auge is a Natura 2000 conservation area that is 21,511 hectares in size. Geography The area is a well-preserved wooded landscape that features ...

. The commune has one river, The Touques and a single stream, the Bouillant running through its borders.

Population

Notable buildings and places

*Gacé museum a museum based at Chateau à Gacé that shows a collection of 2,500 minerals, fossils and meteorites. *The Lady of the Camellias Museum based at the Chateau à Gacé is a museum dedicated to the life of

Marie Duplessis Marie Duplessis (born Alphonsine Rose Plessis; 15 January 1824 – 3 February 1847) was a French courtesan and mistress to a number of prominent and wealthy men. She was the inspiration for Marguerite Gautier, the main character of the 1848 nov ...

National heritage sites

*Château à Gacé a 14th century chateau listed as a monument in 1968.

Notable people

Foulques du Merle Foulques or Foucaud du Merle (died 1314) was a Marshal of France. He was French nobility, Seigneur of Gacé and Bellou-en-Houlme, and Baron of Le Merlerault, Briouze and Messei. Du Merle was the son of Guillaume VI du Merle and Marie de Nollent. ...

- (1239 - 1314) was

Seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

of Gacé and

Bellou-en-Houlme Bellou-en-Houlme is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. Geography The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Forêterie,Laubesnière, Le Val du Breuil, La Longrais,Le Clos,Le Pont and B ...

, and Baron of

Le Merlerault Le Merlerault () is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2025, it was merged into the new commune of Merlerault-le-Pin. Geography The former Commune is within the Natura 2000 protected area of Bocages ...

Briouze Briouze () is a Communes of France, commune in the Orne department of Normandy (administrative region), 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. W ...

and

Messei Messei () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Geography The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Pacotière, La Bondière, Les Buissons, Les Pasquières, Les Genétés, La Balonni ...

. * Charles Auguste de Goÿon (1647-1729), a French diplomat and soldier who was the Count of Gacé.

Heraldry

Administration

Twin towns

Kinross Kinross (, ) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth, Scotland, Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the Counties of Scotland, historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinro ...

Perth & Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Dundee, and Fife to the east, Clackmannanshire to the south, and Stirling and Argyll a ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

References

Communes of Orne Monuments historiques of Orne Museums in Orne {{MortagneauPerche-geo-stub