Calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
in northwestern
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 ...
.
Geography
The commune is part of the area known as Suisse Normande.
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Martelée, Le Rocray, Les Hogues, La Potiche, La Guérardière, Le Hameau Hue, Le Haut d'Ouilly, Les Îles d'Ouilly, Le Val Aubert and Pont-d'Ouilly. The commune is spread over an area of with a maximum altitude of and minimum of
The Commune with another 20 communes shares part of a 2,115 hectare,
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 ...
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.Noireau plus six streams, The Orival, The Val Corbel, La Boullonniere, The Val la Here, La Mare des Bois and La Mesliere flow through the commune.
Land distribution
The 2018
CORINE
Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) is a European programme initiated in 1985 by the European Commission, aimed at gathering information relating to the environment on certain priority topics for the European Union (air, water ...
Land Cover assessment shows the vast majority of the land in the commune, 60% () is
Meadows
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable condition ...
followed by Heterogeneous agricultural land at 15%. The rest of the land is Forest at 13%,
Arable land
Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...
at 10% and the remaining 2% () is urbanised.
History
Pre 20th century
The commune has been occupied since at least the Roman times and has evidence that a medieval castle was here. The communes history centres around the bridge which was an important place to cross 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. The bridge was rebuilt with just 4 arches between 1849 and 1851, however a year later a further arch was added after a rise in water levels destroys part of the newly built bridge.
World War 2
The bridge was destroyed again in 1944 from Allied bombing. On the 16th August 1944 the village was liberated by the XXX Corps of the United Kingdom.
Post war
The commune of Pont-d'Ouilly was created on 23 August 1947 from the merger of the two former communes of Saint-Marc-d'Ouilly and Ouilly-le-Basset (old INSEE code 14690), due to the financial and administrative difficulties of rebuilding the area after the war. The bridge, as seen today, was reconstructed in 1947.
Population
Points of Interest
*
Haras d'Ouilly The Haras d'Ouilly is a renowned horse breeding farm in Pont-d'Ouilly, Calvados in the Normandy region of France established in the 19th century.
The property was purchased in 1895 by Auguste-Louis-Albéric, prince d'Arenberg for his son Pierre d ...
, is a famous
Thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...
and
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
business currently owned by the
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim al-Husseini (13 December 1936 – 4 February 2025), known as the Aga Khan IV, was the 49th Imamah, imam of Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Nizari Isma'ilism from 1957 until his death in 2025. He inherited the Imamate in Nizari doctrine ...
.
Culture
*Le festival des Extraverties is an annual 3 day festival organised each Spring by the Communauté de communes du Pays de Falaise and Communauté d'agglomération Flers Agglo. The festival is based on several sites within the Suisse Normande area, with Pont-d'ouilly being one of the annual sites used. The festival celebrates the activities that can be done in the local area while also featuring concerts and free shows. The festival has been going since 2017 and attracts about 20,000 people each time.
Notable People
*
Jean-Luc Lagardère
Jean-Luc Lagardère (; 10 February 1928 – 14 March 2003) was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates.
Career
Jean-Luc Lagardère was a '' Supélec'' engineer. He began his career in ...
- (1928 – 2003) a major French businessman and CEO of the
Lagardère Group
Lagardère S.A. () is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. Based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the group was founded and created in 1992 by Jean-Luc Lagardère under the name Matra, Hachette & Lagardère.
Headed ...
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold (district), Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries.
A wool trading centre in the Middle Ages, Chipp ...
Communes of the Calvados department
The following is a list of the 526 Communes of France, communes of the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities ...