Thury-Harcourt () is a former commune in the

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 ...

department in the

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 ...

. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of

Thury-Harcourt-le-Hom Thury-Harcourt-le-Hom (; known as Le Hom before 2022) is a commune in the department of Calvados, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Thury-Harcourt (the seat), Caumont-su ...

. The town is south of

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, 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.Norman Switzerland Norman Switzerland (; ) is a term for part of Normandy, France, in the border region of the departments Calvados and Orne. Its name comes from its rugged and verdant relief, apparently resembling the Swiss Alps, with gorges carved by the river O ...

, which attracts visitors for various sports and outdoor activities with its hilly terrain.

History

The original name is Thury, but the Marquis of Thury received a benefice from Henry d'Harcourt under the name of the Duke of Harcourt in 1709, requiring a change of name. The town was occupied by the forces of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in June 1940 after France's surrender ended the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. For four years the village lived under Nazi occupation as part of the

German military administration in occupied France during World War II The Military Administration in France (; ) was an Military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western French Third ...

. Thury-Harcourt was liberated by British soldiers who were part of the

59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division The 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed during the Second World War and fought in the Battle of Normandy. In March 1939, after Germany re-emerged as a significant military power ...

. The

fought their way into and through Thury-Harcourt in August 1944.

Administration

At the local elections of March 2014, the mayor Paul Chandelier was re-elected. The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

consists of 19 members, including the mayor and 5 deputy mayors.

Population

Sights

* The park and gardens of the Château of the Dukes of Harcourt were constructed in 1635 by Odet d'Harcourt and expanded upon in 1714 and 1723. In the battles of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, after the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

the town was bombed for the first time on 30 June 1944; the château escaped damage. It was during fierce fighting against the British

on 13–4 August 1944 that the German forces retreated from the town and set fire to the chateau, which had suffered little damage up to that point. The fire destroyed many public archives, a library of nearly 15,000 volumes, and hundreds of family records. * Roman Catholic church of Saint Sauveur, 12th century, in the middle of the town. It was bombed in the summer of 1944, and only the nave remained. It has now been restored to what it was before the war. railway station was destroyed by air strikes in 1944 and reconstructed in the 1950s. The passenger line opened in 1873 and was closed in 1971. Freight service stopped in 1983. A tourist train from Louvigny (close to

) to

Clécy Clécy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. In 1932 it was awarded the ti ...

operated from 1991 to 1994. *The village of Saint-Benin merged with Thury-Harcourt in 1858. Its Roman Catholic church is from the 16th century. The gothic choir is in good condition, but the nave was lost in a fire in the 19th century. The church is constructed from limestone and mortar. It has a gable roof, crowned with a cross. The belltower is supported by four 13th century buttresses, decorated with

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

s bearing human faces. File:Thury Harcourt église cadran solaire.JPG, File:Thury harcourt ecole.jpg, File:Thury-Harcourt Saint Benin.jpg,

Notable people

Pierre Gringore Pierre Gringore (; 1475? – 1538) was a popular poet and playwright during the Renaissance in France. Biography Pierre Gringore was born in Normandy, at Thury-Harcourt, but the exact date and place of his death are unknown. His first w ...

, the poet laureate of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

, was born here. * In 1863

Paul Héroult Paul (Louis-Toussaint) Héroult (10 April 1863 – 9 May 1914) was a French scientist. He was one of the inventors of the Hall-Héroult process for smelting aluminium, and developed the first successful commercial electric arc furnace. He li ...

, invented the extraction of aluminium by electrometallurgy. He also invented the electric oven in 1900. * Jean Le Sueur (1598–1668), priest of the parish, accompanied many local families in their migration to Canada. He became the first secular priest in New France (now

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

). * Jean Baptiste Legardeur de Repentigny, born at Thury-Harcourt about 1632, first master of

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. * Raoul Tesson, (1150–1213) Vicomte de Saint Sauveur, Seigneur de Thury et de la Roche Tesson, Sénéchal de Normandie. * Maurice Delaunay (1901–1995), politician, leader of Calvados 1936-1940.

Events

In the sixteenth century many families emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, taking with them the curate and abbot of the parish, (Lesueur). He founded the parish

Saint-Sauveur, Quebec Saint-Sauveur () is a town and municipality within the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. It is in the administrative region of Laurentides in the Laurentian Mountains, located about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. ...

. Pierre Legardeur got general control of

Nouvelle-France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under ...

and gave his name to the towns of Le Gardeur and

Repentigny Repentigny () is an off-island suburbs, off-island suburb of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located North Shore (Laval), north of the city on the lower end of the L'Assomption River, and on the Saint Lawrence River. Repentigny and Ch ...

Sporting events

The commune has hosted two major

Canoe polo Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo or polo (to players and fans), is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. It incorporates ball-handling skills into a contact team game, wherein group tactics and positional play are as important as in ...

events, the 2007,

European championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

and 2014 ICF World Championships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thuryharcourt House of Harcourt Former communes of Calvados (department)