Villers-sur-Mer
| Villers-sur-Mer | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Normandy | |
| Department | Calvados | |
| Arrondissement | Lisieux | |
| Canton | Pont-l'Évêque | |
| Community association | Cœur Cote Fleurie | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 19 ′ N , 0 ° 0 ′ W | |
| height | 3-136 m | |
| surface | 8.99 km 2 | |
| Residents | 2,644 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 294 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 14640 | |
| INSEE code | 14754 | |
| Website | www.villers-sur-mer.fr | |
 Place in the center |
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Villers-sur-Mer is a French commune of the department of Calvados in the region of Normandy . Administratively it is assigned to the canton of Pont-l'Évêque and the Arrondissement of Lisieux .
geography
The place with 2644 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) is located between Deauville and Cabourg on a wooded hill in the Pays d'Auge landscape . In the east there are 30 hectares of moorland, where, among other things, moorhens are found. Villers-sur-Mer is the northernmost place in mainland Europe through which the prime meridian runs.
history
Finds on the nearby Vaches-Noires cliffs contributed to the dinosaurs found in France . The town's orientation towards tourism began in 1852 when the first hotel was built. In 1901 there were 1,441 inhabitants. In 1922 the place was classified as a climatic health resort. In June 1940 Villers-sur-Mer was occupied by the Wehrmacht and liberated in August 1944 by the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade under General Jean-Baptiste Piron . As a result, a number of refugees settled in the place, so that its population rose to 1761 in 1946.
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2009 | 2016 |
| Residents | 1,608 | 1,669 | 1,769 | 1,853 | 2,019 | 2,318 | 2,707 | 2,694 |
| Sources: Cassini and INSEE | ||||||||
Community partnerships
Sister towns are Boffzen and Wickham (Hampshire) .
Attractions
- Villa Durenne, built in 1854, with tourist office and paleontology museum
- neo-Gothic Saint Martin church, built in 1872
- 18th century Norman style pastor's house
Personalities
- Félix Godefroid (1818–1897), harpist and composer
- Louis Armand (1905–1971), mining engineer, railroad worker and President of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)
