Bellême
| Bellême | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Normandy | |
| Department | Orne | |
| Arrondissement | Mortagne-au-Perche | |
| Canton | Cetone | |
| Community association | Collines du Perche Normand | |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 23 ' N , 0 ° 34' E | |
| height | 162-230 m | |
| surface | 1.71 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,464 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 856 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 61130 | |
| INSEE code | 61038 | |
 Saint-Sauveur church |
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Belleme is a French town with 1,464 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Orne in the region of Normandy . The Bellême agglomeration also includes the Commune déléguée Sérigny belonging to Belforêt-en-Perche , which has merged with Bellême in the east.
location
Bellême is located on one of the numerous hills of the Le Perche region , on the upper reaches of the Même River .
In the vicinity of Bellême are the middle centers Alençon , Mortagne-au-Perche and Nogent-le-Rotrou , as well as the upper centers Le Mans in the west and Caen in the north. While Alençon plays a role as the seat of the prefecture and the departmental capital, the Bellêmois, including the students, are mainly oriented towards Mortagne-au-Perche. Nogent-le-Rotrou is about 20 kilometers to the southeast. The SNCF train station there is important for Bellême, where not only regional but also express trains stop. Le Mans is the actual regional center of this region and is often visited for shopping. Caen is the capital of Lower Normandy and also a university city. The University of Rennes , about 2.5 hours' drive west of Bellême, is also often used for academic training, although it is already in Brittany .
Attractions
Bellême is located southeast of the largest contiguous forest area in Normandy, the Forêt de Bellême. This forest is famous for its very old oak trees. Numerous types of mushrooms also grow there, which is the reason for the annual Bellêmer Mushroom Days in autumn. The municipality is located in the Perche Regional Nature Park .
The city center offers a typically Norman appearance, most of the houses have facades made of the typical dark gray slate. In the center is the Romanesque style church of Saint Sauveur with a sturdy steeple, the symbol of the city. The church is surrounded by a square of houses, which lines the place de la république . The central square is laid out on a slight slope, at the upper end it is closed off by the town hall and the upper town gate La Porche . The formerly fortified old town of Bellême, the ville close , extends from the city gate down the fortress hill to the Bellêmer Castle. Remains of the fortress wall still exist below the castle, at the foot of this an approx. 200 m long section of the moat was preserved, which is populated by swans and is therefore called lac de cygnes (swan lake).
In the main street of Bellême there are many small shops that spread the typical French charm. Increasingly (as of April 2012) antique shops are joining the business world of Bellême, which is justified by the orientation towards the numerous tourists who come from the Île-de-France .
Bellême has an 18-hole golf course , which also includes a clubhouse and a hotel.
The Bellêmer City Church of the Holy Savior
The passage through the Porche , the upper city gate on the Place de la Republique
The statue that represents Aristide Boucicaut .
The moat of the old castle.
Green area east of the fortress city ( ville close ).
politics
Mayor is Vincent Ségouin, who heads the conservative local council group (as of 2015). The local politics of Bellêm acquired a bad reputation regionally until the last city council election, because the ex-mayor, who was voted out after the penultimate term of office, positioned herself as a tough opponent of the incumbent. This term of office, during which the proceedings in the city parliament were smugly commented on by the local press, was also referred to by the locals as theater guignol ( puppet theater ). Since the last local election in 2014, the incumbent has a comfortable majority in the city council. Incidentally, the mayor of Bellême works part-time as mayor, his main occupation is an insurance broker. Since the last local election, the Bellême City Council has been made up of representatives from three lists. There have been efforts for years in the area around Bellême to combine the villages in the surrounding area with the city of Bellême to form a large municipality, which is known in France as the communauté de communes (CdC). However, the CdC Bellême has not yet been able to merge the independent ones, e.g. Sometimes very small villages realize what is due to the resistance of the villages to be incorporated.
Town twinning
Since 1979 Bellême has had a partnership with the community of Goring-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire . In 1980, a partnership was also agreed with the southern Baden city of Stühlingen in Baden-Württemberg. There is an annual exchange of students. Both town twinning are very actively run by the Bellêmer Partnership Committee. This commission includes a quarantaine , i.e. around 40 people.
