Ménil-Gondouin

Ménil-Gondouin
region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Argentan
Canton	Athis-de-l'Orne
Community association	Val d'Orne
Coordinates	48 ° 45 ′  N , 0 ° 18 ′  W Coordinates: 48 ° 45 ′  N , 0 ° 18 ′  W
height	157-254 m
surface	9.17 km 2
Residents	172 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	19 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	61210
INSEE code	61265
Website	www.menilgondouin.fr

Ménil-Gondouin is a French municipality with 172 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Orne in the region of Normandy .

geography

The municipality is located 19 kilometers northwest of the city of Argentan and around ten kilometers south of the border with the Calvados department . Ménil-Gondouin is located on the D 15, which connects the place with Putanges-Pont-Écrepin . The municipality is traversed by the Ruisseau de Vienne stream. This flows into the nearby Lac de Rabodanges .

Culture and history

The municipality has existed in its current form since January 30, 1822, when it was created through the merger of the previously existing municipalities of Ménil-Gondouin , Le Sacq and Sainte-Honorine-la-Petite .

In 1610 a member of the Turgot family , which formed the ruling family of Les Tourailles , acquired the property of Saint-Clair near Ménil-Gondouin. The 12th century castle Château de la Tour located there fell into disrepair in the 17th century. The reconstruction was completed in 1681. During the French Revolution , it offered refuge to royalists from the region. When around forty royalists were staying in the castle in January 1800, it was stormed by around 400 republicans who killed the royalists and then set the castle on fire. Today only a few outbuildings remain. The so-called pavilion of Louis XIII. on the castle grounds was restored in the 1980s and has been a monument historique since 1987 .

Le Sacq had been owned by the lords of Les Rotours from at least 1460 and remained so beyond the French Revolution, with the lord of Les Rotours as the last mayor of the municipality until 1822. Like the castle in Ménil-Gondouin, the castle of Le Sacq fell victim to the Republicans in January 1800 and was burned.

Churches

Saint-Victor church

The first church in Ménil-Gondouin was directly opposite the castle on the site of the present cemetery. The new church was built in 1870, using items from the three former churches of the formerly independent parishes. This was mainly carried out by the pastor Victor Paysant, who shaped the community until his death in 1921. In 2003 the local council decided to extensively restore the church.

Even if the church of Le Sacq has not survived, an old rectory still exists there. A portal forms the entrance. On this portal there is an inscription from 1654 indicating that the building was built by the Lord of Les Rotours.

The church of Sainte-Honorine-la-Petite was abandoned in 1783 when the parish was annexed to that of Ménil-Gondouin. A statue of St. Honorine from inside the church was moved to the Ménil-Gondouin church.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2010	2017
Residents	253	220	191	170	158	178	168	172

Web links

Commons : Ménil-Gondouin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mairie de Ménil-Gondouin , annuaire-mairie.fr
2. ↑ Ménil-Gondouin , cc-valdorne.fr