Écouché-les-Vallées
Commune in Normandy, France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Écouché-les-Vallées (French pronunciation: [ekuʃe le vale]) is a commune in the department of Orne, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Batilly, La Courbe, Écouché (the seat), Loucé, Saint-Ouen-sur-Maire and Serans.[3] On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Fontenai-sur-Orne was merged into Écouché-les-Vallées.[4] Its seat, Écouché, is classed as a Petite Cité de Caractère.[5]
Écouché-les-Vallées | |
|---|---|
The church in Écouché | |
 Location of Écouché-les-Vallées | |
  Écouché-les-Vallées  Écouché-les-Vallées | |
| Coordinates: 48°43′05″N 0°07′30″W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Orne |
| Arrondissement | Argentan |
| Canton | Magny-le-Désert |
| Intercommunality | Terres d'Argentan Interco |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Alain Lolivier[1] |
Area 1 | 41.23 km2 (15.92 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 2,193 |
| • Density | 53.19/km2 (137.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 61153 /61150 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets: La Courbe, Mesnil-Glaise, Le Haut du Château, Batilly, Treize Saints, L'Être Hubert, Saint-Ouen-sur-Maire, Serans, Écouché, Méheudin, Loucé, Noiseville, Le Hamel and Fontenai-sur-Orne.
The parts of the commune that contains Batilly and La Courbe is part of the area known as Suisse Normande.[6]
Parts of the commune make up the area, the Plaine d'Argentan, which is known for its cereal growing fileds and horse stud farms.[7]
Écouché-les-Vallées along with another 65 communes is part of a 20,593 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called the Haute vallée de l'Orne et affluents.[8]
The Commune has 5 rivers running through it with another 6 streams. The five rivers are the Orne, Maire, Baize, Cance and Udon.[9][10][11] The 6 streams are the Chalau, Commune, Barbottiere, Vloger and Aunais.
Population
Population data refer to the area corresponding with the commune as of January 2025.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 2,218 | — |
| 1975 | 2,245 | +0.17% |
| 1982 | 2,291 | +0.29% |
| 1990 | 2,298 | +0.04% |
| 1999 | 2,284 | −0.07% |
| 2007 | 2,303 | +0.10% |
| 2012 | 2,218 | −0.75% |
| 2017 | 2,169 | −0.45% |
| 2023 | 2,193 | +0.18% |
| Source: INSEE[13] | ||
Notable buildings and places
- Parc de Sculptures de l'Atelier Balias is a 4 Hectare garden that is open to the public. It features over 55 statues today and was created in 1825.[14][15] The grounds also feature a 12 hole Swingolf course.[16]
- Gardens of Méheudin. is a 2 ha garden and Arboretum in Écouché.[17] The Garden was started in 1978 and features over 300 types of trees and ornamental shrubs.[18]
National heritage sites
The Commune has 5 buildings and areas listed as a Monument historique.
- Lower grounds of la Courbe a barred spur from a Protohistory site.[19]
- Upper Castle grounds a Protohistory site that still has remains of the ditches and embankments used for the castle.[20]
- la Queurie Lodge a 15th century manor in La Courbe.[21]
- Notre Dame Church a 13th century church in Ecouché.[22]
- Loucé Church a 12th century church in Loucé.[23]
Notable people
- André Chéradame French journalist and scholar from the École Libre des Sciences Politiques born in 1871 in Ecouches.[24]
Twin town
Transport
The commune has a Railway station in Écouché, that was opened in 1866 and serves part of the Argentan to Granville line.[26]
