Manche
Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.department in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in north-western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny.Arrêté préfectoral 16 October 2015
Its inhabitants are called ''Sourdins'' from the French ''sourd'' meaning deaf. Most of the people involved in the manufacturing of copper pans, which involved repeated hammering, became deaf.
Geography
Pont-Farcy
Pont-Farcy () is a former commune in the Manche department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Before 1 January 2018, it was part of the Calvados department. On 1 January 2018, it was merged into the commune of Tessy-Bocage.
lies to the east, Saint-Lô to the north, Vire to the South-East and Granville to the west. The river Sienne flows through the town.
Economy
It is traditionally a centre of metal-work, especially the
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...
and
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
pans and basins from which the ''poêles'' in its name derives. It is also famous for its artisanal manufacture of large church bells, which was started by immigrants from
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
around 1780.
In addition to metal-work, current industries are a
slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility.
Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
and a cheese factory. Tourism now plays a large part in the local economy. Villedieu also provides services for the surrounding countryside, such as a hospital and a retirement home.
History
Villedieu owes its name to the religious order
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
, which later became the Knights of Malta.
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...
, King of England and Duke of Normandy, granted Villedieu to thes order in the 12th century. Low taxes and good administration attracted people to Villedieu. Advanced coppersmithing technology was presumably imported from the Middle East by the Knights. By the early 14th century, the Corporation of the Coppersmiths of Villedieu was officially recognized by the Kings of France.
In the years following the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, in the late 18th century, the people of Villedieu were strong supporters, unlike most of people in the surrounding area. A major reason of their support was that it abolished customs duties between French regions; before the Revolution, copper pans exported from Villedieu to
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, away, faced higher import duties than copper pans from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
. After a losing battle with
Chouan
Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...
troops, the men from Villedieu escaped thanks to their women, who threw stones, flowerpots and chamber pots from second-story windows at the pursuing Chouans. The general heading the Chouan troops was getting ready to bombard Villedieu and set it on fire. A delegation of women negotiated with him: the inhabitants were given a short time to hide their valuables, and the Chouan soldiers then plundered the town for food and clothing.
In 1944, when the Germans withdrew from Villedieu, they left a sniper who shot some of the first US soldiers to enter Villedieu, before being neutralized. The US commander was about to request airplane bombing runs when the mayor approached him, told him that there were no Germans left in Villedieu and offered to ride through Villedieu in the front seat of a US jeep. Villedieu was thus one of the few towns in the region to escape major destruction.
Heraldry
See also
*
Communes of the Manche department
The following is a list of the 446 Communes of France, communes of the Manche Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2020):