Orne
Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Petites Cités de Caractère. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810–1877), owner of ''Le'' ''Bon Marché'', the world's first department store''.'' This town is possibly the origin of the English and French surname Bellamy''.
Location
At the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche, in the Orne Department, Bellême is on a hill that dominates the Perche area.
Population
Heraldry
Sights
* 17th century and eighteenth century houses.
* 17th century Hôtel de ville.
*
Sundial
A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
s on rue du Château, place de la République and place Liègeard.
* Château gatehouse 15th century, and
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
.
National heritage sites
The Commune has six buildings and areas listed as a
Monument historique
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
Crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
of the Saint-Santin Chapel, dating from the tenth century.
* Bansard des Bois Hotel - 18th Century hotel.
*Governors House - 17th to 19th Century house built from the Hotel De Fontenay.
* City gate entrance - Built in the 15th Century
* Clock Tower - 13th Century polygonal tower and the only remaining parts of the old city walls.
Landscape
* The town is built around the crest of a natural bowl, in which sits an outdoor lido (swimming pool), moto-cross circuit, stables and an expansive 18-hole golf course with adjacent hotel and holiday apartments.
Events
* Les Mycologiades internationales : Annual international wild mushroom festival.
Stühlingen
Stühlingen (; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Stüelinge'') is a town in the Waldshut (district), Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the border with Switzerland, with a border crossing to the village of Ob ...
since 1980.
Sports
* The town's football club, FC Pays Bellêmois, compete in the Ligue de Football Basse-Normandie and the
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
, playing their home games at the town's Terrain Intercommunal.
* Moto Club Bellêmois hosts motocross events that welcome an international field of competitors.
Notable People
* Yves de Bellême (died c. 1005), Seigneur de Bellême, the first known progenitor of the
House of Bellême
The House of Bellême also referred to as the Family of Bellême was an important seigneurial family in Kingdom of France, France during the 10th through the 12th centuries. Members of this family held the important castles of Bellême, Alenço ...
musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
Groupe ADP
Groupe ADP, formerly Aéroports de Paris or ADP (''Paris Airports''), is an international airport operator based in Paris (France). Groupe ADP owns and manages Parisian international airports Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly Airport and Le Bourget ...
was a municipal councillor here for 19 years.
See also
*
Communes of the Orne department
The following is a list of the 381 communes of the Orne department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):
*
House of Bellême
The House of Bellême also referred to as the Family of Bellême was an important seigneurial family in Kingdom of France, France during the 10th through the 12th centuries. Members of this family held the important castles of Bellême, Alenço ...