L'Aigle is a commune in the

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.department in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Before 1961, the commune was known as ''Laigle''. According to

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

, the nest of an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

(''aigle'' in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

) was discovered during the construction of the castle. The river

Risle The Risle (; less common: ''Rille'') is a long river in Normandy, left tributary of the Seine. The river begins in the Orne department west of L'Aigle, crosses the western part of the department of Eure flowing from south to north and out into ...

flows through the commune.

Meteorite

On 26 April 1803 a meteoroid entered the Earth's atmosphere and

air burst An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over ...

over L'Aigle.

Population

Points of Interest

*Musée Juin 44 - The Museum of June 44 has told the story of the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

, since 1953 in L'Aigle. *Musée De La Météorite De L'aigle - The Museum of the L'Aigle meteorite is dedicated to the 1803 event in L'Aigle when thousands of fragments of a meteorite reached the ground of L'Aigle. *Musée des Instruments de musique is a museum located in the town hall, presenting to the public over 90 different types of instruments. The museum opened in 1983, when local musician, Marcel Angot, upon his death bequeathed his collection to the local community. *musée Louis Verrière a museum dedicated to the work of local farmer and woodcarver Louis Verrière, works include a replica of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

and panorama of

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

, which took 30,000 hours to complete. The museum opened to the public in 2014.

National heritage sites

The Commune has eight 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, ...

*L'Aigle Chateau, A seventeenth-century chateau including its shed and stables were listed as a monument in 1948. *Saint-Barthélémy Church, A twelfth-century church, originally part of the Saint-Lhomer abbey of Blois, was listed in 1966 *Saint-Jean Church, A fifteenth-century church which was registered as a monument in 1985 *Saint-Martin Church, An eleventh-century church, which had work added to it in the fifteenth, sixteenth and twentieth centuries, was listed as a monument in 1990. The work in the 20th century, which was to repair the glass roofs of the southern roof, also saw the empty canopies of the southern part decorated with work from artists including

Paul Belmondo Paul Alexandre Belmondo (born 23 April 1963) is a French actor and racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grand ...

, Hubert Yencesse and Jean Lambert-Rucki. *Hotel Colombel de la Rousselière, A seventeenth-century hotel, which was listed in 1981. *Small Hotel Colombel, An eighteenth-century hotel, registered as a monument in 1987. *Mérouvel needle factory, Built in 1819, the factory remained in use until 1952, where after the Second World War it spent the last few years of its life as a plastics moulding factory. The workshops have since been in part transformed into housing, and it was listed as a monument in 1987. *Coaching inn, This former coaching inn was built in the eighteenth century, and listed as a monument in 1981.

Transport

L'Aigle station has rail connections to

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. As of 2019, Argentan is the third largest municipality by population in the Orne department.

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and Granville.

Notable People

Charles de la Cerda Charles de la Cerda, commonly known as Charles of Spain () (1327 – 8 January 1354), was a Franco-Castilian nobleman and soldier, the son of Alfonso de la Cerda ''of Spain'' (died 1327) and Isabelle d'Antoing, and grandson of Alfonso de ...

(1327 - 1354), commonly known as Charles of Spain, was a Franco-Castilian nobleman and soldier who died here. *

Charles-Simon Catel Charles-Simon Catel (; 10 June 1773 – 29 November 1830) was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne. Biography Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He studied composition with François-Joseph Gossec and by t ...

(1773 - 1830), a composer and educator, was born here. * Léon Richer (1824 – 1911), a free-thinker, freemason, journalist and feminist who worked closely with

Maria Deraismes Maria Deraismes (17 August 1828 – 6 February 1894) was a French author, Freemason, and major pioneering force for women's rights. Biography Born in Paris, Maria Deraismes grew up in Pontoise in the city's northwest outskirts. From a pr ...

during the early years of the feminist movement in Paris, was born here. * Léon-Eugène Méhédin (1828 – 1905), an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, architect and photographer who was born here. *

André Sylvane André Sylvane, né Paul-Émile-Gérard (27 March 1851, L'Aigle – 28 October 1932), was a French dramatist and screenwriter. Theatre *1893 : ''Madame Suzette'', operetta by Maurice Ordonneau, André Sylvane and Edmond Audran *1894 : ''L'Art ...

(1851, L'Aigle – 1932), a

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, was born here.

Heraldry

Events

* 8 January 1354 :

Assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of the

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

, Charles d'Espagne, by men of

Charles the Bad Charles II (, , , 10 October 1332 – 1 January 1387), known as the Bad, was King of Navarre beginning in 1349, as well as Count of Évreux beginning in 1343, holding both titles until his death in 1387. Besides the Kingdom of Navarre nestled in ...

, king of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. * 26 April 1803 -

meteorite falls A meteorite fall, also called an observed fall, is a meteorite collected after its fall from outer space, that was also observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a " find". There are more than 1,300 documented fall ...

Twin towns – sister cities

L'Aigle is twinned with: *

Aigle Aigle ( French for "eagle", ; ) is a historic town and a municipality and the capital of the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The official language of Aigle is Swiss French. Geography Aigle lies at an elevation of a ...

, Switzerland *

Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld () is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The town hosts the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort is locate ...

, Germany *

Spišská Nová Ves Spišská Nová Ves (; ; ) is a town in the Košice Region of Slovakia. The town is located southeast of the High Tatras in the Spiš region, and lies on both banks of the Hornád River. It is the biggest town of the Spišská Nová Ves Distric ...

, Slovakia

Climate

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aigle Communes of Orne Meteorite falls Museums in Orne Operation Overlord museums in France Monuments historiques of Orne