Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême () 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 north-western

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 ...

Geography

Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême along with the communes of Vaunoise,

Belforêt-en-Perche Belforêt-en-Perche (, literally ''Belforêt in Perche'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Orne, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes o ...

, Igé and Appenai-sous-Bellême is part of the Bois et coteaux calcaires sous Belleme a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

conservation site. The site measures 105 hectares and is home to the European stag beetle and

European ash ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of Fraxinus, ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus ...

. In addition the Commune along with another 70 communes shares part of a 47,681 hectare,

conservation area, called the

Forêts et étangs du Perche Forêts et étangs du Perche translated as the Forest and ponds of Perche is a Natura 2000 conservation area that is 47,681 hectares in size. Geography The area is a vast ecocomplex with a strong dominance of forest habitats, but also containing ...

Points of interest

*La réserve des Houles-Blanches is a 6950 m2 is a local nature reserve, created in 1992 under the

scheme, and is part of the wider site of Bois et coteaux calcaires sous Belleme. The reserve is home to variopus flora and fauna such as the Brown hairstreak,

European tree frog The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but based on molecular genetic and other data several populations formerly included in it ...

and

Hazel dormouse The hazel dormouse or common dormouse (''Muscardinus avellanarius'') is a small dormouse species native to Europe and the only living species in the genus ''Muscardinus''. Distribution and habitat The hazel dormouse is native to northern Europe ...

National heritage sites

*Château du Tertre a seventeenth Century chateau in Sérigny, that from 1926 was home to

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winning novelist Roger Martin du Gard. The grounds and Estate are in this commune and neighbouring commune of

Sport

The commune has an 18 hole

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course, Golf de Bellême.

References

Saintmartinduvieuxbelleme Monuments historiques of Orne Golf clubs and courses in France {{MortagneauPerche-geo-stub

Geography

Points of interest

National heritage sites

Sport

See also

References