Vire

Vire, Normandie
Part of Vire-Normandie
Vire from the Place du Château
Coat of arms
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Coordinates: 48°50′N 0°53′W / 48.84°N 0.89°W / 48.84; -0.89Coordinates: 48°50′N 0°53′W / 48.84°N 0.89°W / 48.84; -0.89
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Vire
Canton	Vire
Commune	Vire-Normandie
Area 1	22.50 km2 (8.69 sq mi)
Population  (2017)[1]	11,091
• Density	490/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	14500
Elevation	85–225 m (279–738 ft) (avg. 134 m or 440 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vire (French pronunciation: [viʁ] (listen)) is a town and a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Vire-Normandie.^[2]

Geography[]

The town is located on the river Vire.

History[]

In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river. The redoubt was stoned square at the bottom to assure the defense of the Duchy of Normandy against any attacks from Brittany or Maine.^[3]

This stone work would be later, At the beginning of the 13th century, Saint Louis ordered that the existing stonework be supplemented with exterior ramparts. However this second precinct was only finished at the beginning of the 14th century.^[4]:7

In the old community of Neuville, north of the territory, the castle of Tracy is the seat of an important manor, Arcisse de Caumont.^[5]

At the end of the Middle Ages, the village prospered; first with leather, and then with textiles^[6] During the Hundred Years' War, Vire was plundered in 1368 by large military companies,^[4] and delivered to the English in 1418. The English occupation would end in 1450 and would be brutal to the inhabitants. The execution of Hugues Vaux, owner of the largest farm of the village, after refusing to give up his farm to the English sergeant Fields, caused grief and concern amongst the population. Some inhabitants nevertheless benefited from the English occupation. Eugène Vergny, who provided Fields with information about the movement of the French troops, received the property of Vaux after his execution.^[3]

During the reign of Louis XIII of France, because a number of Fortifications of the Middle Ages served in rebellions by the Huguenots in particular, the castle and its precinct were dismantled on orders of Richelieu.^[4]:7

During the 19th century, the village did not respond well to the Industrial Revolution and went into an important recession.

On June 6, 1944, during the Second World War, around 8:00 pm, like many Norman cities and villages, Vire suffered heavily from the British bombings, and 95% of the town was destroyed. One of the two target marking flare groups was out of alignment and much of the bombing fell across the town of Vire. The Master Bomber in charge of the operation identified the problem and issued corrections to the incoming aircraft. Much of the bombing from the first wave of aircraft fell across the town of Vire killing many of the inhabitants. It was a distressing night for many families.^[7]

The reconstruction after the Second World War began in the 1960s.

Population[]

Population of Vire since 1793

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 7,873 —     1800 7,700 −0.32% 1806 8,183 +1.02% 1821 8,381 +0.16% 1831 8,043 −0.41% 1836 7,339 −1.82% 1841 7,375 +0.10% 1846 7,658 +0.76% 1851 7,266 −1.05% 1856 7,036 −0.64% 1861 7,647 +1.68% 1866 6,863 −2.14% 1872 6,778 −0.21% 1876 6,718 −0.22% 1881 6,597 −0.36% 1886 6,736 +0.42% 1891 6,635 −0.30% 1896 6,600 −0.11%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 6,517 −0.25% 1906 6,353 −0.51% 1911 6,298 −0.17% 1921 5,949 −0.57% 1926 5,871 −0.26% 1931 5,766 −0.36% 1936 5,917 +0.52% 1946 3,929 −4.01% 1954 7,963 +9.23% 1962 9,518 +2.25% 1968 11,140 +2.66% 1975 13,399 +2.67% 1982 13,709 +0.33% 1990 12,895 −0.76% 1999 12,805 −0.08% 2007 12,385 −0.42% 2012 11,562 −1.37% 2017 11,091 −0.83%
Source: EHESS/Cassini until 1999,[8] INSEE from 2007[9][10]

Administration[]

In 1953, Vire was merged with the former commune of Neuville. In 1972, Vire was merged with the former commune of Saint-Martin-de-Tallevende. Since January 2016, it is a delegated commune within the commune Vire-Normandie.^[11] Vire is part of the canton of Vire.^[12]

Transport[]

Vire has a large railway station (Gare de Vire) which has frequent services to Paris and Granville. The nearest airport is Caen – Carpiquet Airport in Caen (40 min drive).

Vire is connected to Saint-Lô and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin via RN 174 and to Caen via RD 577 and A84. Vire is also connected to Granville, Villedieu-les-Poêles, Flers, Argentan, Dreux and Paris via RD 924.

Gastronomy[]

• Andouille, a speciality of Vire.

International relations[]

Vire is twinned with:^[13]

Totnes, South Devon, United Kingdom since 1972[13] Santa Fe, Spain since 1987[13] Baunatal, Germany since 1983[13]

Atlacomulco, Mexico[13] Săcele, Romania since 2001[13] Franceville, Gabon[13]

Personalities[]

• Charles-Julien Lioult de Chênedollé
• Henry I of England
• Francis Letellier
• Olivier Basselin
• Thomas Pichon
• Raymond Lefebvre

See also[]

• Communes of the Calvados department

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vire.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Vire.