Vimoutiers

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title: "Vimoutiers" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["communes-of-orne", "monuments-historiques-of-orne", "museums-in-orne"] topic_path: "general/communes-of-orne" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimoutiers" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox French commune"]

Field	Value
name	Vimoutiers
commune status	Commune
image	Église Notre-Dame de Vimoutiers.jpg
caption	The church in Vimoutiers
image coat of arms	Blason Vimoutiers.svg
arrondissement	Mortagne-au-Perche
canton	Vimoutiers
INSEE	61508
postal code	61120
mayor	Guy Romain
term	2020–2026
coordinates
elevation m	134
elevation min m	92
elevation max m	236
area km2	16.15
population
population date
population footnotes
::

Vimoutiers () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.

The finish line of the Paris–Camembert bicycle race is Vimoutiers.

Geography

The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, Les Monceaux, ''Ferme de Cutesson**, La Hunière, Le Vitou, Le Pont Percé, La Fauvetière and **Vimoutiers'''. The commune is spread over an area of 16.15 km2 with a maximum altitude of 236 m and minimum of 92 m

Vimoutiers has two rivers running through it the Vie and the Viette in addition to four streams, the Fontaine de la Roche, Souze, the Moulin Neuf, plus the Champeaux.

Land distribution

The 2018 CORINE Land Cover assessment shows the vast majority of the land in the commune, 85% (495 ha) is Meadows. The rest of the land is urbanised at 8%, with the last 6% spread almost equally at 3% each between Arable land and industrial or commercial areas.

History

In 1040 while besieging a nearby Norman castle, Alan III, Duke of Brittany died suddenly in Vimoutiers, then a possession of the Duchy of Normandy. His death was thought to be caused by poisoning. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Original_monument_to_Marie_Harel.jpg" caption="Marie Harel]] "inventor" of Camembert cheese"] ::

On 14 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, Vimoutiers was bombarded by Allied forces. The village was destroyed and 220 people died. With the encouragement of Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone with the Wind, the members of Pilot Club International raised funds to restore the city. La Place du Pilot Club International is a square in Vimoutiers which commemorates their generosity. 400 people of Van Wert, Ohio also contributed in the costs of reconstruction and reparation of the town. They volunteered to pay for the replacement of Marie Harel's statue in 1953. This is recorded by a plaque in the market square of Vimoutiers.

Population

|source = INSEE |percentages = pagr |align = none |1968 |4572 |1975 |5019 |1982 |4918 |1990 |4723 |1999 |4418 |2007 |3918 |2012 |3675 |2017 |3332

Heraldry

|img1=Blason Vimoutiers.svg |legend1=Arms of Vimoutiers |text=The arms of Vimoutiers are blazoned : Azure, a cross Or, between 4 keys addorsed argent.

Name

The name 'Vimoutiers' is a contraction of 'Vie', the name of the small river which runs through the town ('vie' means 'life'), and 'Moutiers', a French word which means 'Monastery'. This name is derived from the fact that there was once a monastery present on the site, near the banks of the river 'Vie.

Notable buildings and places

Camembert Museum a museum dedicated to the local cheese, Camembert.

National heritage sites

Vimoutiers Tiger tank a World War II German Tiger I tank on outdoor display that was listed as a Monument historique in 1975.
Former Benedictine convent originally a sixteenth century former Benedictines convent, that was registered as a Monument historique in 1985.

Notable people

Alan III, Duke of Brittany (997–1040), Count of Rennes and duke of Brittany died here.
Marie Harel (1761–1844), inventor of the Camembert cheese died here.
Louis Tillaye (1847–1913), politician of the Third Republic was born here.
Paul Bunel (1882–1918), a Norman photographer, lived here.
Joseph Laniel (1889–1975), politician of the Fourth Republic was born here.
Roland Armontel (1904-1983) a French actor was born here.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vimotiers is twinned with:

ENG Fordingbridge, England, United Kingdom since 1982.
BEL Châtelet, Belgium since 1994.
GER Sontra, Germany since 1971.

References

(13 September 2022). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
"Commune de Vimoutiers (61508)". INSEE.
"Vimoutiers · 61120, France".
"Vimoutiers (61) : Cadastre, PLU, zonage et risques majeurs".
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vimoutiers_-_Marie_Harel_Bought_Back_To_Life_In_1953_By_a_Group_Of_American_Farmers.jpg The new statue and plaque], Wikimedia Commons, Retrieved 29 April 2017
[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-61508#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
(30 September 1994). "Spread the curd: At the Camembert Museum in Normandy, cheese-making is".
"Char Tigre".
"Ancien couvent des Bénédictines à Vimoutiers - PA00110969".
Now, Normandy Then and. (8 February 2015). "In days of old when Knights were bold, in Brionne, Normandy".
(19 July 2014). "Marie Harel, invention du camembert".
"Vimoutiers | CDC des Vallées d'Auge et du Merlerault".
"Paul BUNEL".
"Musée de la résistance en ligne".
"Roland Armontel | Actor".
(25 June 2007). "Towns ready to celebrate".
(22 October 2019). "À Vimoutiers, les jumelages invitent à l'ouverture".
(16 April 2021). "Vimoutiers. Le jumelage franco-allemand fêtera son demi-siècle en 2022".

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