Essay, Orne
Essay | |
|---|---|
 The church in Essay | |
 Location of Essay | |
  Essay Location within France  Essay Location within Normandy | |
| Coordinates: 48°32′30″N 0°14′52″E / 48.5417°N 0.2478°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Orne |
| Arrondissement | Alençon |
| Canton | Écouves |
| Intercommunality | Sources de l'Orne |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Pascale Leroy[1] |
Area 1 | 15.99 km2 (6.17 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 556 |
| • Density | 34.8/km2 (90.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 61156 /61500 |
| Elevation | 141–206 m (463–676 ft) (avg. 160 m or 520 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Essay (French pronunciation: [ɛsɛ] ⓘ) is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. The town is mainly known nowadays for its motorsports tracks, and hosted a round of the 2011 European Rallycross Championship.
Geography
[edit]Essay is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, Beaufossé, Montperroux, Echuffley and La Renouillère.[3]
The commune is in the Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park.[4]
A river, La Vézone, flows through the commune.[5]
Neighbouring communes[3] | |
|---|---|
Notable buildings and places
[edit]- Le circuit des Ducs - is a racing circuit that was built in 1975.[6] The circuit that has been used to stage a round of the French rallycross championship and Fol'Car races.[7][8]
National heritage sites
[edit]The commune has two buildings/areas listed as a Monument historique.[9]
- Domaine de Beaufossé is an 18th-century house and estate, declared as a Monument historique in 2001.[10] The gardens of the estate were landscaped by Henri and Achille Duchêne.[10] The estate grounds are shared with the neighbouring commune of Boitron.[11]
- Chapel of the Dukes of Alençon is a 12th-century chapel that was part of a castle originally built by William of Bellême in 1088.[12] It was listed as a monument in 1975.[12]
Notable people
[edit]- Marie d'Alençon (1373 – 1417) a French noblewoman, a Princess of the Blood, and the wife of Jean VII of Harcourt was born here.[13]
- John I, Duke of Alençon (1385 – 1415), a French nobleman was born here.[14]
- François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688–1751) was a French riding master and one of the most influential writers on the art of dressage, was born here.[15]
- Charles Éléonor Dufriche-Valazé (1751 - 1793) jurist, lawyer, and politician of the French Revolution was the first mayor of Essay in 1790.[16][17]
- Pierre Louis Roederer - (1754 –1835) a French politician, economist, and historian became mayor here in 1830.[18]