Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême

Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême
Commune
The church in Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême
Location of Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême
Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême Show map of France Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 48°22′56″N 0°32′37″E
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Mortagne-au-Perche
Canton	Ceton
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Serge Cailly[1]
Area ^1	15.84 km^2 (6.12 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	546
• Density	34/km^2 (89/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	61426 /61130
Elevation	122–244 m (400–801 ft) (avg. 190 m or 620 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ maʁtɛ̃ dy vjø bɛlɛm] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.^[3]

Geography

Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême along with the communes of Vaunoise, Belforêt-en-Perche, Igé and Appenai-sous-Bellême is part of the Bois et coteaux calcaires sous Belleme a Natura 2000 conservation site.^[4] The site measures 105 hectares and is home to the European stag beetle and European ash.^[5]

In addition the Commune along with another 70 communes shares part of a 47,681 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called the Forêts et étangs du Perche.^[6]

Points of interest

• La réserve des Houles-Blanches is a 6950 m2 is a local nature reserve, created in 1992 under the Natura 2000 scheme, and is part of the wider site of Bois et coteaux calcaires sous Belleme.^[7][5] The reserve is home to variopus flora and fauna such as the Brown hairstreak, European tree frog and Hazel dormouse.^[8]

National heritage sites

• *Château du Tertre a seventeenth Century chateau in Sérigny, that from 1926 was home to Nobel prize winning novelist Roger Martin du Gard.^[9] The grounds and Estate are in this commune and neighbouring commune of Belforêt-en-Perche^[10]

See also

• Communes of the Orne department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. "Commune de Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême (61426)". INSEE.
4. "INPN - FSD Natura 2000 - FR2500109 - Bois et coteaux calcaires sous Belleme - Description".
5. "Bois et coteaux calcaires sous Bellême" (PDF). Ministère de la Transition écologique.
6. "INPN - FSD Natura 2000 - FR2512004 - Forêts et étangs du Perche - Description".
7. "Réserve des Houles-blanches".
8. "Les Houles Blanches - randonnée autour de belleme et la perriere". Le Perche en Normandie - Collines du Perche Normand : économie, tourisme, vie quotidienne.
9. "Château du Tertre (également sur commune de Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême) à Sérigny - PA00110951". monumentum.fr.
10. "Château du Tertre à Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême - PA61000009". monumentum.fr.