Isigny-sur-Mer
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Isigny-sur-Mer | |
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Town hall Aure river Castle of Castilly | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Isigny-sur-Mer | |
  Isigny-sur-Mer  Isigny-sur-Mer | |
| Coordinates: 49°19′07″N 1°06′03″W / 49.3186°N 1.1008°W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Calvados |
| Arrondissement | Bayeux |
| Canton | Trévières |
| Intercommunality | Isigny-Omaha Intercom |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Éric Barbanchon[1] |
Area 1 | 61.44 km2 (23.72 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 3,543 |
| • Density | 57.67/km2 (149.4/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Isignais |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 14342 /14230, 14330 |
| Elevation | 0–64 m (0–210 ft) (avg. 30 m or 98 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
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Isigny-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [iziɲi syʁ mɛʁ] ⓘ; lit. 'Isigny-on-Sea') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of northwestern France. It is on the departmental border with Manche, on both the Aure and Vire rivers, which join at Isigny; this fertile grassland region makes it renowned for its dairy products, including butters and creams.
It is the most populous commune of the Communauté de communes Isigny-Omaha Intercom, which is seated at the more central Le Molay-Littry. The 59 communes have a combined population of 27,181; Isigny has a population of 3,543.
Geography
[edit]Situated in the fertile grassland region – known as the Baie des Veys – which constitutes the joint estuary of four rivers, Isigny is an important centre of the dairy industry. The town is famous for its AOC butter and cream,[3] as well as for the production of Mimolette, Pont-l'Évêque, Camembert, and Trésor d'Isigny cheeses, among others, made by the Isigny Sainte-Mère co-operative. Oysters have been extensively cultivated in the nearby waters of the Baie des Veys since the mid-20th century.
A major river, the Vire, borders the commune to the west and marks the departmental border with Manche.
History
[edit]
The name of the town is proposed to have derived from Latin "Isiniacum", based on Germanic name "Iso" and Latin ending -iacum.[4]
The town is well positioned and owes its significance to its industrial history. The industrialisation of milk processing began at the start of the 19th century: many factories were built, especially by the Dupont d'Isigny family, which then diversified and created the famous Isigny caramels. More recently, the co-operative Isigny dairy has dominated. Meanwhile, the agricultural fairs and markets have also contributed to Isigny's reputation.
The d'Isigny family traces back to before the Norman conquest of England, and William The Conqueror (1028–82) had military commanders named d'Isigny. In 1924, Isigny was renamed Isigny-sur-Mer.
The port was important in facilitating inshore navigation, allowing commercial and industrial activity to be developed and maintained (import of wood from the North; export coal from the mine at Littry and butter). Fishing was important until the end of the 1970s (mussel fishing and small vessels crewed by fishermen from the Hogues quarter). The famous "Caïeu d'Isigny" is a hymn to Isigny's sailors and fishermen, created in 1869 by Alfred Rossel (1841–1926).
Isigny was more than 60% destroyed by two bombardments on 8 June 1944 and has since been almost entirely rebuilt. Isigny played its part in the D-Day landings: Twenty small Dutch schuyts were employed by the Americans to bring stores and equipment inland from the larger cargo ships that were moored off-shore. Charles de Gaulle paid its inhabitants visits on 14 June 1944 and 16 June 1946.
The Disney surname is derived from the town.[5] The earliest known ancestor of Walt Disney, with a similar name, was Jean-Christophe d'Isigny ("of Isigny"),[6] the branch settled in what is today called Norton Disney in England.
On 1 January 2017, the commune was extended by being merged with the former communes of Castilly, Neuilly-la-Forêt, Les Oubeaux, and Vouilly.[7] Until 2015, Isigny-sur-Mer was the seat of the canton of Isigny-sur-Mer, which included 24 communes and had a population of 9,935.
Population
[edit]Population data refer to the commune in its geography as of January 2025.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 4,979 | — |
| 1975 | 4,647 | −0.98% |
| 1982 | 4,394 | −0.80% |
| 1990 | 4,211 | −0.53% |
| 1999 | 4,035 | −0.47% |
| 2007 | 3,870 | −0.52% |
| 2012 | 3,908 | +0.20% |
| 2017 | 3,639 | −1.42% |
| 2023 | 3,543 | −0.44% |
| Source: INSEE[8] | ||
Economy
[edit]Isigny is famous for local products made from milk,[3] such as butter and cream and caramels. Several agro-food companies manufacture these products, including Isigny-Sainte-Mère (butter and cream) and Dupont d'Isigny (caramels).
International relations
[edit]The commune is twinned with Weilerbach, 
Germany.
A twinning arrangement with Kingsbridge in Devon, England, ended in 2019 after 58 years.[9]
See also
[edit]- Communes of the Calvados department
- D'Isigny, a cheese made in the US
References
[edit]- ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ↑ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
- 1 2 "Isigny va fêter l'appellation d'origine protégée de son beurre et sa crème". Ouest-France (in French). 25 June 2026.
- ↑ de Beaurepaire, François (1986). The Names of the Municipalities and Former Parishes of La Manche. A. and J. Picard. p. 141. ISBN 2-7084-0299-4.
- ↑ David Palumbo-Liu; Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht (1997). Streams of Cultural Capital: Transnational Cultural Studies. Stanford University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8047-3036-5.
- ↑ AlloCine (11 June 2016). "Dix étonnantes anecdotes sur les talents du cinéma". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ↑ (in French) Arrêté préfectoral du 13 septembre 2016 portant création de la commune nouvelle d'Isigny-sur-Mer Archived 19 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE.
- ↑ "Twinning town bond ends after 58 years". South Hams Gazette.
External links
[edit]
- Isigny-sur-Mer at Ports du Calvados (in French)
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