Livarot

Geography

Livarot is situated at the junction of the D4 and D579 roads. The nearest city is Caen, approximately 30 km to the north-west.

Saint-Michel-de-Livet

Toponymy

The place is attested late in the form Livarrot in 1155, and Livar(r)ou in 1156 or 1157.

The etymological explanation of this place name has no unanimity among toponymists:

• Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, based on a false attestation of Livaron from 1137 (form and date wrong), described it as "obscure", while evoking a derivision of ivos, an assumed Gallic word designating if, and declaring it unlikely. They perhaps resume in these previous assumptions. In reality, the term *ivos or *īvos is not attested and should include an asterisk.
• Ernest Nègre, reasoning from this same erroneous form, considered that it might be from the Germanic name Liubwar, which is followed by the suffix -o /-onem and that the final would be modified by attraction of names in -ot. However, François de Beaurepaire notes that a Germanic name is never used with this suffix.
• Dominique Fournier refuted Livaron (cacography attributed to Albert Dauzat, and badly dated) and based it on the actual form Livar(r)ou, stemming from the Chronicle of Robert of Torigni, to advance the hypothesis of a Gallo-Roman person named Libarius followed by the suffix of Gallic origin -avo which explains most of the words ending in -ou of Normandy.

History

Battle of Normandy

On 17 July 1944, the pharmacist and Mayor of Livarot brought first aid to Rommel following the strafing of his car by an Allied aircraft, not far away, between the villages of Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery and Vimoutiers. He was then evacuated, the same day, to the German military hospital in Bernay.

Livarot was liberated on 19 August. Following Operation Paddle, the British 7th Armoured Division was on the banks of the . The division then faced a strong resistance by the 272nd Division of the German infantry, but also suffered losses to friendly fire from Allied aircraft. On 19 August, British artillery heavily bombed the area. The British arrived to seize a bridge, which hadn't been destroyed, across the river to Saint-Michel-de-Livet, north of Livarot. The French Resistance then learned that the Germans had abandoned Livarot and that the first British soldiers had entered the same day.

Heraldry

Politics and administration

The municipal council is composed of 23 members, including the mayor and six assistants.

Demographics

In 2012, the municipality had 2,183 inhabitants. Since 2004, censuses in municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants are held every five years (in 2008, 2013, 2018, etc. for Livarot) and legal municipal population are estimations in other years.In the table of censuses, by convention in Wikipedia, the principle has been retained for legal populations after 1999 to display in the table of censuses those populations corresponding to the year 2006, the first published legal population calculated in accordance with the concepts defined in Decree No. 2003-485 of 5 June 2003, and the years corresponding to an exhaustive census investigation of communes under 10,000 inhabitants, as well as the last legal population published by Insee. Livarot counted 2,654 inhabitants in 1975.

|1793|1033 |1800|996 |1806|1066 |1821|662 |1831|1162 |1836|1215 |1841|1291 |1846|1376 |1851|1464 |1856|1576 |1861|1386 |1866|1499 |1872|1557 |1876|1761 |1881|1842 |1886|1823 |1891|1851 |1896|1763 |1901|1813 |1906|2080 |1911|2281 |1921|2266 |1926|2147 |1931|2193 |1936|2255 |1946|2434 |1954|2391 |1962|2494 |1969|2535 |1975|2654 |1982|2538 |1990|2469 |1999|2516 |2007|2333 |2012|2183

Economy

• Livarot cheese

Places and monuments

• Former (1841), included in the title of the historic monuments.
• The Church of Saint-Ouen from the 15th century, and very reworked. The gallery of the 19th century organ is classified as an historic monument object.
• The old Bisson cheesemakery (1902), converted into a Museum of the workshops of iron art.
• The L'Isle Manor (1912), former property of the Bisson.
• The Graindorge cheesmakery, burned in 1999 and rebuilt in 2001.
• Vestiges of an ancient castle which was owned by Charles the Bad, King of Navarre.
• The menhir of the .

Image:Usine LEROY, Livarot.JPG|The Leroy factory Image:Livarot - ancienne fromagerie Bisson.jpg|The old Bisson cheesmakery Image:Livarot - Manoir de l'Isle.jpg|Le manor of l'Isle Image:Pierre Tournante Livarot.jpg|The Pierre Tournante

Activity and events

Twinning

• GBR South Molton, United Kingdom since 1975

Sports

The Étoile Sportive Livarotaise [Livarotaise Sports Star] evolved two football teams in .

The cycling section of the club has trained many riders such as father and son François and Romain Lemarchand, and also . Stage 7 of the 2015 Tour de France is also planned to start in Livarot.

Events

The Livarot Cheese Fair is held every year in August.

Personalities linked to the commune

• Charles II of Navarre (1332-1387), King of Navarre and count of Évreux, owner of the old Castle.
• (1732 to Livarot - 1832), parish priest of Le Mesnil-Durand, Deputy of the clergy.
• (1802 Livarot - Livarot, 1894), politician.
• (born in 1946 in Livarot), Quebec radio host.
• François Lemarchand (born in 1960 in Livarot), cyclist.

Notes

References

References

1. (December 2024). "Populations de référence 2022". [[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques.
2. [https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/arrete/2015/12/24/INTB1600786A/jo/texte Arrêté préfectoral] 24 December 2015 {{in lang. fr
3. Charte confirmative de Goscelin Crespin et de son fils Guillaume, 1155, in « Histoire de l’abbaye du Bec », Études Lexoviennes I, 1915, p. 656.
4. Léopold Delisle, ''Chronique de Robert de Torigni'', abbé du Mont-Saint-Michel, Le Brument, Rouen, vol. I, 1872, p. 207; entrée concernant l'an 1137.
5. [[Albert Dauzat]] et [[Charles Rostaing]], ''Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieu en France'', Librairie Guénégaud, Paris, 1989, {{ISBN. 2-85023-076-6, p. 406.
6. [[Ernest Nègre]], ''[[Toponymie générale de la France]]'', vol. II, Librairie Droz, 1990, p. 865.
7. François de Beaurepaire (préf. [[Marcel Baudot]]), ''Les Noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de l'Eure'', Paris, A. et J. Picard, 1981 ({{ISBN. 2-7084-0067-3) (OCLC 9675154).
8. Dominique Fournier, ''Les noms de lieux du pays de Livarot; vol. I : communes, anciennes paroisses, principaux cours d’eau'', Éditions des Mortes-Terres, Saint-Georges-en-Auge, 2010, p. 40-42. Information reprise dans ''Ouest-France'', 14 octobre 2010 (l'article n'est plus en ligne), [http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-Dominique-Fournier-raconte-l-origine-des-noms-de-lieux-du-pays-_14043-avd-20111006-61410524_actuLocale.Htm Ouest-France].
9. (2011). "Dictionnaire du débarquement". éditions Ouest-France.
10. Annuaire du département du calvados, année 1850, p.357.
11. "Livarot :Sébastien Leclerc". [[Ouest-France]].
12. "Livarot (14140) - Municipales 2014". [[Ouest-France]].
13. "Recensement de la population". INSEE.
14. {{Cassini-Ehess. 19717. Livarot
15. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2123878?geo=COM-14371 Populations légales 2012], INSEE
16. {{Base Mérimée. PA00111499
17. {{Base Palissy. PM14001296
18. "Site officiel de la Ligue Basse-Normandie – Ét. S. Livarotaise".