Briouze

Briouze is a commune in the Orne department of Normandy in northwestern France. It is considered the capital of the pays d'Houlme at the western end of the Orne in the Norman bocage.

William de Braose, First Lord of Bramber (Guillaume de Briouze) was granted lands in England after the Norman conquest and used his wealth to build a priory in his home town.

The name Briouze probably comes from an older Norman form of the word "boue", or "mud".

Geography
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Bougonnière,La Grivagère, Saint-Gervais and Briouze.

The commune has 9 watercourses running through it, the rivers Rouvre and the Val du Breuil, plus 7 streams. The seven streams are known as the Maufy, the Roussieres, la Haie, the Arthan, la Prevostiere, the Lange and la Source Philippe.

Briouze also has the largest marsh in the Orne department, at 167.41 Ha, called the Grand-Hazé.

Transport
Briouze station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granville.

Notable buildings and places
Grand-Hazé is a 500 acres of Marshland that has been under the protection of the Natura 2000 since 2002. The Marshland features Camargue horses and Highland cattle.

National heritage sites

 * Saint-Gervais Chapel is an eleventh century chapel built between 1080 and 1093 by Guillaume de Briouze. It was listed as a Monument historique in 1975.

Notable People

 * William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber (died 1093-1096) lord of Briouze.
 * Foulques du Merle - (1239 - 1314) was Seigneur of Gacé and Bellou-en-Houlme, and Baron of Le Merlerault, Briouze and Messei.
 * Alexandre Bisson - (1848 - 1912) French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist was born here.

Twin towns – sister cities
Briouze is twinned with:


 * 🇩🇪 Beverungen, Germany