Orne (French pronunciation: [ɔʁn] ^ⓘ; Norman: Ôrne or Orne) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.^[3]

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Quick Facts Country, Region ...

Orne
Department
Prefecture building of the Orne department, in Alençon
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Orne in France
Coordinates: 48°42′N 0°0′E
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Prefecture	Alençon
Subprefectures	Argentan Mortagne-au-Perche
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Christophe de Balorre[1]
Area 1
• Total	6,103 km2 (2,356 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	276,973
• Rank	78th
• Density	45/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	61
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	21
Communes	385
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

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Orne is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche. It is the birthplace of Charlotte Corday, Girondist and the assassin of Jean-Paul Marat.

Orne is in the region of Normandy neighbouring Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe, Manche, Mayenne, and Calvados. It is the only department of Normandy not to border the English Channel.

The largest town by a considerable margin is the prefecture, Alençon, which is an administrative and commercial centre for what is still an overwhelmingly rural department. There are no large industrial centres, and agriculture remains the economic focus.

More information Year, Pop. ...

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1801 395,738 —     1806 424,669 +1.42% 1821 422,884 −0.03% 1831 441,881 +0.44% 1841 442,072 +0.00% 1851 439,884 −0.05% 1861 423,350 −0.38% 1872 398,250 −0.55% 1881 376,126 −0.63% 1891 354,387 −0.59% 1901 326,952 −0.80% 1911 307,433 −0.61% 1921 274,814 −1.12%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1931 273,717 −0.04% 1936 269,331 −0.32% 1946 273,181 +0.14% 1954 274,862 +0.08% 1962 280,549 +0.26% 1968 288,524 +0.47% 1975 293,523 +0.25% 1982 295,472 +0.09% 1990 293,204 −0.10% 1999 292,337 −0.03% 2006 292,874 +0.03% 2011 290,891 −0.14% 2016 285,308 −0.39%
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Sources:[4][5]

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The inhabitants of the department are called Ornais.

The recorded population level peaked at 443,688 in 1836. Declining farm incomes and the lure of better prospects in the overseas empire led to a sustained reduction in population levels in many rural departments. By the time of the 1936 census, the recorded population stood at just 269,331. Once motor car ownership started to surge in the 1960s, employment opportunities became less restricted and by 1982, the population level had recovered a little to 295,000, after which it slowly decreased.

The president of the Departmental Council is Christophe de Balorre, elected in 2017.

Alençon is the chief town of the Orne department.

Camembert, the village where Camembert cheese is made, is located in Orne.

The local dialect is known as Augeron.

• Château de Carrouges
• Château de Domfront
• Abbey of Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois
• Juvigny-sous-Andaine
• Camembert
• Haras national du Pin
• Saint-Sauveur de Bellême Church
• Suisse Normande
• Sées Cathedral

• Cantons of the Orne department
• Communes of the Orne department
• Arrondissements of the Orne department
• Haras National du Pin, a French stud farm