Potigny

Potigny
Commune
Miners' houses
Coat of arms
Location of Potigny
Potigny Show map of France Potigny Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 48°58′19″N 0°14′48″W / 48.9719°N 0.2467°W / 48.9719; -0.2467
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Caen
Canton	Falaise
Intercommunality	Pays de Falaise
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Gérard Kepa[1]
Area ^1	4.26 km^2 (1.64 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	2,076
• Density	487/km^2 (1,260/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14516 /14420
Elevation	125–206 m (410–676 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Potigny (French pronunciation: [pɔtiɲi] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

Geography

The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Brèche au Diable and Potigny.^[3]

The river Laizon is the only watercourse that flows through the commune.^[4]

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 375 —     1851 402 +0.12% 1896 271 −0.87% 1901 239 −2.48% 1906 223 −1.38% 1911 451 +15.13% 1921 1,473 +12.56% 1926 1,731 +3.28% 1931 2,742 +9.64% 1936 2,420 −2.47% 1946 2,403 −0.07%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1954 2,694 +1.44% 1962 2,926 +1.04% 1968 2,720 −1.21% 1975 2,408 −1.73% 1982 2,120 −1.80% 1990 1,776 −2.19% 1999 1,703 −0.47% 2007 1,734 +0.23% 2012 1,886 +1.69% 2017 2,075 +1.93%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)[6]

Points of Interest

• La Brèche au Diable known in English as the Devil's Breach is a set of two rocky outcrops over looking the Laizon river.^[7] It is shared with the neighbouring commune of Soumont-Saint-Quentin.^[8]

National Heritage sites

• Église Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire de Potigny a thirteenth centaury church that was listed as a Monument historique in 1930.^[9]

Notable People

• Maurice De Muer - (1921 - 2012) a professional cyclist and cycling team manager was born here.^[10]

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Potigny is twinned with:

• - Banwell since 1999.^[11]
• - Jutrosin since 1993.^[12]

See also

• Communes of the Calvados 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 de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
3. "Potigny · 14420, France". Potigny · 14420, France.
4. Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - Le Laizon (I1430600)".
5. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Potigny, EHESS (in French).
6. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
7. "Sentier nature de la Brèche au Diable à".
8. "Randonnée légendaire à la brèche au Diable près de Caen". www.decathlon-outdoor.com.
9. "Eglise à Potigny - PA00111623". Monumentum.
10. "L'Équipe - L'actualité du sport en continu". L'Équipe.
11. "Potigny : la commune tisse 25 ans d'amitié avec Banwell". actu.fr. 16 July 2024.
12. "Jumelage Potigny-Jutrosin : 30 ans d'enrichissement collectif". Ouest-France. Ouest-France. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2025.