Villers-Bocage, Calvados

Villers-Bocage
Commune
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Villers-Bocage
Villers-Bocage Show map of France Villers-Bocage Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°05′N 0°40′W / 49.08°N 0.66°W / 49.08; -0.66
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Vire
Canton	Les Monts d'Aunay
Intercommunality	Pré-Bocage Intercom
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Stéphanie Leberrurier[1]
Area ^1	5.76 km^2 (2.22 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	3,113
• Density	540/km^2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14752 /14310
Elevation	95–217 m (312–712 ft) (avg. 170 m or 560 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Villers-Bocage (French pronunciation: [vilɛʁ bɔkaʒ] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in Northern France.

History

Second World War

The Battle of Villers-Bocage was a significant battle between British and German forces on 13 June 1944 during the Battle of Normandy.^[3] Further fighting occurred two weeks later during Operation Epsom, during which the village was destroyed by 250 RAF heavy bombers.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,121 —     1800 1,010 −1.48% 1806 1,223 +3.24% 1821 1,177 −0.26% 1831 1,178 +0.01% 1836 1,178 +0.00% 1841 1,146 −0.55% 1846 1,134 −0.21% 1851 1,127 −0.12% 1856 1,105 −0.39% 1861 1,156 +0.91% 1866 1,155 −0.02% 1872 1,147 −0.12% 1876 1,139 −0.17% 1881 1,084 −0.98% 1886 1,147 +1.14% 1891 1,057 −1.62% 1896 1,104 +0.87%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,047 −1.05% 1906 1,073 +0.49% 1911 1,141 +1.24% 1921 1,039 −0.93% 1926 1,060 +0.40% 1931 1,093 +0.62% 1936 1,202 +1.92% 1946 743 −4.70% 1954 1,431 +8.54% 1962 1,825 +3.09% 1968 1,985 +1.41% 1975 2,317 +2.23% 1982 2,623 +1.79% 1990 2,845 +1.02% 1999 2,904 +0.23% 2007 2,894 −0.04% 2012 3,072 +1.20% 2017 3,108 +0.23%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

International relations

The commune is twinned with:

• Bampton, Devon, UK since 1974

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). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
3. Daniel Taylor: Villers-Bocage through the Lens. 1999, ISBN 978-1870067072.
4. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Villers-Bocage, EHESS (in French).
5. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

External links

• Website of the office of tourism (in French)
• Information about Villers-Bocage (Archived from the original, December 31, 2021)