Lonlay-l'Abbaye

Lonlay-l'Abbaye (French pronunciation: [lɔ̃lɛ labei] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France, situated midway between the towns of Domfront and Flers. It has a beautiful abbey and town square and is surrounded by walks and scenery, including the local viewpoint Fosse Arthur.

Lonlay-l'Abbaye
Commune
Abbey
Location of Lonlay-l'Abbaye
Lonlay-l'Abbaye Show map of France Lonlay-l'Abbaye Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 48°38′50″N 0°42′31″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Argentan
Canton	Domfront en Poiraie
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christian Derouet[1]
Area 1	53.41 km2 (20.62 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	1,118
• Density	21/km2 (54/sq mi)
Demonym	Lonléens
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	61232 /61700
Elevation	126–321 m (413–1,053 ft) (avg. 145 m or 476 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Lonlay-l'Abbaye shares a Natura 2000 protected area, Landes du Tertre Bizet et Fosse Arthour, with two other communes Domfront en Poiraie and Saint-Georges-de-Rouelley.^[3]

Points of interest

• Biscuiterie de l'Abbaye - is the factory of the Sablé de l’Abbaye biscuit that was first manufactured here in 1964, which today still produces biscuits and is open for tours.^[4][5]

National heritage sites

The Commune has two buildings and areas listed as a Monument historique.^[6]

• Notre-Dame Church: a thirteenth-century church that was registered as a monument in 1931.^[7]
• Sarcophage creusé dans un rocher à la Thomassière: remains of a Merovingian sarcophagus from the Middle Ages, registered as a Monument historique in 1933.^[8]

Notable People

• René-Prosper Tassin - (1697 – 1777) a French historian was born here.^[9]
• François Bidard - (1992) a French professional cyclist was born here.^[10]

Heraldry

Arms of Lonlay-L'Abbaye

The arms of Lonlay-L'Abbaye are blazoned : Sable, a wolf courant argent.

Twin towns – sister cities

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

Lonlay-l'Abbaye is twinned with:

• Stogursey, in Somerset, England (since 1985)^[11][12]

See also

• Communes of the Orne department
• Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine