Briouze

Briouze
Briouze
Commune
	The town hall in Briouze
	Coat of arms
	Location of Briouze
	Briouze Briouze
	Coordinates: 48°42′00″N 0°21′57″W / 48.7°N .3658333333°W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Argentan
Canton	Athis-Val de Rouvre
Intercommunality	Pays de Briouze
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Pierre Salles
Area 1	17.15 km2 (6.62 sq mi)
Population (2021)	1,513
• Density	88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	61063 /61220
Elevation	197–254 m (646–833 ft) ; (avg. 212 m or 696 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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. The nearby Grand Hazé marshland is a heritage-listed area (Natura 2000).

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".

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1936	1,524	—
1954	1,521	−0.2%
1962	1,518	−0.2%
1968	1,685	+11.0%
1975	1,703	+1.1%
1982	1,690	−0.8%
1990	1,658	−1.9%
1999	1,620	−2.3%
2007	1,600	−1.2%
2009	1,599	−0.1%
2012	1,565	−2.1%

Heraldry

Arms of Briouze	The arms of Briouze are blazoned : Azure, in base 2 clasped hands Or, and in chief a bird argent on waves couped sable from which issue reeds argent; all within a bordure argent semy of lozenges gules and ermine spots sable.