Villers-Bocage, Calvados

Villers-Bocage
Town hall Town hall
Coat of arms
Villers-Bocage
Location within Lower Normandy region Villers-Bocage
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Caen
Canton	Villers-Bocage
Intercommunality	Villers-Bocage Intercom
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Xavier Lebrun
Area1	5.76 km2 (2.22 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	2,963
• Density	510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
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 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Villers-Bocage is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie 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. 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.	±%
1793	1,121	—
1800	1,010	−9.9%
1806	1,223	+21.1%
1821	1,177	−3.8%
1831	1,178	+0.1%
1836	1,178	+0.0%
1841	1,146	−2.7%
1846	1,134	−1.0%
1851	1,127	−0.6%
1856	1,105	−2.0%
1861	1,156	+4.6%
1866	1,155	−0.1%
1872	1,147	−0.7%
1876	1,139	−0.7%
1881	1,084	−4.8%
1886	1,147	+5.8%
1891	1,057	−7.8%
1896	1,104	+4.4%
1901	1,047	−5.2%
1906	1,073	+2.5%
1911	1,141	+6.3%
1921	1,039	−8.9%
1926	1,060	+2.0%
1931	1,093	+3.1%
1936	1,202	+10.0%
1946	743	−38.2%
1954	1,431	+92.6%
1962	1,825	+27.5%
1968	1,985	+8.8%
1975	2,317	+16.7%
1982	2,623	+13.2%
1990	2,845	+8.5%
1999	2,904	+2.1%
2008	2,963	+2.0%

International relations

The commune is twinned with:

• Bampton, Devon, UK since 1974

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Website of the office of tourism (in French)
• Information about Villers-Bocage