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{{Short description|Commune in Calvados, France}}
{{use dmy dates |date=July 2024}}
{{for|the cheese|Livarot cheese}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name                   = Livarot
|image                  = Église de Livarot.jpg
|caption                = The church in Livarot
|image coat of arms     = Blason ville fr Livarot 14.svg
|arrondissement         = Lisieux
|canton                 = Livarot-Pays-d'Auge
|INSEE                  = 14371
|postal code            = 14140
|commune                = [[Livarot-Pays-d'Auge]]
|coordinates            = {{coord|49.0075|0.1533|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m            = 64
|elevation min m        = 52
|elevation max m        = 184
|area km2               = 12.09
|population             = 2045
|population date        = 2022
|population footnotes   = <ref name=pop2022>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/8290591/ensemble.pdf|title=Populations de référence 2022|language=fr|trans-title=Reference populations 2022|publisher=[[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques|INSEE]]|date=December 2024}}</ref>
}}

'''Livarot''' ({{IPA|fr|livaʁo|-|Fr-Livarot.ogg}}) is a former [[Communes of France|commune]] in the [[Calvados (department)|Calvados]] [[Departments of France|department]] in the [[Normandy (administrative region)|Normandy]] [[Regions of France|region]] in northwestern [[France]]. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of [[Livarot-Pays-d'Auge]].<ref>[https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/arrete/2015/12/24/INTB1600786A/jo/texte Arrêté préfectoral] 24 December 2015 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

The population is 2,045 inhabitants (in 2022) and the [[demonym|name of its inhabitants]] is ''Livarotais''.

The town is home to many companies of renown such as the Georges Leroy factory, Graindorge cheese manufacturing which produces Livarot, among others. The commune gave its name to its cheese; [[Livarot cheese]]. The La Fermière (CCLF) calvados cider is also produced in the commune.

==Geography==
Livarot is situated at the junction of the D4 and D579 roads. The nearest city is [[Caen]], approximately {{convert|30|km}} to the north-west.

{{Geographic location
|Centre = Livarot
|NW= [[Saint-Martin-du-Mesnil-Oury]] <br /> [[Saint-Michel-de-Livet]]
|N= [[Le Mesnil-Durand]]
|NE= [[Sainte-Marguerite-des-Loges]]
|E= [[Sainte-Marguerite-des-Loges]]
|SE= [[Saint-Ouen-le-Houx]]
|S= [[La Brévière]]
|SW= [[Heurtevent]]
|W= [[Le Mesnil-Bacley]]
}}

==Toponymy==
The place is attested late in the form ''Livarrot'' in 1155,<ref>Charte confirmative de Goscelin Crespin et de son fils Guillaume, 1155, in « Histoire de l’abbaye du Bec », Études Lexoviennes I, 1915, p. 656.</ref> and ''Livar(r)ou'' in 1156 or 1157.<ref>Léopold Delisle, ''Chronique de Robert de Torigni'', abbé du Mont-Saint-Michel, Le Brument, Rouen, vol. I, 1872, p. 207; entrée concernant l'an 1137.</ref>

The etymological explanation of this place name has no unanimity among toponymists:

*[[Albert Dauzat]] and [[Charles Rostaing]], based on a false attestation of ''Livaron'' from 1137 (form and date wrong), described it as "obscure", while evoking a derivision of ''ivos'', an assumed Gallic word designating [[Taxus|if]], and declaring it unlikely.<ref>[[Albert Dauzat]] et [[Charles Rostaing]], ''Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieu en France'', Librairie Guénégaud, Paris, 1989, {{ISBN|2-85023-076-6}}, p. 406.</ref> They perhaps resume in these previous assumptions. In reality, the term ''*ivos'' or ''*īvos'' is not attested and should include an asterisk.
*[[Ernest Nègre]], reasoning from this same erroneous form, considered that it might be from the Germanic name ''Liubwar'', which is followed by the suffix ''-o /-onem''<ref>[[Ernest Nègre]], ''[[Toponymie générale de la France]]'', vol. II, Librairie Droz, 1990, p. 865.</ref> and that the final would be modified by attraction of names in ''-ot''. However, François de Beaurepaire notes that a Germanic name is never used with this suffix.<ref>François de Beaurepaire (préf. [[Marcel Baudot]]), ''Les Noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de l'Eure'', Paris, A. et J. Picard, 1981 ({{ISBN|2-7084-0067-3}}) (OCLC 9675154).</ref> 
*Dominique Fournier refuted ''Livaron'' (cacography attributed to Albert Dauzat, and badly dated) and based it on the actual form ''Livar(r)ou'', stemming from the ''Chronicle'' of [[Robert of Torigni]], to advance the hypothesis of a Gallo-Roman person named ''Libarius'' followed by the suffix of Gallic origin ''-avo'' which explains most of the words ending in ''-ou'' of Normandy.<ref>Dominique Fournier, ''Les noms de lieux du pays de Livarot; vol. I : communes, anciennes paroisses, principaux cours d’eau'', Éditions des Mortes-Terres, Saint-Georges-en-Auge, 2010, p. 40-42. Information reprise dans ''Ouest-France'', 14 octobre 2010 (l'article n'est plus en ligne), [http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-Dominique-Fournier-raconte-l-origine-des-noms-de-lieux-du-pays-_14043-avd-20111006-61410524_actuLocale.Htm Ouest-France].</ref>

==History==
===Battle of Normandy===
On 17 July 1944, the pharmacist and Mayor of Livarot brought first aid to [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]]<ref name ="Dico">{{cite book|first1=Claude|last1=Quétel (dir.)|title=Dictionnaire du débarquement|publisher=éditions Ouest-France|location=Rennes|year=2011|id=560|page=435|isbn=978-2-7373-4826-6}}</ref> following the strafing of his car by an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] aircraft, not far away, between the villages of [[Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery]] and [[Vimoutiers]]. He was then evacuated, the same day, to the German military hospital in [[Bernay, Eure|Bernay]].

Livarot was liberated on 19 August. Following [[Clearing the Channel Coast|Operation Paddle]], the [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|British 7th Armoured Division]] was on the banks of the {{Interlanguage link multi|Vie (Dives)|fr|3=Vie (rivière)|lt=Vie}}.<ref name ="Dico"/> The division then faced a strong resistance by the [[272nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|272nd Division of the German infantry]], but also suffered losses to [[friendly fire]] from Allied aircraft.<ref name ="Dico"/> On 19 August, British artillery heavily bombed the area. The British arrived to seize a bridge, which hadn't been destroyed, across the river to [[Saint-Michel-de-Livet]],<ref name ="Dico"/> north of Livarot. The [[French Resistance]] then learned that the Germans had abandoned Livarot and that the first British soldiers had entered the same day.<ref name ="Dico"/>

==Heraldry==
{{Blazon-arms
| img1= Blason ville fr Livarot 14.svg
| commune= Livarot
| legend1= Arms of Livarot
| text= ''Of [[Azure (heraldry)|Azure]] on a [[Chief (heraldry)|chief]] party at 1. [[Lozenge (heraldry)|Lozenges]] [[argent]] and [[gules]] and 2. [[Bend (heraldry)|Bendlet]] gules and [[Or (heraldry)|or]] with a [[Ecclesiastical heraldry#Crosier|crosier]] of [[Or (heraldry)|or]] over all, to an [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] of argent with [[lion (heraldry)|lion]] of gules [[Crown (heraldry)|crowned]] [[Or (heraldry)|or]] and over the crosier, between two [[fleur-de-lis|fleurs-de-lis]] also of or.''
}}

==Politics and administration==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 100%" border="1"
|+ List of mayors
! Start  
! End 
! Name
! Party
! Other details
|-
|1850
| 
|Alfred de Neuville<ref>Annuaire du département du calvados, année 1850, p.357.</ref>
| 
|
|-
|1919
|1938
|Georges Bisson
| 
|Cheese maker
|-
|September 1998
|March 2008
|Jeannine Louis
|
|School principal
|-
|March 2008<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ouest-france.fr/livarot-sebastien-leclerc-161134 |title= Livarot :Sébastien Leclerc |publisher= [[Ouest-France]] |website= ouest-france.fr}}</ref>
|In progress
|Sébastien Leclerc
|[[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]
|Managing director, general counsel
|}

The [[City council (France)|municipal council]] is composed of 23 members, including the mayor and six assistants.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://elections.ouest-france.fr/elections-municipales-2014/calvados/14140-livarot.html |title= Livarot (14140) - Municipales 2014 |publisher= [[Ouest-France]] |work= ouest-france.fr |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092549/http://elections.ouest-france.fr/elections-municipales-2014/calvados/14140-livarot.html |archivedate= 2015-05-18 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
In 2012, the municipality had 2,183 inhabitants. Since 2004, censuses in municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants are held every five years (in 2008, 2013, 2018, etc. for Livarot)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.le-recensement-et-moi.fr/rpetmoi/accueil|title=Recensement de la population|language=fr|trans-title=census of the population|publisher=INSEE|accessdate=10 May 2015}}</ref> and legal municipal population are estimations in other years.<ref group=note>In the table of censuses, by convention in Wikipedia, the principle has been retained for legal populations after 1999 to display in the table of censuses those populations corresponding to the year 2006, the first published legal population calculated in accordance with the concepts defined in Decree No. 2003-485 of 5 June 2003, and the years corresponding to an exhaustive census investigation of communes under 10,000 inhabitants, as well as the last legal population published by Insee.</ref> Livarot counted 2,654 inhabitants in 1975.

{{Historical populations
|align    = center
|cols     = 3
|footnote = From 1962 to 1999: Population without double counting; for the years following: municipal population.
| source = EHESS<ref>{{Cassini-Ehess|19717|Livarot}}</ref> and INSEE<ref>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2123878?geo=COM-14371 Populations légales 2012], INSEE</ref>
| percentages = pagr
|1793|1033
|1800|996
|1806|1066
|1821|662
|1831|1162
|1836|1215
|1841|1291
|1846|1376
|1851|1464       
|1856|1576
|1861|1386
|1866|1499
|1872|1557
|1876|1761
|1881|1842
|1886|1823
|1891|1851
|1896|1763
|1901|1813
|1906|2080
|1911|2281
|1921|2266
|1926|2147
|1931|2193
|1936|2255
|1946|2434
|1954|2391
|1962|2494
|1969|2535
|1975|2654
|1982|2538
|1990|2469
|1999|2516
|2007|2333
|2012|2183
}}
{{clear left}}

==Economy==
*[[Livarot cheese]]

==Places and monuments==
*Former {{Interlanguage link multi|Leroy factory (Livarot)|fr|3=Usine Leroy (Livarot)|lt=Leroy factory}} (1841), included in the title of the [[Monument historique|historic monuments]].<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00111499}}</ref>
*The Church of Saint-Ouen from the 15th century, and very reworked. The gallery of the 19th century [[Pipe organ|organ]] is classified as an historic monument object.<ref>{{Base Palissy|PM14001296}}</ref>
*The old Bisson cheesemakery (1902), converted into a Museum of the workshops of iron art.
*The L'Isle Manor (1912), former property of the Bisson.
*The Graindorge cheesmakery, burned in 1999 and rebuilt in 2001.
*Vestiges of an ancient castle which was owned by [[Charles II of Navarre|Charles the Bad]], King of [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]].
*The menhir of the {{Interlanguage link multi|Pierre tournante (Livarot)|fr|3=Pierre tournante (Livarot)|lt=Pierre Tournante}}.

<gallery mode=packed caption="Places and monuments in Livarot">
Image:Usine LEROY, Livarot.JPG|The Leroy factory
Image:Livarot - ancienne fromagerie Bisson.jpg|The old Bisson cheesmakery
Image:Livarot - Manoir de l'Isle.jpg|Le manor of l'Isle
Image:Pierre Tournante Livarot.jpg|The Pierre Tournante
</gallery>

==Activity and events==
===Twinning===
*{{flagicon|GBR}} [[South Molton]], [[United Kingdom]] since 1975

===Sports===
The ''Étoile Sportive Livarotaise'' [Livarotaise Sports Star] evolved two [[Association football|football]] teams in {{Interlanguage link multi|District départemental de football|fr|3=District départemental de football|lt=district divisions}}.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://bassenormandie.fff.fr/competitions/php/club/club_classement.php?cl_no=975 |title= Site officiel de la Ligue Basse-Normandie – Ét. S. Livarotaise}}</ref>

The cycling section of the club has trained many riders such as father and son [[François Lemarchand|François]] and [[Romain Lemarchand]],{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} and also {{Interlanguage link multi|Fabien Taillefer|fr}}. Stage 7 of the [[2015 Tour de France]] is also planned to start in Livarot.

===Events===
The Livarot Cheese Fair is held every year in August.

==Personalities linked to the commune==
*[[Charles II of Navarre]] (1332-1387), King of Navarre and count of Évreux, owner of the old Castle.
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Jacques Dufresne (abbot)|fr|3=Jacques Dufresne (abbé)|lt=Jacques Dufresne}} (1732 to Livarot - 1832), parish priest of [[Le Mesnil-Durand]], Deputy of the clergy.
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Alfred Rioult de Neuville|fr}} (1802 Livarot - Livarot, 1894), politician.
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Joël Le Bigot|fr}} (born in 1946 in Livarot), Quebec radio host.
*[[François Lemarchand]] (born in 1960 in Livarot), cyclist.

==See also==
*[[Communes of the Calvados department]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://vimoutiers.net/vp/Livarot.htm A few pictures of Livarot and its markets at the beginning of the 20th century].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150630175849/http://www.livarot-tourisme.com/ The Livarot Tourist Office website].

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Former communes of Calvados (department)]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in 2016]]