Avranches

Avranches is a commune in the Manche department. It is in the Lower Normandy region in northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.

Avranches
Botanical garden
Coat of arms
Location of Avranches
Avranches Avranches
Coordinates: 48°41′06″N 1°21′20″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Avranches
Canton	Avranches
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Guenaël Huet
Area 1	4.5 km2 (1.7 sq mi)
Population  (2009)	8,090
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	50025 /50300
Elevation	7–108 m (23–354 ft) (avg. 108 m or 354 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1793	5,880	—
1800	5,413	−7.9%
1806	6,144	+13.5%
1821	6,431	+4.7%
1831	7,269	+13.0%
1836	7,690	+5.8%
1841	8,256	+7.4%
1846	7,965	−3.5%
1851	8,932	+12.1%
1856	8,702	−2.6%
1861	8,592	−1.3%
1866	8,642	+0.6%
1872	8,137	−5.8%
1876	8,157	+0.2%
1881	8,057	−1.2%
1886	8,000	−0.7%
1891	7,785	−2.7%
1896	7,845	+0.8%
1901	7,384	−5.9%
1906	7,360	−0.3%
1911	7,174	−2.5%
1921	6,597	−8.0%
1926	6,803	+3.1%
1931	6,881	+1.1%
1936	7,130	+3.6%
1946	7,554	+5.9%
1954	8,004	+6.0%
1962	8,854	+10.6%
1968	9,775	+10.4%
1975	10,136	+3.7%
1982	9,468	−6.6%
1990	8,638	−8.8%
1999	8,509	−1.5%
2006	8,239	−3.2%
2009	8,090	−1.8%

Geography

Avranches is at the south of the Cotentin Peninsula.

The town was built on high ground. It overlooks the dunes and coastal marshes along the bay. From Avranches, it is possible to see the Mont-Saint-Michel.

• 
  Notre Dame des Champs
• 
  Notre-Dame-des-Champs,
  Stations of the Cross
• 
  Saint-Gervais Basilica
• 
  Saint-Gervais Basilica,
  Skull of Saint Aubert

Twin towns

• Saint-Gaudens, France, since 1944.
• Korbach, Germany, since 1963
• Saint Helier, Jersey, since 1982
• Crediton, United Kingdom, since 1993

Other websites

• "Avranches" in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Media related to Avranches at Wikimedia Commons
• INSEE commune file
•  "Council of Avranches" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.