Ryes

Ryes
Saint Martin
Coat of arms of Ryes Coat of arms
Ryes
Location within Lower Normandy region Ryes
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Bayeux
Canton	Ryes
Intercommunality	Bayeux Intercom
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Françoise Marie
Area1	9.59 km2 (3.70 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	485
• Density	51/km2 (130/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	14552 / 14400
Elevation	15–59 m (49–194 ft) (avg. 20 m or 66 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.

Ryes is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	359	—
1968	377	+5.0%
1975	338	−10.3%
1982	317	−6.2%
1990	421	+32.8%
1999	450	+6.9%
2008	485	+7.8%

Administration

Ryes is the seat of the canton of Ryes, which includes 25 communes.

Toponymy

In 1060, Ryes was mentioned under the name Rigia.

The ancient forms of its name are apparently related to the French word "raie" (Old French "roie"), deriving from the Gallo-Roman "rica", from the Gallic word "Rica" meaning a "furrow": cf. Middle Gallic "Rych", meaning a "groove", and Old Breton "rec" (modern Breton "rec'h"), meaning a "tear". The word occurred throughout the Gallo-Roman region and is attested in Low Latin in the forms "riga", "rega" and "rige" (FEW volume 10, pp. 393-394).

History

Lord Hubert of Ryes welcomed Duke William during his struggle with his rebellious barons. He then saved William by sending him to Falaise escorted by his three sons while Hubert sent the rebellious barons in another direction.

On 1 July 1899, a 60 cm gauge shortline railroad between Courseulles and Bayeux was opened by Railways Calvados. The same day, a branch starting from Ryes to Arromanches also entered service. The main line and the branch were decommissioned from the network on 29 September 1932.

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department

References

• INSEE