Brix, Manche

Brix
Commune
View of the village
Location of Brix
Brix Show map of France Brix Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°32′45″N 1°34′40″W / 49.5458°N 1.5778°W / 49.5458; -1.5778
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Cherbourg
Canton	Valognes
Intercommunality	CA Cotentin
Government
• Mayor (2023–2026)	Sophie Buhot^[1]
Area ¹	32.16 km² (12.42 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2021)^[2]	2,149
• Density	67/km² (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	50087 /50700
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Brix (French pronunciation: [bʁi]) is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in northwestern France.

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History

The origin of the name derives from the Gaulish root brut-.^[3]

Brix is known primarily as being the assumed origin of the Bruce family, which emigrated to Britain in the Middle Ages and settled in northern England and then southern Scotland. The family became a royal house with the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306.

The ruins of the castle of Brix are located near the village.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	2,653	—
1821	3,250	+0.73%
1846	2,807	−0.58%
1872	2,289	−0.78%
1901	1,931	−0.58%
1926	1,675	−0.57%
1946	1,503	−0.54%
1962	1,447	−0.24%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,357	−1.06%
1975	1,323	−0.36%
1982	1,600	+2.75%
1990	1,828	+1.68%
1999	1,928	+0.59%
2007	2,001	+0.47%
2012	2,096	+0.93%
2017	2,131	+0.33%

Source: EHESS^[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)^[5]

Sights

A family known variously as Bruis, Brus, Bruz is said to be responsible for the Adam Castle, the oldest monument in Brix.^[6] Very little remains of the castle.

The main square of Brix is called Place Robert Bruce. Many prominent members of the family mentioned above were named "Robert", including: Robert de Brus (1078–1138), the first member of the family known to have resided in Britain, and his descendant Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), also known as Robert I, King of Scotland.

Events

On the first weekend of October, the commune holds the St. Denis Fair, a tradition of the Cotentin.

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 6 June 2023.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ François de Beaurepaire, Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche, éditions Picard 1986. p. 89
^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Brix, EHESS (in French).
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ There is no evidence, other than unreliable late medieval sources, like the Battle Abbey Roll, to support a claim that another member of the family, Robert de Brix or de Brus, served under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. (See: Emma Cownie, 2004, "Brus , Robert de (supp. d. 1094)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, Oxford University Press.)