Ornes, Meuse

This article is about the commune in France. For the village in Luster, Norway, see Ornes, Sogn og Fjordane.

Ornes
Commune
Ruins of the Ornes church
Coat of arms
Country	France
Region	Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department	Meuse
Arrondissement	Verdun
Canton	Belleville-sur-Meuse
Intercommunality	CA Grand Verdun
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Charles Saint-Vanne
Area1	18.52 km2 (7.15 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)2
INSEE/Postal code	55394 / 55150
Elevation	209–327 m (686–1,073 ft) (avg. 250 m or 820 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.

Ornes (French pronunciation: ​[ɔʁn]) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The village is one of the nine French villages destroyed in the First World War and one of six that was never rebuilt. It's now a memorial place.

Even though a few houses and a handful of permanent residents remain, the village is classified as having "died for France".

Population

In 2018, the commune had 6 inhabitants.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	6	—
1975	2	−14.52%
1982	1	−9.43%
1990	10	+33.35%
1999	6	−5.52%
2007	2	−12.83%
2012	6	+24.57%
2017	5	−3.58%
Source: INSEE

Geography

Ornes is located on departmental road 24, about 12 km to the north-east of Verdun. The source of the Orne river is in the commune.

The village is on the border of the Verdun forest where thousands of shells fell during World War I.

See also

• Zone rouge (First World War)
• List of French villages destroyed in World War I
• Communes of the Meuse department