Aubenton

Aubenton is a commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.

Aubenton
Commune
Jean Mermoz Museum and the Town Hall
Coat of arms
Location of Aubenton
Aubenton
Aubenton
Coordinates: 49°50′12″N 4°12′17″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentAisne
ArrondissementVervins
CantonHirson
IntercommunalityTrois Rivières
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Denise Charlier
Area
1
23.7 km2 (9.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
657
 • Density28/km2 (72/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
02031 /02500
Elevation168–259 m (551–850 ft)
(avg. 182 m or 597 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubentonnais or Aubentonnaises[2]

Geography

Aubenton derives its name from its location near the confluence (in the commune of Hannappes to the east) of the Aube (Thon) and the Thon.

The commune is located some 70 km east of Saint Quentin and 40 km west by north-west of Charleville-Mézières. The D1043 (E44) road from Hirson to Charleville-Mézières runs along the northern border of the commune. The village can be accessed from this road by the D5 road running south-east or the D37 road running south-west. The D5 road continues through the commune and south, changing to the D977, and continuing to Rozoy-sur-Serre. The D37 road continues west from the village to Besmont. There is also the D38 road from Leuze in the west passing through the village and continuing to Hannappes in the east. The railway from Hirson to Charleville-Mézières also passes through the commune following the course of the Thon river but there is no station in the commune – the nearest being at Liart to the east. The commune is about 80% farmland with the rest extensive forests in the south. There are a number of hamlets other than the village. These are:

  • Bas Val La Caure
  • Buirefontaine
  • Haute Val la Caure
  • Hurtebise
  • La Rue Larcher
  • Le Bois Carbonnet
  • Ribeauville
  • Saint-Nicholas
Entrance to the village

The Thon River flows from east to west through the north of the commune eventually joining the Oise river at Etreaupont. The Ruisseau de Bois Carbonnet rises in the south of the commune and flows west then north joining other tributaries then the Ton river.[3]

Aubenton is surrounded by 7 communes: Brunehamel, Iviers, Beaumé, Leuze, Any-Martin-Rieux, Logny-lès-Aubenton, and Mont-Saint-Jean.[4]

Neighbouring communes and villages

[3]

History
A drawing of the attack on the town walls by the Count of Hainaut

Second World War

The department of Aisne has 10 people designated "Righteous Among the Nations" (French people who helped Jews during the war), of whom 3 were from Aubenton:

  • Emile Fontaine[5] (a street bears his name)
  • Annette Pierron, his girlfriend at the time
  • Camille Pierron, mother of Annette and the owner of a farm at Buirefontaine

Shot by the Gestapo on the Aubenton-Besmont road (D37) on 30 March 1944, Emile Fontaine was recognized as a captain in the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) after the Liberation. All three had saved 10 escapees from the "Judenlager of Mazures" who hid for a time at Buirefontaine.[6]

Heraldry
Arms of Aubenton
 Blazon:

Or, a Castle in gules masoned in sable with three ports open.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Aubenton[7]

Mayors from the 17th century to 1926
FromToName
16401648Roland Dobsen
18481649Dormet
16491688Nicolas Deswatines
16881694Dormet
16941704Jean Grégoire de l'Etang-Neuf
17041708Martin Brucelle
17081753Louis Dambraine
17541763Jacques Coyer
17631790Jacques Pierre Coyer
17901800Louis Antoine Sorlin
18001816Nicolas de Villelongue
18161830Joseph Petit
18301831Edouard Marie Louis Ternaux
18311836César Millet
18361840Paul Emile Barbier
18401848Célestin Landragin
18481849Joseph Millet
18481850Joseph Prud'homme
18501870Célestin Landragin
18711902Isidore Cabaret
19021909Henri Cabaret
19081914Juramie
19141919Procureur
19191926Fernand Dizy
Mayors from 1926
FromToNamePartyPosition
19261946Henri Bouxin
19461971Charles Dejume
19711973Marcel Ferraris
19731983Guy Navaux
19831989Christian Pillot
19892001René SablinPCF
20012013Bernard NoéUMPGeneral Council Member (2001-2013)
2013PresentDenise Charlier[8]DVD

(Not all data is known)

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
2006704—    
2007703−0.1%
2008701−0.3%
2009701+0.0%
2010713+1.7%
2011695−2.5%
2012679−2.3%
2013664−2.2%
2014662−0.3%
2015652−1.5%
2016654+0.3%

Culture and heritage

The commune has a very large number of buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments.[9] An abridged list of the most prominent historical monuments is shown below.

Civil heritage
  • The Girls' School (1876)[10]
  • The War memorial (1920)[11]
  • The Town Hall (1868).[12] The Town Hall contains two items that are registered as historical objects:
    • A Bust: Marianne (19th century)[13]
    • A Bust: Lieutenant André Bouxin (20th century)[14]
  • Le Chalet Industrial House (1906).[15] The house contains a Fountain (19th century) which is registered as an historical object.[16]
  • The Railway Station (1885)[17]
  • The old Hotel Collin (13th century)[18] now the Jean Mermoz Museum. The Museum contains several items which are registered as historical objects:
    • A Bas-relief: Arms surmounted by lions (16th century)[19]
    • A Bust: Jean Mermoz (20th century)[20]
    • A Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz as an aviator (1937)[21]
    • A Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz (20th century)[22]
    • A Lamp called the Lampedaire of Jean Mermoz (1913)[23]
    • Jean Mermoz's Cradle (19th century)[24]
    • A Commemorative plaque for Jean Mermoz (1937)[25]
  • The old Flour Mill (18th century)[26]
  • The old City Walls (14th century)[27] of which only two remain of the original seven towers: the Tour de Chimay (in the Tower lane) has been transformed into a cottage managed by the commune. Another tower on private land is visible from the road along the Thon

Religious heritage
  • The Fortified Parish Church of Notre-Dame (12th century)[28] There are also a very large number of registered historical objects contained in the Church.[28]
  • A Funeral Monument to André Bouxin (1884).[29] The monument is surmounted by a large Statue: André Bouxin in a lieutenant's uniform (1925) which is registered as an historical object.[30]
  • During the European Heritage Days in 2007, metal barriers prevented access to the church.
  • The War Memorial
  • The Fire Station
  • Wayside Cross
  • A capital in the church
  • The church organ
  • Statue of Notre Dame in the church
  • Ceiling in the church

Notable people linked to the commune
  • Jean Mermoz, aviator.
  • Joseph Nelson Soye, doctor and MP
  • Emile Fontaine, Annette Pierron, and Camille Pierron, resistance fighters and "Righteous Among the Nations"

See also

Notes and references

Notes

    References
    1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
    2. Inhabitants of Aisne (in French)
    3. Google Maps
    4. Géoportail, Map of Aubenton, consulted on 6 January 2012 (in French)
    5. The Judenlager of Mazures 1942-1944 (in French)
    6. It was based on a dossier containing the testimony of one of the escapees, Nathan Szuster, that Yad Vashem officially awarded them the title of "Righteous among the Nations".
    7. List of Mayors of France (in French)
    8. Politics? A case of women in the Canton, Michel Mainnevret, L'Union, 17 June 2013, consulted on 17 June 2013 (in French)
    9. Base Mérimée: Search for heritage in the commune, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
    10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000584 Girls' School (in French)
    11. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000684 War memorial (in French)
    12. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000495 Town Hall (in French)
    13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001714 Bust: Marianne (in French)
    14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001713 Bust: Lieutenant André Bouxin (in French)
    15. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000686 Le Chalet Industrial House (in French)
    16. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001917 Fountain (in French)
    17. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000601 Railway Station (in French)
    18. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000682 Hotel Collin (in French)
    19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001738 Bas-relief: Arms surmounted by lions (in French)
    20. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001712 Bust: Jean Mermoz (in French)
    21. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001711 Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz as an aviator (in French)
    22. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001710 Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz (in French)
    23. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001709 Lamp called the Lampedaire of Jean Mermoz (in French)
    24. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001708 Jean Mermoz's Cradle (in French)
    25. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001715 Commemorative plaque for Jean Mermoz (in French)
    26. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000689 Flour Mill (in French)
    27. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000589 City Walls (in French)
    28. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000494 Fortified Parish Church of Notre-Dame (in French)
    29. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000733 Funeral Monument to André Bouxin (in French)
    30. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001717 Statue: André Bouxin in a lieutenant's uniform (in French)
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