Barby, Ardennes

Barby is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France.[2]

Barby
Commune
The road into Barby
Location of Barby
Barby
Barby
Coordinates: 49°31′22″N 4°18′49″E
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentArdennes
ArrondissementRethel
CantonRethel
IntercommunalityPays Rethélois
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Christian Noizet
Area
1
11.32 km2 (4.37 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
415
 • Density37/km2 (95/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
08048 /08300
Elevation66–142 m (217–466 ft)
(avg. 73 m or 240 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 Barbyons or Barbyonnes.[3]

The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.[4]

Geography
1935 Map of Barby

Barby is located immediately north-west of Rethel and immediately south-east of Château-Porcien. Access to the commune is by the D926 road from Rethel which passes through the heart of the commune and the village before continuing north-west to Château-Porcien. The D946 from Rethel passes through the north of the commune as it goes north-west to Seraincourt. The commune is entirely farmland.[5][6]

The Aisne river passes through the south-east of the commune forming a small part of the south-eastern border as it flows west to eventually join the Oise at Compiègne. The Vaux river flows south, forming the western border of the commune, to join the Aisne just outside the south-western tip of the commune. The Ruisseau de Bourgeron flows from the north-east through the commune and the village and joins the Aisne on the southern border. The Canal des Ardennes is parallel to and south of the Aisne and forms a small portion of the southern border of the commune.[5]

Climate

July and August are very hot and dry with temperatures up to 38 °C. Even so, rainfall is more frequent in summer, but the winters are shorter and less severe. The cold weather lasts only from October to March which favours corn crops and especially Kitchen gardens.

History
A Wayside Cross on the presumed site of the birthplace of Jean de Gerson

Excavations have uncovered a Bronze Age tomb in Barby and the village is traversed by the old Roman road from Rethel to Château-Porcien.

The village of Gerson was located on the current territory of the commune in the Middle Ages but is now gone. It was at Gerson that Jean Charlier de Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris (nicknamed Doctor Christianissimus), was born in 1363. A Wayside cross marks the place which traditionally is his birthplace. The commune named the Rue Gerson after him and the parish built a monument in the church during its construction in 1880 or 1881.

Barby appears as Barby on the 1750 Cassini Map[7] and the same on the 1790 version.[8]

Administration

List of Successive Mayors[9]

FromToNamePartyPosition
19771995Jean Fequant
19952004Jean-Marie Renard
20042005Louis Tanton
20052020Christian Noizet

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 415 inhabitants.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 394—    
1800 478+2.80%
1806 474−0.14%
1821 498+0.33%
1831 546+0.92%
1836 598+1.84%
1841 586−0.40%
1846 593+0.24%
1851 610+0.57%
1866 476−1.64%
1872 398−2.94%
1876 414+0.99%
1881 415+0.05%
1886 383−1.59%
1891 341−2.30%
1896 318−1.39%
1901 308−0.64%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 323+0.96%
1911 301−1.40%
1921 263−1.34%
1926 275+0.90%
1931 226−3.85%
1936 240+1.21%
1946 187−2.46%
1954 226+2.40%
1962 234+0.44%
1968 209−1.87%
1975 211+0.14%
1982 347+7.37%
1990 384+1.27%
1999 352−0.96%
2007 369+0.59%
2012 379+0.54%
2017 415+1.83%
Source: EHESS[10] and INSEE[11]
The War Memorial

Economy

Barby is a rural commune characterised by agriculture. The wheat harvest wheat is a highlight of life in the commune.

Sites and Monuments
The Church of Saint John the Baptist
  • The Church of Saint John the Baptist dates from 1880. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
    • A Baptismal font (15th century)[12]
    • 2 Statues: Virgin of Pity and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist (15th century)[13]
    • A Painting: The beheading of Saint John the Baptist (15th century)[14]
    • An Altar and Retable (15th century)[15]
    • A Statue: Saint Barbe (16th century)[16]
    • A Statue: Saint John the Baptist (17th century)[17]
    • A Statue: Saint Hubert (17th century)[18]
    • A Funeral Plaque for Elisabeth la Chardenière, mother of Jean Gerson (16th century)[19]
  • La Crauye, a chalk quarry north of the village.
  • Les Bœufs Blancs (The White Oxen), a beach on the Aisne.

Notable people linked to the commune
  • Jean Charlier de Gerson (1363-1429), Chancellor of the University of Paris.
  • Gérard Tène (or Thène), a labourer at Barby in 1644 and his son, Joseph Taine - also a labourer at Barby, were the ancestors of Hippolyte Taine.
  • Eugène Marquigny, a Jesuit and writer born in 1836 at Barby.
  • Guy Féquant, writer, born in 1949 at Barby

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Barby on Lion1906
  3. Inhabitants of Ardennes (in French)
  4. Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom website Archived December 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  5. Barby on Google Maps
  6. Barby on the Géoportail from National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
  7. Barby on the 1750 Cassini Map
  8. Barby on the 1790 Cassini Map
  9. List of Mayors of France (in French)
  10. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Barby, EHESS. (in French)
  11. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  12. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000058 Baptismal font (in French)
  13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000057 2 Statues: Virgin of Pity and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist (in French)
  14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000056 Painting: The beheading of Saint John the Baptist (in French)
  15. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000055 Altar and Retable (in French)
  16. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000054 Statue: Saint Barbe (in French)
  17. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000053 Statue: Saint John the Baptist (in French)
  18. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000052 Statue: Saint Hubert (in French)
  19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000051 Funeral Plaque for Elisabeth la Chardenière, mother of Jean Gerson (in French)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.