Bazenville () is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...
department in the
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of north-western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Bazenville Airfield
Bazenville Airfield is a former Second World War airfield, located 1.8 km east of Bazenville in the Lower Normandy region, France. The B-2 Bazenville Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) was located only southwest from the Normandy Gold landing ...
was a former World War II
Advanced Landing Ground, mostly located outside the commune of Bazenville 1.8 km to the north-east.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bazenvillais'' or ''Bazenvillaises''.
Geography
Bazenville is located some 6 km east by north-east of
Bayeux and 4 km south by south-east of
Arromanches-les-Bains. Access to the commune is by the D87 road from
Ryes
Ryes () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions ...
in the north-west which passes through the commune south of the village and continues south-east to
Villiers-le-Sec. The D112 from
Sommervieu to
Crépon forms the north-western border of the commune. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Les Noyaux. There is a British Military Cemetery in the west of the commune on the D87. The commune is entirely farmland.
[Bazenville on Google Maps]
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Toponymy
''Bazonille'' is mentioned as ''Basonni villa'' in 875.
Bazenville appears as ''Bazanville'' on the 1750 Cassini Map[ and as ''Bazan ville'' on the 1790 version.][
]
History
Bazenville was liberated on the same day as the Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
on 6 June 1944. An interim Canadian aerodrome (referred to as ''Bazenville Airfield
Bazenville Airfield is a former Second World War airfield, located 1.8 km east of Bazenville in the Lower Normandy region, France. The B-2 Bazenville Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) was located only southwest from the Normandy Gold landing ...
'', ''Advanced Landing Ground B-2 Bazenville'', or ''B-2 Crépon'') was built commencing the following night near the commune in a large part of the triangle formed by the Bazenville, Crépon, and Villiers-le-Sec villages.
It was on this aerodrome that the French ace Pierre Clostermann
Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French fighter pilot.
During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de ...
flew, on 11 June 1944, for the first time in France after his entry into the war in 1942: "All my life I will remember the people of Bazenville the first French to whom I spoke".[Claude Quétel (under the direction of), ''Dictionary of the Landings'', éditions Ouest-France, Rennes, 2011, 725 pages, p. 174 "Clostermann (Pierre)", ]
Administration
List of Successive Mayors
Demography
In 2017 the commune had 137 inhabitants.
Culture and heritage
Civil heritage
*A Commemorative plaque remembering the site of the airfield where Pierre Clostermann
Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French fighter pilot.
During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de ...
arrived on 11 June 1944.
The commune has many buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:
*A Farmhouse at Rue des Alliés (1759)
*A Tradesman's house at Rue des Cordiers (19th century)
*The Bazenville Farmhouse at Rue de l'Eglise (17th century)
*A House at Rue de l'Eglise (18th century)
*A Notable's House at Rue de l'Eglise (18th century)
*The Chateau of Bazenville at Rue de la Grotte (17th century)
*The Manor of Tournebu at Rue des Noyaux (17th century)
*A Worker's House at Route de Villiers-le-Sec (19th century)
*The Chateau de la Croix at Route de Villiers-le-Sec (1727)
*The British Cemetery of Ryes (20th century). The cemetery contains 979 graves: 630 British, 21 Canadians, one Australian, one Pole, and 326 Germans.
*The War Memorial (1929)
*The Grotto of Lourdes (1947)
*Bazenville Village (Ancient times)
*Houses (17th-19th century)
Religious heritage
The commune has several religious buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:
*A Presbytery at Rue de l'Eglise (19th century)[Ministry of Culture, Mérimée ]
*The Parish Church of Saint-Martin at le Bourg (13th century) The Church contains a large number of objects which are registered as historical objects.[
]
Heritage Picture Gallery
File:141028 15h13m11s cimetière militaire britannique de Bazenville.jpg, The British Military Cemetery in Bazenville
File:Château de Bazenville.JPG, The Chateau of Bazenville
File:Bazenville,grotte à la vierge.JPG, The Grotto of Lourdes
File:Église Saint-Martin,2.JPG, The Church of Saint Martin
File:Château de La Croix.JPG, The Chateau de la Croix
Notable people linked to the commune
* Antoine Halley
Antoine Halley (1593 – 3 June 1675) was a French professor and poet.
Halley was born at Bazenville near Bayeux. A professor of belles-lettres and Principal of the Collège du Bois, at the University of Caen, he succeeded Antoine Gosselin and d ...
, born in 1593 at Bazenville died in 1675, poet.
See also
* Communes of the Calvados department
References
{{authority control
Communes of Calvados (department)