Ablon () 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 ...

in northwestern

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 ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ablonnais'' or ''Ablonnaises''.

Geography

Ablon is 5 km south east of

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

and 16 km north-west of

Pont-Audemer Pont-Audemer () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France.Seine Estuary. It can be reached on Highway D580A from Honfleur turning right on the small country road called ''Cote de Vats'' to reach the village of Ablon. Road D140 (Route de Genneville) from Genneville in the south passes through the western side of the commune to join the D580a just outside the commune. The D144 road forms the southern border of the commune. Ablon is in the north-eastern corner of the Calvados department with its eastern border being the departmental border with Eure.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Morelle'' river passes through the north of the commune from east to west although oddly does not form part of the commune. The ''Canal de Retour'' is parallel to it but also does not form part of the commune.

Toponymy

The name of the village is attested as far back as 1180 as Abelon. One theory states that the town's name comes from the Norse ''Epi-lundr'', meaning “apple orchard”. The nearby village of

Yébleron Yébleron () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village in the Pays de Caux, situated some northeast of Le Havre, at the junction of the D18, D104 and D149 roads. The A2 ...

shares this etymology. The ancient scandinavian ''lundr'' meaning orchard or wood has regularly been followed by the suffix -lon (for example, Bouquelon, Écaquelon,

Yquelon Yquelon () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Population See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 Communes of France, communes of the Manche Departments of France, ...

, etc.). Another theory suggests that the town's name derives from the Germanic personal name Abilo, followed by the suffix -o/-one, but this suffix does not usually accompany Germanic personal names. It has also been suggested that the name is based solely on the name ‘Abilo' with no suffix but the usage of a personal name with no suffix or epithet would be exceptional among Norman place names. A third theory suggests that Ablon comes from the Germanic personal name Abbo followed by the suffix -lon. If this is the case the name of the town means “Abbo's wood”. The similarity with the nearby village of

Ablon-sur-Seine Ablon-sur-Seine (, literally ''Ablon on Seine'') is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Ablon has been awarded one flower in the ''Concours des villes ...

is coincidental.

History

In 1809, Ablon grew in size following its union with two neighbouring communes: Crémanville and Ableville. Ablon was the site of a Nobel dynamite factory from 1879 until 1989.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The factory ceased operations following an explosion on 3 March 1988 which killed 5, including the factory's director, and left 8 injured. Windows were broken more than a kilometre away in the village of

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Ablon

Population

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has two buildings that are registered as historical monuments: *The Chateau of Ablon (1767 and 1845) *The Dynamite Factory (1885 to 1916). The factory contains several items that are registered as historical objects: **A Dreiswerke moulding machine (1952) **A Weighing machine (20th century) **A Nitroglycerine production line (20th century) ;Other sites of interest: *La Houssaye Manor-farm

Religious heritage

The Parish Church of Saint-Pierre contains one item that is registered as an historical object: *A Baptismal font (12th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy

References

External links

Ablon official website

Ablon on the old IGN website

Ablon on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Ablon'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{authority control Communes of Calvados (department)