Acy-Romance () 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

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

region of northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Romanciers'' or ''Romancières''. The commune has been awarded two flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villages in Bloom''.

Geography

Acy-Romance is located some 8 km south east of

Château-Porcien Château-Porcien () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France. The communes ...

and some 40 km north-east of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

on the E46 Highway (N51).

Route nationale A ''route nationale'', or simply ''nationale'', is a class of trunk road in France. They are important roads of national significance which cross broad portions of the French territory, in contrast to departmental or communal roads which serve m ...

N51 forms the south-eastern border of the commune passing through the northern part of the commune as it circles around the city of

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37& ...

which is immediately north-east of Acy-Romance. To reach the town of Acy-Romance it is necessary to exit the N51 highway onto road D30 which passes through the town and exits from the western border of the commune towards

. The D18 road connects to Avancon which is 8 km south-west of Acy-Romance town. The

Canal des Ardennes The Canal des Ardennes (, literally ''Ardennes Canal'') is a summit level canal built to the Freycinet gauge between the river valleys of the Aisne and the Meuse. Physical Characteristics The Canal des Ardennes is 87.779 km long and has 44 ...

traverses the commune from west to east north of the town of Acy-Romance. The Chauss-exp

is within the north-eastern border of the commune. The complex for AFPA (National Association for Adult Vocational Training) is located next to the E46 within the western border of the commune.Google Maps
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Neighbouring Communes and Villages

Archaeology

Discovered by aerial surveys in 1979, there is a protohistoric site on the plateau which has been studied since 1983. The work has been led by Bernard Lambot a native of the area. First brought to light were, a dwelling, a cemetery, three shrines, pottery, tools, all found in different places. Twenty acres on a plateau overlooking the valley of the Aisne (river), Aisne in Acy-Romance commune were excavated between 1986 and 2003 to reveal a Gallic city founded in 180 BC and occupied for about two centuries. The most surprising find was the apparent compartmentalisation of the town that could have more than a thousand permanent inhabitants at its peak. A central square of 3500 square metres was surrounded by palisades to accommodate both collective and public life, markets, meetings, banquets etc. Imposing buildings, probably temples and work houses, were located in the northwest. Three other functional areas with well-defined borders appear on the other sides of the square. They each consist of individual portions of land enclosed by fences of a varying sizes, with houses and outbuildings such as barns, granaries, sheds, and workshops. *The area is at the northeast of the plateau and close to grazing livestock and can be accessed from the river by a direct pathway. *In the Southeast, the artisans' quarter has a variety of shophouses. *To the east, the agricultural area is revealed by farms and granaries, and the proximity of fields in the most exposed areas. At the edges of the plateau are eight cemeteries, each bordered by an embankment, where buried human remains of 150 people were found. This was only a fraction of the population.

History

Acy was the original name of the area and in the middle of the 18th century the suffix Romance was added which was the 12th-century family name of the family who purchased the area. The archaeological excavations detailed above suggest a much earlier civilization than the 12th century. The Lordship of Acy appeared in the Middle Ages through the record of particular lords. Until the 17th century the lordship was the property of the Colbert family. In 1750, Hugues-Étienne de Romance, Count of Auteuil and Lord of Mesmont, acquired the Lordship of Acy from Leon de Maugras. In 1752,

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, by letters patent made the land a marquisate in tribute and mark of respect to the family of Romance who were faithfully attached to the king who said: "We commend and change the name of Acy in favour of Romance". The village took the name of Romance. On 29 December 1770 Hugues-Étienne de Romance (died 17 July 1775) made a declaration and named Jeanne Louis Durfort de Duras, Duchess of Mazarin, in the letters of the Romance Marquisate. In a book of 50 pages of inventory written in 1778 it can be seen that the lord's manor included a large library and many works of art. On 8 December 1790, an order of the directorate of the district of

allowed the commune to resume its old name of ''Acy'' without including the name of Romance. In 1792, the Squire of Romance could not claim his residence in France so it was decided to sequester the property of the Marquis and the Marchioness of Romance was incarcerated for eight months. The Revolution destroyed the castle. On 12 May 1831 The Municipal Council of Acy protested against the sending by the prefecture of a stamp bearing the name of ''Acy-Romance''. On 29 August 1831,

King Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

made an order on this and the commune resumed its former name of ''Acy'', until 1921. From 16 February 1922 in the record of the proceedings of the City Council an official stamp appeared bearing the name of ''Acy-Romance''. On 1 December 1951, in a debate, the Municipal Council, on a proposal from the Prefect of the Ardennes, formally decided that the old designation of ''Acy'' applied to the commune will be replaced by that of ''Acy-Romance''. The Prime Minister signed a decree on 3 April 1962 in which the commune of Acy was from then on authorized to bear the name of ''Acy-Romance''.

Heraldry

Administration

Population

Age population

The table below shows the gender and age groups of the population of the commune of Acy-Romance in comparison with that of the Ardennes in the year 2017. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Acy-Romance and Ardennes Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Acy-Romance (08001)
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Sites and Monuments

There was a Celtic agricultural village occupied in 180 BC. for 20 years. The Church contains many items which are registered as historical objects: *4

Capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

(13th century) *A group of Capitals (13th century) *A group of Capitals (13th century) *Capitals on small columns (13th century) *A semi-circular Capital (13th century) *A Tombstone for Etienne-Jean-Joseph de Maugres (died 1733) (18th century) *A Tomb slab for Etienne-Jean-Joseph de Maugres (died 1733) (18th century) *A Tombstone for Louis de Boutillac (17th century) *A Tombstone for Hubert de Boutillac (16th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy

Bibliography

*B. Lambot and P. Meniel, ''The protohistoric site of Acy-Romance (Ardennes). I. Gallic settlements (1988-1990). Memooire of the Champenoise Archaeological Society No. 7'', supplement to Bulletin No. 2, Reims, 1992. *B. Lambot, M. Friboulet, and P. Meniel, in collaboration with L. - P. Delestrée, H. Guillot and I. Le Goff, ''The proto-historic site of Acy-Romance (Ardennes) - II, The Necropolis in their regional context (Thugny-Trugnyest and aristocratic tombs) 1986-1988-1989. Par. Memoire of the Champenoise Archaeological Society No. 8''; Dossier of Protohistoire 5, Reims 1994. *B. Lambot, ''The Remains of the beginning of the age of Romanization. Porcelain of the 1st century BC'' Rev.arch. Picardie, 11, 1996, pp. 13–3
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*B. Lambot, P. Méniel, J. Metzler, ''About the funeral rites at the end of the Iron Age in the north-east of Gaul'', Bulletins and memoires of the Paris Anthropology society, 8-3-4, 1996, p. 329 -34
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*B. Lambot "Essay on the demographic approach to the site of the final dig at Acy-Romance (Ardennes)", Archaeological Review of Picardy, 1–2, 1998, pp. 71–8
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*S. Verger, ''Rites and areas in Celtic and Mediterranean countries. Comparative study of the sanctuary of Acy-Romance (Ardennes, France)'', Collection of the French School in Rome, 276, Rome, 2000.