Airan () is a former

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 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 ...

. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune

Valambray Valambray () is a commune in the department of Calvados, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Airan (the seat), Billy, Conteville, Fierville-Bray and Poussy-la-Campagne.

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Airannais'' or ''Airannaises''

Geography

Airan is located some 17 km south-east of Caen and 25 km east by south-east of

Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ...

. It can be accessed from the D40 from Vimont in the north-west, passing through the south of the commune and continuing south-east to Vieux-Fumé. The D613 (Route de Paris) also from Vimont passes through the north of the commune and continues east to Crèvecœur-en-Auge. Neither road passes the village which can be accessed by the D47 road from

Moult In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

in the west which passes through the village then the heart of the commune before continuing south-east to Cesny-aux-Vignes. There is also the D43 road coming from the north through the village and continuing south to Fierville-Bray. The railway from Caen to

Mézidon-Canon Mézidon-Canon () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 9 September 1972, Mézidon merged with Canon to create Mézidon-Canon. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Mé ...

passes through the commune from west to east but there is no station in the commune. The nearest station is Bonafini to the west. The commune is quite large in extent and consists almost entirely of farmland with a few small patches of forest. Apart from the village there are also the hamlets of Le Haute-des-Pedouzes, Le Ruel, Valmeray, and Coupigny.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Muance'' river forms part of the western border of the commune before it flows west then north to join the Dives river through a network of canals near Bures-sur-Dives. The ''Douet'' also rises in the north of the commune and forms part of the northern border before continuing north to join the Dives near Hernetot.

Toponymy

The name is of Continental Germanic origin in an area where such origins are rare (''Heidram'' from the 9th century), possibly a personal name taken from ''Heidrammus'' or alternatively the name ''-ham'' preceded by an appellative or an unidentified person's name.

History

Archaeological excavations have uncovered the remains of a

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

necropolis. There is a legend of the famous ''Treasure of Airan''. In 1942, the resistance caused two derailments in the commune - on the night of 15 to 16 April and also on 30 April to 1 May. These two derailments left a total of forty dead and fifty wounded German soldiers who were on leave in these trains. Following this Nazi repression was brutal for many hostages: some were shot, others deported.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Airan

Population

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *A Water Mill (1682) is typical of the Caen region. *The Chateau of Coupigny (18th century) *The Chateau of Coupigny Park (18th century) ;Other sites of interest *Valmeray Tower and its surroundings are classified by DREAL Lower Normandy as an historical monument. The ruined tower is located in a hamlet near Airan. An old legend tells of a

secret passage Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow peop ...

connecting the tower to the church at Airan. The legend also says that the old

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

from the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

is hidden in the secret passage. Many people have tried to find it but without success. *The Alley of Lime Trees along the D43 is also registered with DREAL.

Religious heritage

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *The Church of Saint Germain (12th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée has a Romanesque facade.

Picture Gallery

Tour_de_Valmeray_Airan.jpg, Valmeray Tower Airan église Saint-Germain.JPG, The Church of Saint-Germain Chateau Coupigny.JPG, Coupigny Castle Airan moulin à eau.JPG, The Watermill Airan lavoir.JPG, The

Lavoir A lavoir (wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by laun ...

(Public laundry) on the Muance river File:Airan église Saint-Germain modillon 03.JPG, Gargoyle on the Church

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{authority control Former communes of Calvados (department) Populated places disestablished in 2017