Avenay () is a commune in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

department in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of north-western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Avenay is located some 12 km south-west of

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

just east of

Évrecy Évrecy () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France situated on the River Guigne. It was almost entirely destroyed on June 15, 1944, by 223 Royal Air Force Lancaster and 100 Halifax heavy bombers ...

. Access to the commune is by the D36 road from

Sainte-Honorine-du-Fay Sainte-Honorine-du-Fay () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 526 Communes of France, communes ...

in the south-west which passes through the heart of the commune and the village and continues north to join the D8. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of ''La Coquerie'' on the eastern border. The commune consists entirely of farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Guigne'' river flows along the northern border of the commune towards the east where it joins the

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

times. In 1820-1821 some remains of Gallo-Roman houses were found. In the Middle Ages, the village depended on the Bishop of Bayeux. In 1827 Avenay (336 inhabitants in 1821) absorbed Fierville-en-Bessin (68 people) in the east of its territory.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 557 inhabitants. This table includes the population of Fierville-en-Bassin prior to 1827.

Sites and Monuments

Tomb in the old church of Fierville to Avenay 16012011037

*The Church of Mary of the Assumption (Reconstruction). *Ruins of the Church of Fierville.Photo of the Church of Fierville
on Ministry of Culture Memoire database *The Chateau of Fierville (16th century). *Pompierre Manor (15th century).

Activities and events

Each year, during the 3rd weekend in June, the Festival Committee of Avenay organises an inter-regional competition of bread. One hundred

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

s are judged every year. The competition focuses on different types of bread: Pain brié, Pain de campagne, traditional

Baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a diameter ...

Croissant A croissant (, ) is a French cuisine, French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, ''viennoiserie'' pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian cuisine, Austrian ''Kifli, ...

s etc. The jury, composed of baking professionals and consumers, use many criteria of quality and presentation. The results are announced on Sunday afternoon at the fair in the village. The fair begins with a snack of

Tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle and sheep. Types Beef Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's stomach chambers: th ...

at 9 am which brings hundreds of gourmands. The day continues with

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and an exceptional sale of gold tripe. On this day, the bakers make bread and pastries using bakery equipment and ovens installed specially for the festival. Visitors can buy bread made before their eyes. The school fair is also held on the same day. On this occasion the students of the school perform several Norman dances in traditional costumes.

References

External links

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