Baron-sur-Odon

Baron-sur-Odon
Commune
The road into Baron-sur-Odon
Coat of arms
Location of Baron-sur-Odon
Baron-sur-Odon Show map of France Baron-sur-Odon Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°07′43″N 0°28′57″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Caen
Canton	Évrecy
Intercommunality	Vallées de l'Orne et de l'Odon
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Georges Laignel[1]
Area ^1	6.43 km^2 (2.48 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	1,055
• Density	160/km^2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14042 /14210
Elevation	25–112 m (82–367 ft) (avg. 84 m or 276 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Baron-sur-Odon (French pronunciation: [baʁɔ̃ syʁ ɔdɔ̃] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.^[3]

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Baronnais or Baronnaises.^[4]

The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.^[5]

Geography

Baron-sur-Odon is located some 4 km south-west of Caen and 10 km north-east of Villers-Bocage. It is part of the urban area of Caen. Access to the commune is by the D89 from Tourville-sur-Odon in the north which passes through the village and continues south to Esquay-Notre-Dame. The D214 comes from Gavrus in the south-west and also passes through the village as well as Les Crettes and La Bruyère before continuing north-east to Fontaine-Étoupefour. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Tourmauville, Les Crettes, and La Bruyère. The commune is mostly farmland except for some forest in the north.^[6][7]

The river Odon forms the northern border of the commune as it flows north-east to join the Orne in Caen.

Toponymy

The name of the area is attested as Baron in 1138^[8] and Baro in the 14th century.^[9] The origin of this place name is uncertain. Albert Dauzat suggests the cognomen Baro or a title of German origin Baron.^[9] René Lepelley meanwhile detects the Gallic barro meaning "fence" (in old French barre) or the Germanic anthroponym Baro.^[10]

History

A milestone on Chemin Haussé

Baron-sur-Odon appears as Baron on the 1750 Cassini Map^[11] and the same on the 1790 version.^[12]

The "Chemin Haussé", which passes through the commune, is a Roman road identified as one of the roads included in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The road is mostly straight with embankments hence the name (Haussé means "raised"). This route was used as a line of communication until the end of the Middle Ages. It is also called the "Path of Duke William" on some land registers.^[13]

In June 1944, during Operation Epsom, the heights of Hill 112 south-east of Baron-sur-Odon (also in the communes of Fontaine-Étoupefour, Vieux, and Esquay-Notre-Dame) was one objectives for the liberation of Caen. The fighting lasted more than a month.

Heraldry

Arms of Baron-sur-Odon

Blazon: Party per bend sinister, at 1 Gules, two lions passant guardant Or one over the other to sinister and a croix de guerre in chief border; at 2, Azure semy of wavelets Argent debruised by a horseshoe inverted Or; over all a bend sinister charged with the inscription BARON in capital letters of Sable .

The explanation of this blazon follows:^[14]

• The Croix de Guerre was awarded to the commune after the Battle of Hill 112 which took place on its soil.
• The arms of the Basse-Normandie region are represented by two golden leopards.

The horseshoe symbolizes the escape of William the Conqueror (from Valognes to Falaise in 1047) with his horse shod in reverse to mislead his pursuers. The ripples represent the river Odon.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[15]

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1971	1983	Charles Duboscq
1983	1995	Gérard Maheut
1995	2008	Joseph Desquesnes
2008	2026[16]	Georges Laignel

The municipal council consists of 15 members including a Mayor and four deputies.^[17]

Twinning

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Baron-sur-Odon has twinning associations with:^[18]

• Gaukönigshofen (Germany) since 1998.
• Chittlehampton (United Kingdom) since 1986.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 939 inhabitants.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 450 —     1800 392 −1.95% 1806 461 +2.74% 1821 456 −0.07% 1831 468 +0.26% 1836 497 +1.21% 1841 434 −2.67% 1846 467 +1.48% 1851 430 −1.64% 1856 401 −1.39% 1861 411 +0.49% 1866 418 +0.34% 1872 379 −1.62% 1876 396 +1.10% 1881 359 −1.94% 1886 335 −1.37% 1891 319 −0.97% 1896 318 −0.06%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 318 +0.00% 1906 291 −1.76% 1911 261 −2.15% 1921 193 −2.97% 1926 193 +0.00% 1931 208 +1.51% 1936 216 +0.76% 1946 195 −1.02% 1954 228 +1.97% 1962 267 +1.99% 1968 313 +2.68% 1975 446 +5.19% 1982 579 +3.80% 1990 616 +0.78% 1999 625 +0.16% 2007 839 +3.75% 2012 840 +0.02% 2017 939 +2.25%
Source: EHESS[19] and INSEE[20]

Culture and heritage

The Church of Notre-Dame of the Nativity

The Manor and the Tower

Civil heritage

• The Chateau of Tourmeauville (18th century) with its Chapel (19th century)
• A Chateau and Manor (16th century) is registered as an historical monument^[21]

Religious heritage

The Church of Notre-Dame of the Nativity (12th century) is registered as an historical monument.^[22]

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department
• Operation Epsom

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. INSEE commune file
4. Inhabitants of Calvados (in French)
5. Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom website Archived December 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (in French)
6. Baron-sur-Odon on Google Maps
7. Baron-sur-Odon on the Géoportail from National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
8. Ernest Nègre, General Toponymy of France, Librairie Droz, 1990, Vol II, 676 pages, p. 829, ISBN 9782600001335 (in French).
9. Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Etymological Dictionary of place names in France, Larousse, Paris, 1963 (in French)
10. René Lepelley, Etymological Dictionary of names of communes in Normandy, Éditions Charles Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau, 1996, BnF 36174448w p. 59 (in French)
11. Baron on the 1750 Cassini Map
12. Baron on the 1790 Cassini Map
13. The Chemin Haussé on Panoramio Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
14. From an explanatory document from the town hall of Baron-sur-Odon: the blazon project was proposed in the municipal council by Mr. Collard and Mr. Maheut and adopted unanimously.
15. List of Mayors of France (in French)
16. Reelection 2014: Georges Laignel was elected Mayor for a second term, Ouest-France, consulted on 8 April 2014 (in French)
17. art L. 2121-2 of the General Code of Collective Territories (in French).
18. National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (in French)
19. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Baron-sur-Odon, EHESS (in French).
20. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
21. Base Mérimée: PA00111036 Chateau and Manor, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
22. Base Mérimée: PA00111037 Church of Notre-Dame of the Nativity, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)

External links

• Commune of Baron-sur-Odon website (in French)