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Barby, Ardennes

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Country
  
France

Department
  
Ardennes

Intercommunality
  
Pays Rethélois

Area
  
11.32 km²

Arrondissement
  
Rethel

Region
  
Grand Est

Canton
  
Rethel

Population (2010)
  
375

Local time
  
Thursday 10:46 AM

Barby, Ardennes

Weather
  
8°C, Wind W at 24 km/h, 68% Humidity

Barby is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France.

Contents

Map of 08300 Barby, France

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barbyons or Barbyonnes.

The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Geography

Barby is located immediately north-west of Rethel and immediately south-east of Château-Porcien. Access to the commune is by the D926 road from Rethel which passes through the heart of the commune and the village before continuing north-west to Château-Porcien. The D946 from Rethel passes through the north of the commune as it goes north-west to Seraincourt. The commune is entirely farmland.

The Aisne river passes through the south-east of the commune forming a small part of the south-eastern border as it flows west to eventually join the Oise at Compiègne. The Vaux river flows south, forming the western border of the commune, to join the Aisne just outside the south-western tip of the commune. The Ruisseau de Bourgeron flows from the north-east through the commune and the village and joins the Aisne on the southern border. The Canal des Ardennes is parallel to and south of the Aisne and forms a small portion of the southern border of the commune.

Climate

July and August are very hot and dry with temperatures up to 38 °C. Even so, rainfall is more frequent in summer, but the winters are shorter and less severe. The cold weather lasts only from October to March which favours corn crops and especially Kitchen gardens.

Mapping

A list of online mapping systems can be displayed by clicking on the coordinates (latitude and longitude) in the top right hand corner of this article. None of these maps, however, show the extent of nor any information on the commune.

History

Excavations have uncovered a Bronze Age tomb in Barby and the village is traversed by the old Roman road from Rethel to Château-Porcien.

The village of Gerson was located on the current territory of the commune in the Middle Ages but is now gone. It was at Gerson that Jean Charlier de Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris (nicknamed Doctor Christianissimus), was born in 1363. A Wayside cross marks the place which traditionally is his birthplace. The commune named the Rue Gerson after him and the parish built a monument in the church during its construction in 1880 or 1881.

Barby appears as Barby on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 375 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.

Population Change (See database)

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Economy

Barby is a rural commune characterised by agriculture. The wheat harvest wheat is a highlight of life in the commune.

Sites and Monuments

  • The Church of Saint John the Baptist dates from 1880. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A Baptismal font (15th century)
  • 2 Statues: Virgin of Pity and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist (15th century)
  • A Painting: The beheading of Saint John the Baptist (15th century)
  • An Altar and Retable (15th century)
  • A Statue: Saint Barbe (16th century)
  • A Statue: Saint John the Baptist (17th century)
  • A Statue: Saint Hubert (17th century)
  • A Funeral Plaque for Elisabeth la Chardenière, mother of Jean Gerson (16th century)
  • La Crauye, a chalk quarry north of the village.
  • Les Bœufs Blancs (The White Oxen), a beach on the Aisne.
  • Notable people linked to the commune

  • Jean Charlier de Gerson (1363-1429), Chancellor of the University of Paris.
  • Gérard Tène (or Thène), a labourer at Barby in 1644 and his son, Joseph Taine - also a labourer at Barby, were the ancestors of Hippolyte Taine.
  • Eugène Marquigny, a Jesuit and writer born in 1836 at Barby.
  • Guy Féquant, writer, born in 1949 at Barby
  • References

    Barby, Ardennes Wikipedia