Avaux () is a commune in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

department and

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

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-eastern

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 ...

. 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

Avaux is located some 22 km west by south-west 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 ...

and 38 km south-east of

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

. Access to the commune is by the D523 from

Évergnicourt Évergnicourt () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 796 communes in the French department of Aisne. The ...

in the south-west which changes to the D137 at the border then continues to the village and north-east to join the D18 south-west of Saint-Germainmont. The D966 forms the western border of the commune as it goes south from Lor to Evergnicourt. Apart from thin strips of forest along the eastern and southern borders the commune is entirely farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The

Canal latéral à l'Aisne The Canal latéral à l'Aisne () is a canal in northern France, which connects the Canal des Ardennes at Vieux-lès-Asfeld to the canalised river Aisne at Condé-sur-Aisne. It is long, with 8 locks. It runs alongside the Aisne. It has junction ...

forms the southern border of the commune and the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

river forms the eastern border then runs through the south of the commune parallel to the canal as it flows west to eventually join the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

Conflans-Sainte-Honorine Conflans-Sainte-Honorine () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. The commune was originally named for its g ...

Neighbouring communes and villages

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Avalois or Avaloises in French.

Sites and monuments

Avaux was once called ''Asfeld-le-Château'' as it was the seat of a fortified house of the Counts of Avaux. The chateau has disappeared. The Church of Notre-Dame contains a Painting: the Nativity of the Virgin (18th century), which is registered as an historical object.

Notable people linked to the commune

* Claude de Mesmes, Count of Avaux (1595-1650), diplomat and man of letters. *

Jean-Jacques de Mesmes Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

, Count of Avaux: best known for developing the town of

Asfeld Asfeld () is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France, formerly named Ecry or Ecri. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competi ...

. *Yves Gibeau, his family came from Avaux and he lived in the commune during part of his youth.Yannick Hureaux evoking his friend Yves Gibeau in a conference at Avaux on 22 May 200
Article on 4 June 2009
extracted from l'Union magazine

References

External links

''Avaux'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{authority control Communes of Ardennes (department)