Avaux () is a commune in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

department and

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administ ...

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 and t ...

of north-eastern

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 ar ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Avalois or Avaloises. 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 3 ...

and 38 km south-east of

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territori ...

. Access to the commune is by the D523 from Évergnicourt 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 LOR or Lor may refer to: Science * Loricrin, a protein of the epidermis * Loss of resistance, in epidural anesthesia * Lunar orbit rendezvous, a method used to land man on the moon and safely return People *Lor, a native of Lorestan * Lor, a sp ...

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 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 plate ...

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

In 2017 the commune had 466 inhabitants.

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 de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux, vicomte de Neufchâtel (1630–1688) was a French magistrate, intendant of Soissons, and Président à mortier of the Parlement of Paris. He developed the town of Avaux-la-Ville, which is now called As ...

, 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 inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Asfeldois''. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''Nationa ...

. *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