Bavay () is a commune in the Nord department in the

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...

region of northern

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 town was the seat of the former canton of Bavay.

Geography

Bavay is located some 20 km east by south-east of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

and 10 km west of

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

. Main access is on the D649 highway between these two towns which passes through the commune just north of the town. Many roads radiate from the town: the D305 north-west, the D84 north-east, the D932 east by north-east, the D961 south-east, the D932 south-west, the D942 west by south-west, and the D2649 west. A disused railway line runs to the commune from Maubeuge and there is an abandoned railway station south-west of the town. Apart from the town the commune is entirely farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Hogneau'' or ''Bavay'' river runs through the commune to the west joined by several streams in the commune. The ''Riez Raoult'' rises in the north of the commune and flows north while the ''Ruisseau du Louvion'' rises nearby and flows north-east. The ''Ruisseau d'Aviette'' rises in the east and flows east from the commune. The ''Ruisseau des Pres'' comes from the south-east and forms part of the south-eastern border before joining the Bavay river. The ''Ruisseau de Mecquignies'' comes from the south and also flows to the Bavay river.

History

The legendary founder and apocryphal history

From the ''cordelier'' Jacques de Guise, Jean Wauquelin wrote in his ''Chronicles of Hainault'', a manuscript of the 15th century, that ''Bavo'', a cousin of

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Most scholars take the e ...

while fleeing the city of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, after many adventures found a hospitable land where he built a city that was called ''Belges''—the current Bavay. According to Wauquelin, seven roads, dedicated to the planets Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, and the Moon, left from seven temples in the city. The introduction of an elective monarchy signaled the decline of the ''city of Belges'' and the people of the city lost their unity and could not resist the Roman invasions. This episode has been considered a fable by most historians since the 19th century and even more so the bloody infighting which opposed the reign of ''Belges'' Queen Ursa by the former King Ursus. Yet more than 1000 years after the beginning conquests of Rome, Aubert Miraeus and some chroniclers of Hainaut still evoke Bavay as the "Belgian Rome", or ''Roma Belgica'' in an apocryphal historiography compiled from other older sources. The columnist and historian of Hainaut, Jacques de Guise was simply called ''Belgis'' (''Belge''), a name derived by him from Belis (the god Bel). Various authors and more modern "antiquarians" (people studying antiquity), including Joseph Adolphe Aubenas, while recognizing a lack of evidence in archeology, recalled that other texts, the oldest dating back to at least the 1st century AD also said that the Trojans came to Gaul and founded a great city. Thus, Aubenas, a member of the Society of Antiquaries of France, who in 1804 set up a goal to study the civilization of Gaul, history and French archeology, estimated in 1839 that Jacques de Guise did not invent anything, but only reported what the ancient writers had written before him. Aubenas cites in support of the thesis reported by J de Guise:

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

and better Timagenes according to which: "a part of the population of Gaul (according to the

Druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

) came from islands far away from beyond the Rhineland, where they had been driven either by frequent wars or by sea inundations". Rucleri, Hunibaud, and other medieval chroniclers did not invent this story says J Aubenas because Timagene said the same thing after more than 2000 years, and after him, the Trojan origin of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

was also affirmed in France: "in the

Chronicle of Fredegar The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicle begi ...

and its fragments and the chronicles of Hunibaud and Freculphus, which in the first half of the 9th century was expressed in formal terms".

Gallo-Roman history

The birth of Bavay after the conquest was the result of the reorganization of the territory by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

(probably between 16BC and 13BC). The parts of Gaul conquered by Caesar were then divided into three provinces. The region between 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 ...

and the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

was

Gallia Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...

and its capital was at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. It was divided into "cities" (''civitates'')—administrative districts which were headed by a chief town. Living in this district were some of the fiercest people of Northern Gaul and they occupied a vast area between the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

, the

Sambre The Sambre () is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne department. ...

, and the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

: the

Nervii The Nervii or Nervians were one of the most powerful Belgae, Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards to C ...

. The town became the capital for the Nervii under the name of ''Bagacum'' or ''Bavacum'' and, under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, it was an important junction of seven roads, the meeting-place of which was marked by a

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

, destroyed in the 17th century and replaced in the 19th century by a column. As the centre of the road junction, Bavay was an obligatory passage between

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

and the naval port of

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, a bridgehead to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. Other routes, seven in total, connected the capital city of the

to the capital cities of neighbouring peoples (

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

via

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

, Cassel,

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

in the east and Reims in the south). Its position was evidently strategic, but soon these military routes (the future emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

transited at Bavay with his armies around 4 AD) were used for commercial purposes. Bavay is mentioned as ''Baca Conervio'' on the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

. From the

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (Greek: Κλαυδιανός; ), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almo ...

period and especially under the Flavians in the late 1st century the city grew. Large monuments were built: a forum, thermal baths fed by an aqueduct bringing water from a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

near Floursies located twenty kilometres away, and other buildings with a seemingly official nature adorned the city.

Medieval

Excavations in the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

resulted in the discovery of ceramics from the 9th and 10th centuries. The history of the town during this period is unclear and reference is necessary to the larger lines of history of the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut ( ; ; ; ), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, Belgium, Mons (), n ...

. It is likely that the Roman Forum was built as part of a defensive system as some later documents referred to ''viel castel''. In the 12th century the region of Bavay became part of the County of Hainaut and the city was the capital of a ''Prévôt''. In the 13th and 14th centuries the city was fortified with a medieval design for the enclosure and its major levee is still visible today.

Modern era

In 1433 the county of Hainaut of which Bavay was part became part of the prosperous

Burgundian Netherlands The Burgundian Netherlands were those parts of the Low Countries ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy during the Burgundian Age between 1384 and 1482. Within their Burgundian State, which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly t ...

. In 1519, the Burgundian Netherlands became part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

also in a very prosperous period. In 1555 Charles V divided his empire and gave the Netherlands to which Bavay belonged to his son Philip II, King of Spain. Bavay then remained part of the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

until 1678 when, after numerous battles of conquest by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, a large part of the southern Spanish Netherlands was united with the kingdom of France. The confirmation of the unification of Bavay with the kingdom of France came in 1678 with the ( Treaty of Nijmegen). Louvignies-Bavay merged with Bavay in 1946.

French Revolution

The city was taken by the Austrians who entered the city on 21 July 1792

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Bavay The municipal majority in Bavay is the Independents. The Mayor stood for election to the General Council as a UPN (''Union Pour le Nord'' or Union for Nord region) candidate.

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bavaisiens'' or ''Bavaisiennes'' in French.

Distribution of age groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Bavay and Nord Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune de Bavay (59053)
/ref>

Economy

In 2010, the median fiscal revenue per household was €23,634.

Culture and heritage

The commune has a large number of sites that are registered as historical monuments. Below is an abridged summary of the most important sites.

Civil heritage

*The War Memorial (1923) *A Chateau at Louvignies (17th century) *A Flour Mill at Louvignies (1823) *The Theillier Brewery at 11 Rue de Chaussée (18th century) *The Alphonse Derome Oil Mill at 4 Rue Eugène-Wascart (1860) *A

Lavoir A lavoir (, wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by s ...

(Public Laundry) at Chemin des Foulons (1896) *The Moulin de Fréhart Flour Mill at Rue Fréhart (1751) *The Derome Fertilizer Factory at 45-47 Rue de la Gare (1860) *A Dovecote at 2 Rue de Glatignies (18th century) *The Brunehaut Column in the Grand Place (17th century) *The Town Hall in the Grand Place (17th century) *A Gallo-Roman Archaeological site at 10 Rue Saint-Maur (1st century). There is a Forum from the 1st century whose importance was unveiled by the 1940 bombing that destroyed the buildings covering it. Several

hypocaust A hypocaust () is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm the upper floors a ...

s have been found under the church and under some houses belonging to a set of at least five hypocausts with signs of important baths, perhaps public. *The City Fortifications (9th century) ;Other sites of interest *The Bavay Museum contains some pottery pieces of unknown function which are registered as historical objects. *The Communal Cemetery of Bavay contains 12 graves managed by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

of British soldiers who died towards the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in August and November 1918 *The Circuit des Sources hiking trail gives access to part of the heritage of the town.

Religious heritage

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *An Oratory at 22 Rue de Chaussée (18th century) *The Notre-Dame de Walcourt Oratory at D961 (1817) *The Church of Saint Nicolas (18th century) *The Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (16th century). The Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects: **A Tombstone for Charles Richer (1684) **A Tombstone for Jacques de Maulde (17th century) **A Tombstone for Mathieu Ghondry Mayeur de Louvignies (1578), Philipotte du Vivier (1611), and Jean Ghondry (1623) **2 Statues: Bishops (18th century) **A Tombstone for Philippe Mercier (1778) **A Tombstone for Jean de Chasteler and Françoise de Carondelet (1624) *Old Convents (16th century)

Environmental heritage

*The Carrière des Nerviens Regional Nature Reserve is mostly located in the communal territory just 1 km west of the town centre.

Picture gallery

Image:Monument_Louvignies_Bavay100407(3).jpg, War Memorial at Louvignies-Bavay Image:Circuitdessources Bavay020507 (10).JPG, Disused Railway line Image:ColdulongbuissonBavay020507 (25).JPG, ''Col du long buisson'' Image:LavoirBavay020507_(6).JPG, Public Laundry Image:MonumentBavayD932_020507_(3).JPG, Monument along the D932 road Image:PontblancBavay020507_(18).JPG, The White Bridge Image:Church, Bavay, France.jpg, Church of Louvignies-Bavay File:Bavay (Nord, Fr) Salle des fêtes.JPG, The Community Hall File:0 Bavay - Ornières creusées dans la voie romaine (1).JPG, Ruts on the Roman road File:Bavay (Nord, Fr) monument Maxime Lecomte.JPG, The Maxime Lecomte monument File:Bagacum.jpg, Bagacum

Notable people linked to the commune

*Jean de Haynin was a famous chronicler known for using for the first time the term "Walloon" in his writings. Born on 14 October 1427 and died 12 May 1495 in his castle at Hainin (Belgium), he was an author, knight, Lord of Hainin, Louvignies at Bavay (where a street has been named after him), Anfroipret, Oby, and Broeucq (in Seclin). Although from a very ancient family of Lords of Hainin, he was the first to have a fixed abode and he is buried in the church of Hainin with Marie de Roisin, his wife since 1454 (born September 1435, died 21 August 1471). Entered into arms in 1452, he is best known in Belgium for his writings on his many rides with the troops of the

Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

. He is also noted for documenting in his hand his origins and dates of birth of his thirteen children, leaving a blank for only his own death which was filled in by his son François.Bibliothèque Royale de Bruxelles, ms II 2545 folio 259 * Jean Lemaire de Belges, born at Belges—today called Bavay—in 1473. *Jean Goudezki was born and died in Louvignies, Bavay (1866–1934). Author, poet, singer at the famous cabaret

Le Chat noir (; French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th century entertainment establishment in the Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long ...

in Paris. *Maxime Lecomte, a politician, MP, and senator, was born in Bavay in 1846. He was "Parliamentary Reporter" for the 1905 law separating church and state in the senate.

References

External links

Bavay official website
*

Bavay on the old National Geographic Institute website

Bavay on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Bavay'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{Authority control Communes of Nord (French department) Nervii Gallia Belgica