Baâlons () is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France.
Geography Baâlons is located some 25 km north-east of Rethel and 18 km south of Charleville-Mézières. Access to the commune is by the D28 road from Bouvellemont in the south which passes through the village and continues north-east then north to join the D27. The D991 also goes north from Bouvellemont passing through the west of the commune to join the D951 north of Mazerny. The commune is mixed forest and farmland with particularly large forests in the east.
The Ruisseau du Fond Cahors rises west of the village and flows west to join the Ruisseau de la Fontaine aux Chênes. The Ruisseau des Puiselets forms the western border of the commune as it flows south to join the Ruisseau du Fond Cahors. The Ruisseau de Baâlons rises in the north of the commune and flows south towards the village then turns east to join the Ruisseau de Bairon on the eastern border. The Ruisseau de Bairon forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows south to join the Étang de Bairon which feeds into the Canal des Ardennes west of Tannay.Google Maps
Hamlets and localities in the commune
Géraumont Géraumont was a former fief where there is still a castle, now Géromont Farm.
Les Puiselets A small hamlet west of Baâlons village. It is now very sparsely populated however the General Dictionary of cities towns, villages, hamlets and farms of France by Duclos says that in 1846 there were 70 inhabitants.Duclos, Dictionnaire général des villes bourgs, villages, hameaux et fermes de la France, 4th ed., Paris & Limoges : Martial Ardent frères, p.387
Beauvois A Hamlet in the north of the commune which is still populated.
Neighbouring communes and villages
Géoportail, IGN
History Various objects have been found in the commune:Archives MAE, GA0107 FR MAESA GA 55/1 Tools and shards of flint which are probably Neolithic Gallo-Roman Bronze Statuettes of Mars and Jupiter A Merovingian and Carolingian Cemetery
The Universal Dictionary of Ancient and Modern France and New France by Marin Saugrain stated in 1726 that:Marin Saugrain, Dictionnaire universel de la France ancienne et moderne et de la Nouvelle France, Paris, 1726, t.1, p.271
"BAALON in Champagne, Diocese of Reims, Parliament of Paris, Intendance of Chalons, Election of Rhetel, has 419 inhabitants. The Curate is worth nine hundred livres.".
Heraldry
Administration
List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France From To Name 2001 2008 Ludovic Dasnois 2008 2012 Henri Charpentier 2012 2020 Pascal Nihotte 2020 2024 Raoul Charbonneaux 2024 Current Régis Chopin
Population
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Baâlonnais or Baâlonnaises in French.Le nom des habitants du 08 - Ardennes, habitants.fr
Sites and Monuments
The Church of Saint-Rémi is a church dating to the 13th century in the late Romanesque style with a tympanum over the door from the 10th century representing a man with a crosier and an open book flanked by two angels. The church contains two items which are registered as historical objects: A Group Sculpture: Saint Nicolas (17th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Statue: Virgin and child (14th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy The Chapel of Saint Anne was built in 1911 on the site of a chapel dating from 1807 near the Saint Anne spring which was a place of pilgrimage. The Procession of Saint Anne is held on 26 July of each year.
Church and Chapel Picture Gallery
Notable people linked to the commune Eugène Houssière, emigrated to Louisiana USA in 1883, donated the Chapel of Saint Anne in 1911.
See also Communes of the Ardennes department
References
External links Baâlons Baâlons on the old National Geographic Institute website Baâlons on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website Baalon on the 1750 Cassini Map