Acy-Romance

Acy-Romance

Town hall

Coat of arms
Acy-Romance

Coordinates: 49°30′07″N 4°20′32″E / 49.5019°N 4.3422°ECoordinates: 49°30′07″N 4°20′32″E / 49.5019°N 4.3422°E
Country France
Region Champagne-Ardenne
Department Ardennes
Arrondissement Rethel
Canton Rethel
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2020) Joseph Afribo
Area1 11.13 km2 (4.30 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 437
 • Density 39/km2 (100/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 08001 / 08300
Elevation 67–147 m (220–482 ft)
(avg. 73 m or 240 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Acy-Romance is a French commune in the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardennes region of northern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Romanciers or Romancières.[1]

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.[2]

Geography

Acy-Romance is located some 8 km south east of Château-Porcien and some 40 km north-east of Reims on the E46 Highway (N51). Route nationale N51 forms the south-eastern border of the commune passing through the northern part of the commune as it circles around the city of Rethel which is immediately north-east of Acy-Romance. To reach the town of Acy-Romance it is necessary to exit the N51 highway onto road D30 which passes through the town and exits from the western border of the commune towards Château-Porcien. The D18 road connects to Avancon which is 8 km south-west of Acy-Romance town. The Canal des Ardennes traverses the commune from west to east north of the town of Acy-Romance. The Chauss-expo is within the north-eastern border of the commune. The complex for AFPA (National Association for Adult Vocational Training) is located next to the E46 within the western border of the commune.[3]

Neighbouring Communes and Villages

Archaeology

A Bronze Razor: 1st Iron Age from the Hallstatt civilisation found at Acy-Romance
A knife from the 5th century BC found in Acy-Romance
A bust found in Acy-Romance (Ardenne Museum)

Discovered by aerial surveys in 1979, there is a protohistoric site on the plateau which has been studied since 1983. The work has been led by Bernard Lambot a native of the area.[4] First brought to light were, a dwelling, a cemetery, three shrines, pottery, tools, all found in different places.

Twenty acres on a plateau overlooking the valley of the Aisne in Acy-Romance commune were excavated between 1986 and 2003 to reveal a Gallic city founded in 180 BC and occupied for about two centuries. The most surprising find was the apparent compartmentalisation of the town that could have more than a thousand permanent inhabitants at its peak. A central square of 3500 square metres was surrounded by palisades to accommodate both collective and public life, markets, meetings, banquets etc. Imposing buildings, probably temples and work houses, were located in the northwest. Three other functional areas with well-defined borders appear on the other sides of the square. They each consist of individual portions of land enclosed by fences of a varying sizes, with houses and outbuildings such as barns, granaries, sheds, and workshops.

At the edges of the plateau are eight cemeteries, each bordered by an embankment, where buried human remains of 150 people were found. This was only a fraction of the population.

History

Acy was the original name of the area and in the middle of the 18th century the suffix Romance was added which was the 12th-century family name of the family who purchased the area.[5]

The archaeological excavations detailed above suggest a much earlier civilization than the 12th century. The Lordship of Acy appeared in the Middle Ages through the record of particular lords. Until the 17th century the lordship was the property of the Colbert family.

In 1750, Hugues-Étienne de Romance, Count of Auteuil and Lord of Mesmont, acquired the Lordship of Acy from Leon de Maugras. In 1752, Louis XV, by letters patent made the land a marquisate in tribute and mark of respect to the family of Romance who were faithfully attached to the king who said: "We commend and change the name of Acy in favour of Romance". The village took the name of Romance.

On 29 December 1770 Hugues-Étienne de Romance (died 17 July 1775) made a declaration[6] and named Jeanne Louis Durfort de Duras, Duchess of Mazarin, in the letters of the Romance Marquisate. In a book of 50 pages of inventory written in 1778 it can be seen that the lord's manor included a large library and many works of art. On 8 December 1790, an order of the directorate of the district of Rethel allowed the commune to resume its old name of Acy without including the name of Romance.

In 1792, the Squire of Romance could not claim his residence in France so it was decided to sequester the property of the Marquis and the Marchioness of Romance was incarcerated for eight months. The Revolution destroyed the castle.

On 12 May 1831 The Municipal Council of Acy protested against the sending by the prefecture of a stamp bearing the name of Acy-Romance. On 29 August 1831, King Louis-Philippe made an order on this and the commune resumed its former name of Acy, until 1921.

From 16 February 1922 in the record of the proceedings of the City Council an official stamp appeared bearing the name of Acy-Romance. On 1 December 1951, in a debate, the Municipal Council, on a proposal from the Prefect of the Ardennes, formally decided that the old designation of Acy applied to the commune will be replaced by that of Acy-Romance. The Prime Minister signed a decree on 3 April 1962 in which the commune of Acy was from then on authorized to bear the name of Acy-Romance.

Heraldry

 Blazon:

Quarterly, at 1 of argent a lion sable; at 2 and 3 of azure semy of fleurs-de-lis Or and canton of argent charged with a martlet in sable; at 4 of gules a cinquefoil in argent (Rietstap, Europe).[7]

Administration

A plaque on the Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors of Acy-Romance[8]

From To Name Party Position
2001 2020 Joseph Afribo DVD Consul-General

(Not all data is known)

Demographics

Demographic change

In 2009, the commune had 437 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.[Note 1][Note 2]

Evolution of the Population (See database)
1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851
441 455 432 490 511 568 636 675 625
1856 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896
508 486 503 505 488 467 407
1901 1906 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954
341 335 310 211 402 333 332 372 803
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2009 -
491 488 479 484 472 443 483 437 -

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

Age population

The comparison table showing the gender and age groups of the population of the commune of Acy-Romance in 2009[9][10] and compared to that of the Ardennes in the same year,[11] are represented in the table below. The population of the municipality had 53.1% men and 46.9% women. It had an age-group structure in 2009 older than the average for metropolitan France.[Note 3] There are 74 young people under 20 years old for every hundred people over 60 years (Index 0.74), while the index for French youth as a whole using the same method is 1.06. The Youth index of the commune is also lower than the department (1.09) and that of the region (1.05)[12]

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Acy-Romance and Ardennes Department

Acy Acy Ardennes Ardennes
Age Range Men Women Men Women
0 to 14 Years 13.8 13.2 20.1 18.0
15 to 29 Years 12.1 15.1 18.1 16.3
30 to 44 Years 18.5 18.0 20.3 19.5
45 to 59 Years 30.6 24.9 21.7 20.9
60 to 74 Years 17.2 14.6 13.4 14.3
75 to 89 Years 7.8 13.7 6.2 10.1
90 Years+ 0.0 0.5 0.2 0.9

Sites and Monuments

The Church and War memorial of Acy-Romance.
View of the Church forecourt

There was a Celtic agricultural village occupied in 180 BC. for 20 years.

The Church contains many items which are registered as historical objects:

Bibliography

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002 , the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" which allow, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For municipalities with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these municipalities is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force in 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.
  2. ↑ In the census table and the graph, by convention in Wikipedia, and to allow a fair comparison between five yearly censuses, the principle has been retained for subsequent legal populations since 1999 displayed in the census table and the graph that shows populations for the years 2006, 2011, 2016, etc.. , as well as the latest legal population published by INSEE
  3. ↑ Age is the time period since birth. It can, according to Insee, be calculated using two definitions:
    • age per generation (or age reached during the year or age difference in years), which is the difference between the year of information gathering and year of birth and
    • the age in years, which is the age at last birthday.
    For example, at 1 January 2012, a person born on 10 October 1931 is 81 years old in age reached during the year and 80 considering his birth date age. The results of the census of the population are presented using the age in years.

References

  1. ↑ Inhabitants of Ardennes (French)
  2. ↑ Acy-Romance in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom (French)
  3. ↑ Google Maps
  4. ↑ Bernard Lambot is the author of the reference website: Ardennes Culture audio-visual website (English)
  5. ↑ Sources : Departmental Archives of Ardennes, and documents kindly lent by Mrs Désimeur and Messrs Parisot, Troyon J. Cl., et Husson, extracts from documents related to the history of the village, mainly from the Romance family.
  6. ↑ In French Aveu under old law was a document declaring his rights and duties. See "Aveu (ancien droit)" in the French Wikipedia
  7. ↑ Arms of the Romance family: Romance (Champagne, orig. from P. de Liège).
  8. ↑ List of Mayors of France
  9. ↑ Evolution and structure of the population in Acy-Romance, consulted on 11 November 2012 (French)
  10. ↑ Census Database 2009 - communes, website of INSEE, consulted on 11 November 2012. (French)
  11. ↑ Census of the population in the Ardennes department in 2009, Ed. INSEE, website INSEE, consulted on 11 November 2012 (French)
  12. ↑ Census Database 2009 - départments and regions, INSEE, consulted on 11 November 2012. (French)
  13. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000010 4 Capitals (French)
  14. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000009 Group of Capitals (French)
  15. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000008 Group of Capitals (French)
  16. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000006 Capitals on small columns (French)
  17. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000005 Semi-circular Capital (French)
  18. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000004 Tombstone for Etienne-Jean-Joseph de Maugres (French)
  19. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000003 Tomb slab for Etienne-Jean-Joseph de Maugres (French)
  20. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000002 Tombstone for Louis de Boutillac (French)
  21. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM08000001 Tombstone for Hubert de Boutillac (French)

External links

Notes and references

Notes

    References

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