Balaives-et-Butz

The Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens

Coat of arms

Balaives-et-Butz

Location within Champagne-Ardenne region

Balaives-et-Butz

Coordinates: 49°40′25″N 4°44′05″E / 49.6736°N 4.7347°ECoordinates: 49°40′25″N 4°44′05″E / 49.6736°N 4.7347°E

Country

Flize

Charleville-Mézières / Sedan

Government

• Mayor (2001–2014)

Jean-Louis Milard

Area¹

11.05 km² (4.27 sq mi)

Population (2010)²

241

• Density

22/km² (56/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

08042 / 08160

Elevation

173–326 m (568–1,070 ft)
(avg. 210 m or 690 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.

Balaives-et-Butz is a French commune in the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region of northern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balaiviens or Balaiviennes.^[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

Balaives-et-Butz is located some 10 km south of Charleville-Mézières and 5 km north-east of Poix-Terron. Access to the commune is by the D233 road from Boutancourt in the east which passes through the south-eastern branch of the commune just south of the village then continues south-west to Singly. The village is accessed by the Rue du Routon which branches off the D233. The commune has large areas of forest with comparatively small areas of farmland.^[3]

The Ruisseau de Butz rises west of the village and flow east through the village then eastwards to join the Étang d'Alger and the Ruisseau de Boutancourt which eventually joins the Meuse at Flize. The Ruisseau de Bourbeuse rises south of the village and joins the Ruisseau de Butz in the village.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Balaives-et-Butz

Poix-Terron

Singly

Saint-Aignan

History

The name Balaives means "beautiful water" from the nearby water sources.

Heraldry

	Blazon: Gules, a Cross of Or cantoned with 4 billets the same, in chief Azure charged with a lion passant guardant of Azure.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[4]

From	To	Name
1952	1976	Jean Baudet
1995	2001	Jean-Christophe Oudin
2001	2020	Jean Louis Milard

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 241 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Evolution of the Population (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
212	215	231	258	402	424	434	443	437

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
-	-	435	393	374	384	383	356	307

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
279	247	303	212	204	198	177	170	188

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
212	178	181	200	216	209	229	241	-

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

Sites and monuments

A Fulling Water Mill (currently a Vynex Hardware factory) (18th century) is registered as an historical monument.^[5]

Notes

↑ 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" allows, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes 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.