Bezonvaux
| Bezonvaux | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Meuse | |
| Arrondissement | Verdun | |
| Canton | Belleville-sur-Meuse | |
| Community association | Grand Verdun | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 14 ' N , 5 ° 28' E | |
| height | 226-367 m | |
| surface | 9.23 km 2 | |
| Residents | 0 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 0 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 55100 | |
| INSEE code | 55050 | |
Bezonvaux is a French commune in the Meuse department in the region of Grand Est (2015 Lorraine ).
This community has no residents. It is one of nine villages that were completely destroyed in the First World War during the Battle of Verdun and were never rebuilt. After the end of hostilities, it was decided to preserve the community, which had been declared a “village that fell for France”, in memory of the events there. Nowadays the commune is administered by a three-person council, whose members are appointed by the head of the department, the prefect.
history
The village was first documented in 1096; it is believed that it was built on an area cleared in Gallo-Roman times. In 1252 the village appears as a special in a document. For a long time it belonged to the Burgraviate of Saulcy (in today's Aube department ), then to Étain (in today's Meuse department ). It was the capital of an administrative district of the same name. Around 1750, 20 families lived here. In 1789 the village belonged to the nunnery of Juvigny-sur-Loison as a fief ; In 1741, a Baron de Besonvaux was a feudal lord who lived in a castle-like building with a medieval tower near the church, which was then in need of repair. From 1750 there was a school. In 1803 Bezonvaux had 199, 1851 317, 1901 173 and 1913 149 inhabitants. They lived from beekeeping, animal husbandry and grain cultivation. About 500 meters down the Bezonvaux creek there was a flour mill that was in operation until 1914 and was completely destroyed in the First World War. There were also vineyards and hop-growing areas. Some of the residents were artisans and traders.
At the end of 1914 and in 1915 the village was sporadically shelled by German artillery. In 1916 the village was evacuated by mid-February and from February 21, 1916 on, including the surrounding nature, was badly damaged by heavy shell fire. On February 25th, the Germans took the village, but on 15th / 16th To be recaptured by French troops December 1916.
The ongoing constant bombardment continued to destroy the village. After the end of the war, the damage turned out to be too immense and the risk of explosion from remains of ammunition too high for Bezonvaux to be rebuilt, although the former residents were vehemently committed to it. Even today you are not allowed to leave the paths through the destroyed village because of the danger to your life. From 1919 each destroyed village was legally assigned a municipal commission headed by a president with the rank of mayor.
In 1932 a memorial chapel was built in the destroyed village (architect: M. Delancle; construction company: C. Beaumomt-et-Jouve) for the local church of St-Gilles from 1847/48, which was destroyed during the fighting. A war memorial was also erected. The German war dead buried in the courtyard of the “castle” were transferred to the German military cemeteries Azannes II and Ville-devant-Chaumont. On the “Path of Remembrance” along the former main street of the village and accompanied by the creek bed, remains of houses, military equipment and agricultural implements remind of the fate of the village and its inhabitants.
In the immediate vicinity is Ornes , another ruined village that has not been rebuilt. The other villages destroyed and not rebuilt are Beaumont , Cumières , Douaumont , Fleury , Haumont , Louvemont , Ornes and Vaux .
Bezonvaux around 1914
The chapel with the war memorial built in 1932
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Meuse. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-84234-074-4 , pp. 156-158.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Source: Various information boards in Bezonvaux