Banneville-sur-Ajon

Template:Infobox French commune

File:Fr-Paris--Banneville-sur-Ajon.oggBanneville-sur-Ajon is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Malherbe-sur-Ajon.<ref>Arrêté préfectoral 9 December 2015 Template:In lang</ref>

Geography

Banneville-sur-Ajon is located some 20 km south-west of Caen and 7 km south-east of Villers-Bocage. Access to the commune is by the D121A from Saint-Agnan-le-Malherbe in the south which passes through the centre of the commune and the village and continues north to join the D8. The D171 from Landes-sur-Ajon to Préaux-Bocage passes through the north-east of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of La Fêterie in the south and Gournay in the north. The commune is almost all farmland.<ref name=Google>Google Maps</ref>

The Ajon river flows through the commune from south-east to north-west continuing to join the Odon south-west of Le Locheur. The Orgeuil river rises in the south of the commune and flows north-east through the length of the commune to join the Ajon. The Ruisseau de la Rette flows from the south to join the Orgeuil.<ref name=Google/>

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Toponymy

Banneville-sur-Ajon was Barneville sur Ajon in 1371.<ref>Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Etymological Dictionary of place names in France, Larousse, Paris, 1963 Template:In lang</ref> René Lepelley attributed the origin of the name to the Germanic anthroponym Benno<ref>René Lepelley, Etymological Dictionary of names of communes in Normandy, Éditions Charles Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau, 1996, BnF 36174448w, p. 58 Template:In lang</ref> with the Old French suffix -ville meaning "rural domain".

Administration

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=Template:Ambox Template:Main other }} List of Successive Mayors<ref>List of Mayors of France Template:In lang</ref>

From	To	Name
1995	2001	Jacques Vahe
2001	2014	Annick Viel-Schneider
2014	2016	Marcel Pétré

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bannevillais or Bannevillaises in French.<ref>Le nom des habitants du 14 - Calvados, habitants.fr</ref>

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Sites and monuments

The Chapel of Saint-Clair (13th century)Template:Mérimée Icon is registered as an historical monument.<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée Template:Mérimée Template:In lang</ref> The church is built on a simple rectangular plan. On the tympanum of the south portal there is a figure in bas-relief of Saint Samson on his throne, and inside is a statue of Saint Clair.
The Church of Saint-Melaine is in neo-Gothic style from the late 19th century.
A replica of the grotto of Lourdes was built at a place called Le Village at the end of the Second World War.