The inhabitants of the commune are known as Baronnais or Baronnaises.[4]
The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.[5]
Geography
Baron-sur-Odon is located some 4 km south-west of Caen and 10 km north-east of Villers-Bocage. It is part of the urban area of Caen. Access to the commune is by the D89 from Tourville-sur-Odon in the north which passes through the village and continues south to Esquay-Notre-Dame. The D214 comes from Gavrus in the south-west and also passes through the village as well as Les Crettes and La Bruyère before continuing north-east to Fontaine-Étoupefour. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Tourmauville, Les Crettes, and La Bruyère. The commune is mostly farmland except for some forest in the north.[6][7]
The river Odon forms the northern border of the commune as it flows north-east to join the Orne in Caen.
The name of the area is attested as Baron in 1138[8] and Baro in the 14th century.[9] The origin of this place name is uncertain. Albert Dauzat suggests the cognomenBaro or a title of German origin Baron.[9] René Lepelley meanwhile detects the Gallic barro meaning "fence" (in old French barre) or the Germanic anthroponymBaro.[10]
History
A milestone on Chemin Haussé
Baron-sur-Odon appears as Baron on the 1750 Cassini Map[11] and the same on the 1790 version.[12]
The "Chemin Haussé", which passes through the commune, is a Roman road identified as one of the roads included in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The road is mostly straight with embankments hence the name (Haussé means "raised"). This route was used as a line of communication until the end of the Middle Ages. It is also called the "Path of Duke William" on some land registers.[13]
In June 1944, during Operation Epsom, the heights of Hill 112 south-east of Baron-sur-Odon (also in the communes of Fontaine-Étoupefour, Vieux, and Esquay-Notre-Dame) was one objectives for the liberation of Caen. The fighting lasted more than a month.
Heraldry
Arms of Baron-sur-Odon
Blazon:
Party per bend sinister, at 1 Gules, two lions passant guardant Or one over the other to sinister and a croix de guerre in chief border; at 2, Azure semy of wavelets Argent debruised by a horseshoe inverted Or; over all a bend sinister charged with the inscription BARON in capital letters of Sable .
The arms of the Basse-Normandie region are represented by two golden leopards.
The horseshoe symbolizes the escape of William the Conqueror (from Valognes to Falaise in 1047) with his horse shod in reverse to mislead his pursuers. The ripples represent the river Odon.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
^ abAlbert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Etymological Dictionary of place names in France, Larousse, Paris, 1963 (in French)
^René Lepelley, Etymological Dictionary of names of communes in Normandy, Éditions Charles Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau, 1996, BnF 36174448w p. 59 (in French)
^From an explanatory document from the town hall of Baron-sur-Odon: the blazon project was proposed in the municipal council by Mr. Collard and Mr. Maheut and adopted unanimously.
