Avon, Seine-et-Marne

Avon
Avon

Coordinates: 48°24′35″N 2°42′58″E / 48.4097°N 2.7161°E / 48.4097; 2.7161Coordinates: 48°24′35″N 2°42′58″E / 48.4097°N 2.7161°E / 48.4097; 2.7161
Country France
Region Île-de-France
Department Seine-et-Marne
Arrondissement Fontainebleau
Canton Fontainebleau
Intercommunality Fontainebleau-Avon
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Marie-Charlotte Nouhaud
Area1 3.83 km2 (1.48 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 14,598
 • Density 3,800/km2 (9,900/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 77014 / 77210
Elevation 42–100 m (138–328 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.

Avon is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.

Geography

Avon and Fontainebleau, together with three other smaller communes, form an urban area of 36,713 inhabitants. The two towns share a common boundary, whereas other miscellaneous smaller villages are scattered around in the forest that surrounds them (one of the largest in France). Avon is built between two hills; one of them, known as the Butte Montceau, supports the homonymous neighbourhood, made of small blocks and houses; on the opposite one is built the Fougères neighbourhood, consisting of larger buildings. The rest of the town consists mainly of small houses, in the neighbourhoods of La Vallée and Vieil Avon. As previously said, the town is nested in the Fontainebleau forest; it is bordered on one side by the Seine river, crossed over by the Pont de Valvins.

Map of Fontainebleau and Avon from Atlas de Trudaine, 18th century (French National Archives)

Places of interest

The main attraction in the town is the old, Roman-style church of St. Pierre, where the 18th-century French mathematician Étienne Bézout was buried. Another historically relevant place is the Prieuré des Basses Loges, where Georges Gurdjieff resided and taught in the early twenties; he is buried in the town cemetery, along with writer Katherine Mansfield who died of tuberculosis while attending his teachings.

Demographics

The inhabitants are called the Avonnais.

Transportation

Avon is served by the Fontainebleau-Avon station on the Transilien Paris – Lyon.

See also

References

    External links

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