Aizenay

The church of Saint-Benoît, in Aizenay

Coat of arms

Aizenay

Location within Pays de la Loire region

Aizenay

Coordinates: 46°44′24″N 1°36′30″W / 46.74°N 1.6083°WCoordinates: 46°44′24″N 1°36′30″W / 46.74°N 1.6083°W

Country

Aizenay

Vie-et-Boulogne

Government

• Mayor (2014-2020)

Bernard Perrin

Area¹

81.06 km² (31.30 sq mi)

Population (2014)²

8,977

• Density

110/km² (290/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

85003 /85190

Elevation

10–76 m (33–249 ft)
(avg. 62 m or 203 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Aizenay is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.

Aizenay is 15 km north-west of La Roche-sur-Yon, 25 km from Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Challans and 30 km from Les Sables d'Olonne (on the Atlantic Ocean Vendée coast).

Aizenay is bordered by the communes of La Chapelle-Palluau, Maché, Apremont, Coëx, La Chapelle-Hermier, Martinet, Beaulieu-sous-la-Roche, Venansault, La Génétouze and Le Poiré-sur-Vie.

Its northern boundary follows the course of the river Vie. The Aizenay Forest is the most prominent natural feature of the commune.

There are the remains of cave dwellings along the edge of the Vie river. St. Benedict died in Aizenay in 360 at the Abbey of St. Benedict Quinçay. The church was registered an Aizenay Historical Monument in 2007.

On March 27, 1944, an American B-17 named "Big Red" crashed at the edge of the Aizenay in the woodland, killing 4 people. It was part of the 388th brigade which was bombing targets in the Bordeaux region at the time. 50 years later, in December 1994, the book "His Name Was Big Red" was published. On 1 July 1995 the "Path of Remembrance" was created and a monument erected on the site of the crash of the bomber. In fact, the pilot of "Big Red" survived; he hid in nearby woods, and was eventually hidden in a barn in a small hamlet called "La Nicolière", by Mme Idais, who lived in the hamlet. She risked her life (and those of the residents) by hiding the pilot. He was eventually disguised, put on a train, and went to Spain. The pilot died of cancer in the 1990s, but his widow returned to see Mme Idais (by then aged 80) to present her with a copy of the book, translated into French. This book is now available to buy in Aizenay, but at the time, her copy was the only one!

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Wikipedia