Bouxières-aux-Dames

French commune
nomcommune=Bouxières-aux-Dames
région=Lorraine
département=Meurthe-et-Moselle
arrondissement=Nancy
canton=Malzéville
insee=54090
cp=54136
maire=Gérard Haquin
mandat=2001-2008
habitants=Bouxiérois
intercomm=Communauté de communes du Bassin de Pompey
longitude=6.16361111111
latitude=48.7527777778
alt moy=220 m
alt mini=180 m
alt maxi=361 m
hectares=411
km²=4.11
sans=4124
date-sans=1999
dens=1,003
date-dens=1999

Bouxières-aux-Dames is a village and commune, located in the "département" of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Lorraine "région" in France. Its inhabitants are called "Bouxiérois."

Geography

The village is located on the slope of a hill, directed south-north. It overlooks the confluent of Moselle and of Meurthe within its north-north-west. It is located at the north-north-east of Nancy, along the motorway A31. The village is divided into five parts:
* the top of the village around the remainders of the abbey and the lawn, on the summit part of the hill.
* the heart of the village around the church and the town hall,
* the recent district of Neveaux on the northern side of the hill,
* the district of the "Noisetiers" in the small valley of the brook of the Moret pond,
* the areas along Meurthe.

History

The name of Bouxières comes from the Latin word " buxus " which means boxwood. The history of Bouxières-aux-Dames is closely related to its abbey of chanoinesses or "ladies" ("dames" in French), founded by Saint Gauzelin. Issued from a noble Frankish family, he was a notary of the royal chancellery when King Charles the Simple made him bishop of Toul. Following a visit to Fleury Abbey near Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire he founded in Lorraine the male monastery of Saint-Epvre and the female monastery of Bouxières-aux-Dames. He lived in poverty and died into 962. The legend says that a stag appeared to him indicating where to found the abbey. Later on, to be a chanoinesse, several districts of nobility will be required.

The treasure of the abbey is kept in . Several houses re-used its stones.

Another significant event in the history of the village is battle of Nancy, January 5 1477, where, with its mercenaries, condottiere Campobasso betrayed Charles I, Duke of Burgundy and massacred on the bridge of Bouxières the remainders of the flying army of the duke of Burgundy. The chroniclers said that frozen Meurthe was red of blood. Indeed, there were only three bridges on Meurthe at that time in Jarville, Nancy and Bouxières. The troops of Charles I could not pass on western bank and thus had to remain on eastern bank, while trying to flee towards Metz, while troops of Rene II and their allies followed them.

In 1914, the "Grand Couronné" battle (September 4–13 1914) occurred on the bottom of the hill.

From 1943 to 1947, Marian apparition defrayed the chronicle and divided the parishioners of the village.