Airan

History

Archaeological excavations have uncovered the remains of a Merovingian necropolis. There is a legend of the famous Treasure of Airan. In 1942, the resistance caused two derailments in the commune - on the night of 15 to 16 April and also on 30 April to 1 May. These two derailments left a total of forty dead and fifty wounded German soldiers who were on leave in these trains. Following this Nazi repression was brutal for many hostages: some were shot, others deported.

Geography

Airan is located some 17 km south-east of Caen and 25 km east by south-east of Lisieux. It can be accessed from the D40 from Vimont in the north-west, passing through the south of the commune and continuing south-east to Vieux-Fumé. The D613 (Route de Paris) also from Vimont passes through the north of the commune and continues east to Crèvecœur-en-Auge. Neither road passes the village which can be accessed by the D47 road from Moult in the west which passes through the village then the heart of the commune before continuing south-east to Cesny-aux-Vignes. There is also the D43 road coming from the north through the village and continuing south to Fierville-Bray. The railway from Caen to Mézidon-Canon passes through the commune from west to east but there is no station in the commune. The nearest station is Bonafini to the west. The commune is quite large in extent and consists almost entirely of farmland with a few small patches of forest. Apart from the village there are also the hamlets of Le Haute-des-Pedouzes, Le Ruel, Valmeray, and Coupigny. The Muance river forms part of the western border of the commune before it flows west then north to join the Dives river through a network of canals near Bures-sur-Dives. The Douet also rises in the north of the commune and forms part of the northern border before continuing north to join the Dives near Hernetot.

Most-observed species

• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  749
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  718
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  703
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  693
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  639
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  553
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  515
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  500

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2007-11-06
  7 km SSW of Chanu, France
• M 3.5 — 2007-08-01
  2 km SSE of Blonville-sur-Mer, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-07-24
  15 km W of Étretat, France
• M 3.3 — 2006-11-10
  20 km N of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, France
• M 3.2 — 2006-08-12
  0 km SW of Merville-Franceville-Plage, France
• M 2.7 — 2006-05-11
  6 km SSE of Fougerolles-du-Plessis, France