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Origin and history

The church of the Nativity-de-la-Sainte-Vierge de Bony is located in the commune of Bony, in the department of Aisne, in the Hauts-de-France region. This rural village of Vermandois, 16 km north of Saint-Quentin, is marked by a landscape dominated by agriculture (99.6% of the land in 2018) and crossed by the Saint-Quentin Canal, a historic axis linking the Oise, the Somme and the Scheldt.

Bony, mentioned in 1119 as Locus Booni, was in the 12th century only a hamlet dependent on the parish of Mont-Saint-Martin, with a simple chapel. The map of Cassini (18th century) shows its evolution, with farms like Gillemont and Macquincourt, the latter close to the underground of Riqueval, a strategic site during the First World War.

During the First World War, on 29 September 1918, the 27th and 30th American divisions stormed the Hindenburg Line on Bony territory, targeting the Guillemont Farm and the Saint Quentin Canal Tunnel. This battle caused 337 deaths and 658 American injuries in one day, illustrating the strategic importance of this area.

Today, Bony remains a scattered rural settlement, integrated with the Saint-Quentin attraction area. Its church, although little documented in available sources, is part of this local heritage marked by agricultural history, world conflicts and river infrastructure that shaped the region.

The degraded ocean climate and the predominantly agricultural soils (92% arable land) define a living environment where religious buildings, such as this church, have historically played a central role in community cohesion. Their preservation bears witness to the inhabitants' attachment to their heritage, despite demographic and economic upheavals.

The commune, a member of the community of communes of the Pays du Vermandois, has 137 inhabitants in 2023. Its land use, stable since 1990, reflects an unchanged agricultural vocation, where religious buildings and historical farms coexist with traces of past conflicts, such as the Riqueval underground or the remains of the Hindenburg Line.

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