The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bayellois or Bayelloises.

The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Bayel is located some 23 km west by north-west of Chaumont and 25 km south-east of Brienne-le-Château. Access to the commune is by the D396 from Ville-sous-la-Ferté in the south which passes through the commune just west of the village and continues north-west to Bar-sur-Aube. The D170 goes from the village to join the D396 then south and west to Baroville. The D47 goes north-east from the village to Lignol-le-Château. The TER Grand Est railway from Troyes to Chalindrey passes through the commune coming from Bar-sur-Aube station in the north-west and continuing to Bricon station in the south-east with no station in the commune. The commune is mostly forest with some farmland following the railway line in the west of the commune.

The river Aube flows through the commune and the village forming part of the northern border as it flows north-west to eventually join the Seine at Marcilly-sur-Seine. The Ru du Gravelin rises just east of the commune and flows west to join the Aube. The Fossé de Six Pieds flows from a small lake in the commune to the Aube.

Bayel appears as Bayel on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

Bayel has been known for glass work since the year 1300. In 1666 Jean-Baptiste Mazzolay, a Venetian glass master, established a crystal glass works under the aegis of the religious of Clairvaux who were then owners of the premises.

King Louis XIV gave it the label Royal Manufacturer of Crystal in Bayel under letters patent due to the exclusive production and sales between Chaumont and Paris. The factory later became the Royal Crystal of Champagne. Every year thousands of visitors come to see the art of the glassmakers of Bayel.

The crystal works formerly had about 600 employees at the beginning of the 1970s but today there remain only 39.

Blazon: Sable, a crozier of Or debruised by a bend chequy of Argent and Gules between two fleurs de lis of Or; over all an inescutcheon Azure charged with a wine glass Argent.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2021)

List of Successive Mayors

In 2017 the commune had 758 inhabitants.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 375 —     1800 475 +3.43% 1806 565 +2.93% 1821 556 −0.11% 1831 619 +1.08% 1836 694 +2.31% 1841 712 +0.51% 1846 707 −0.14% 1851 670 −1.07% 1856 811 +3.89% 1861 860 +1.18% 1866 888 +0.64% 1872 967 +1.43% 1876 1,007 +1.02% 1881 995 −0.24% 1886 1,033 +0.75% 1891 1,063 +0.57% 1896 1,133 +1.28%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,272 +2.34% 1906 1,454 +2.71% 1911 1,517 +0.85% 1921 1,263 −1.82% 1926 1,405 +2.15% 1931 1,432 +0.38% 1936 1,456 +0.33% 1946 1,319 −0.98% 1954 1,440 +1.10% 1962 1,392 −0.42% 1968 1,353 −0.47% 1975 1,282 −0.77% 1982 1,111 −2.02% 1990 960 −1.81% 1999 860 −1.21% 2007 860 +0.00% 2012 813 −1.12% 2017 758 −1.39%
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Source: EHESS and INSEE

• The Tourist Office contains three items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A Commemorative plaque for Pierre Moreau (1749)
  • A Commemorative plaque for Marie Simmonot (1730)
  • The Furniture in the Tourist Office

The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments:

• The Royal Glassworks of Champagne (19th century)
• The La Borde Farmhouse (16th century)

• The Parish Church of Saint Martin contains a large number of objects that are registered as historical objects.

• Communes of the Aube department

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bayel.