Compiègne
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Commune of Compiègne Town hall of Compiègne |
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| Location | |
| Longitude | 02° 49' 23" E |
| Latitude | 49° 24' 53" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Picardie |
| Département | Oise (sous-préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Compiègne |
| Canton | Chief town of 3 cantons |
| Intercommunality | Agglomération de la Région de Compiègne |
| Mayor | Philippe Marini (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 31 m–134 m (avg. 41 m) |
| Land area¹ | 53.10 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
41,254 |
| - Density (1999) | 776.9/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 60159/ 60200 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Compiègne is a commune in the Oise département of France, of which it is a sous-préfecture. The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.
Contents |
[edit] Administration
Compiègne is the chief town of 3 cantons
- Canton of Compiègne-Nord (with 5 communes)
- Canton of Compiègne-Sud-Est (southeast) (with 4 communes)
- Canton of Compiègne-Sud-Ouest (southwest) (with 5 communes)
[edit] History
- February 888 - Odo, Count of Paris and king of the Franks was crowned in Compiègne.
- May 23, 1430 - During the Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians while attempting to free Compiègne. They then sold her to the English.
- 1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Richelieu ultimately led to her exile to Compiègne, from where she escaped to Brussels in 1631.
- November 11, 1918 - The Armistice with Germany (Compiègne), agreed at Rethondes near Compiègne, ends fighting of World War I
- June 21, 1940 - Another Armistice with France (Second Compiègne) was signed between Nazi Germany and the defeated France in Rethondes, near Compiègne, in the same place as in 1918, in the same railroad carriage, but with the seats swapped.
- 1968 - The starting location of the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race was changed from Paris to Compiègne.
- 2004 - The Communauté de Communes de la Région de Compiègne becomes a partner in a European Union INTERREG IIIb project called SAND (see link below)
[edit] Historical population
- 1882: 13,393
- 1990: 41,663 (municipal), 44,703 (total)
- 1999: 41,076 (municipal), 44,703 (total), 69,903 (agglomeration), urban (108,234)
[edit] Sights
[edit] Compiègne Forest
The Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistice; the 1918 Armistice with Germany and the 1940 Armistice with France. Hitler specifically chose the location, and had the original signing carriage moved from Paris to Compiègne, as an irony for the defeated French. The site still houses several memorials to the 1918 armistice, including a copy of the original railway carriage (the original, after used in the 1940 armistice, was moved to Berlin and subsequently destroyed during an Allied air raid).
[edit] Miscellaneous
Compiègne is the traditional start of the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race.
[edit] Births
Compiègne was the birthplace of:
- Roscellinus (~1050 - ~1122), philosopher and theologian, often regarded as the founder of Nominalism
- Pierre d'Ailly (1350-1420), theologian and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
- Albert Robida (1848-1926), illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist
[edit] Twin towns
Compiègne is twinned with:
- Landshut, Germany, since 1962
- Huy, Belgium, since 1959
- Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, since 1989
- Kiryat Tivon, Israel, since 1988
- Arona, Italy, since 1962
- Vianden, Luxembourg, since 1964
- Shirakawa, Fukushima, Japan, since 1988
- Elbląg, Poland, since 2002
- Bury St Edmunds, England, since 1967
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- City council website (in French)
- Le musée du château/The Château museum
- SAND Project site
- INTERREG
- Universite de Technologie de Compiegne (UTC)
| North: Clairoix, Choisy-au-Bac and Margny-lès-Compiègne | ||
| West: Jaux, Venette |
Compiègne | East: Saint-Jean-aux-Bois and Vieux-Moulin |
| South: Lacroix-Saint-Ouen |
