Compiègne
Compiègne | |
|---|---|
 Town hall | |
Location of Compiègne  | |
| Country | France |
| Arrondissement | Compiègne |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2001-2008) | Philippe Marini |
| Population | 41,254 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 60159 / |
Compiègne is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.
The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of three cantons
- Compiègne-Nord (with 5 communes)
- Compiègne-Sud-Est (southeast) (with 4 communes)
- Compiègne-Sud-Ouest (southwest) (with 5 communes)
History
- 665 - Saint Wilfrid consecrated Bishop of York.
- 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 Le Francport near Compiègne, ends fighting of World War I
- June 22, 1940 - Another Armistice with France (Second Compiègne) was signed between Nazi Germany and the defeated France in Le Francport, 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)
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)
Sights
Museums
- Château de Compiègne - the castle itself, and museums of the Second French Empire, of historic figurines and of motoring and tourism within its walls
- Musée Antoine Vivenel
Compiègne Forest
The Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistices; 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 use in the 1940 armistice, was moved to Berlin and subsequently destroyed during an Allied air raid[citation needed]).
Cycling
Since 1968 Compiègne is the traditional start city of the famous Paris-Roubaix bicycle race. It was also the finish city of 3rd stage in the 2007 Tour de France.
Personalities
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
- Marcel Tabuteau (1887-1966), Oboist, regarded as the founder of American oboe playing.
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
See also
References
External links
- City council website (in French)
- Le musée du château/The Château museum
- SAND Project site
- Steven Lehrer's Compiègne site
- INTERREG
- Universite de Technologie de Compiegne
- Joan of Arc Captured At Compiegne
- Cultural Association defending the Death-Rap values
| 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 |
