Épinal
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Épinal | |
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Prefecture and commune | |
 The river Moselle | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Épinal  | |
  Épinal  Épinal | |
| Coordinates: 48°10′28″N 6°27′04″E / 48.1744°N 6.4512°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Vosges |
| Arrondissement | Épinal |
| Canton | Épinal-1 and 2 |
| Intercommunality | CA Épinal |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Michel Heinrich |
| Area 1 | 59.24 km2 (22.87 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | 32,285 |
| • Density | 540/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 93,184 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 88160 /88000 |
| Elevation | 315–492 m (1,033–1,614 ft) (avg. 340 m or 1,120 ft) |
| Website | www.epinal.fr |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
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Épinal (French pronunciation: [epinal]); (German: Spinal) is a commune in northeastern France and the capital (prefecture) of the Vosges department. Inhabitants are known as Spinaliens.
Geography
The commune has a land area of 59.24 square kilometres (22.87 sq mi). It is situated on the Moselle River, 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Nancy.
Main sights
The old town centre features the Place des Vosges, the Chapitre district, Saint-Maurice's Basilica, medieval castle remains and the Roman House (11th and 13th centuries). It is also known for its parks and gardens, as well as a large communal forest with arboretum (the Arboretum de la Forêt d'Épinal).
There are major fortifications, extended and maintained until the early 20th century. There is a legend, among the populace of Épinal, that Napoleon's ghost strolls the wall ramparts on 9 September of each year at 05:00. It was on this day and at this time that, in 1811, Napoleon gave his first and last oration to the city of Épinal, wherein he addressed the challenges posed by northern expansion.
There is an American military cemetery on the outskirts of the town where United States service members killed in World War II are buried.
Notable residents
- Isabelle Cogitore (born 1964), historian
- Jean-Baptiste Jacopin (1755-1811), general of the armies of the 1st Republic and the First French Empire.
- Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), founder of sociology
- Louis Lapicque (1866-1952), physiologist, specialist of the nervous system and known for his discovery of the chronaxie.
- Marcel Mauss (1872-1950), father of French modern ethnography and nephew of Émile Durkheim.
- Marc Boegner (1881-1970), writer, thinker and pastor, president of the Fédération protestante de France and the World Council of Churches, a member of the Académie française.
- Henry Daniel-Rops (1901-1965), writer and historian
- Jean-Marie Cavada (1940) journalist and politician.
- Léo Valentin (1919-1956), French soldier and adventurer, nicknamed "l'homme-oiseau".
- Marceline Loridan-Ivens (1928), film director
- Philippe Séguin (1943-2010), Mayor of Épinal, French politician, President of the Court of Auditors under the Fifth Republic.
- Ségolène Royal (1953), completed her high school in Charmes, before joining the Lycée Saint-Joseph of Épinal in 1968.
- Laetitia Masson (1966), screenwriter and film director
- Valérie Donzelli (1973), actress and film director
- Jeanne Cressanges,[2] novelist, essayist
- Nicolas Matthieu (1978),[3] writer, winner of the Prix Erckmann-Chatrian in 2014.
- Maria Pourchet, (1980), writer, winner of the Prix Erckmann-Chatrian in 2013.
- Marie-Antoinette Gout, Righteous Among the Nations
Sportspeople
- Gauthier Klauss (1987), canoeist.
- Matthieu Péché (1987), canoeist
- Aurore Mongel (1982), swimmer
- Damien Nazon (1974), rider
- Jean-Patrick Nazon (1977), rider
- Julien Bontemps (1979), windsurfer
- Maxime Mermoz (1986), rugby player
- Nacer Bouhanni (1990), rider
- Rayane Bouhanni (1996), brother of the former, also a rider
- Grégory Gaultier (1982), 2015 squash world champion
Economy
Épinal is best known for the "Images d'Épinal" – which is now a common expression in French language – the popular prints created by a local company, the Imagerie d'Épinal, formerly known as the Imagerie Pellerin. These stencil-colored woodcuts of military subjects, Napoleonic history, storybook characters and other folk themes were widely distributed throughout the 19th century. The company still exists today, and still uses its hand-operated presses to produce the antique images. Other local industries include textiles, metals, morocco leather, precision instruments, and bicycles. There is a school of textile weaving.
Politics
Épinal is contained within Vosges' 1st constituency for elections to the National Assembly.
Sport
SAS Épinal is based in the commune.
International relations
Bitola, North Macedonia
Chieri, Italy
Gembloux, Belgium
La Crosse, United States
Loughborough, England, United Kingdom
Nový Jičín, Czech Republic
Schwäbisch Hall, Germany
See also
References
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ Jeanne Cressanges: installed in Épinal since 1968, novelist, essayist, screenwriter originally from Noyant in the Allier, who dedicated two of his works to his adopted region: "Je vous écris d’Épinal" and "Je vous écris des Vosges" éditions Serge Domini, respectively in 2009 and 2014.
- ^ Nicolas Mathieu a le spleen des Vosges on lemonde.fr.
- ^ "Villes jumelles". epinal.fr (in French). Épinal. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
External links
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Épinal.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Épinal.
- Official site
- La place forte d'Épinal 1870 – 1914
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 694.
- Épinal-Tribu Information about Épinal (in French)
- Épinal-info (in French)
- City council website (in French)
- HoloGuides: Épinal – photos
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