Vitry-le-François
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Vitry-le-François | |
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Subprefecture and commune | |
.JPG) The town hall in Vitry-le-François | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Vitry-le-François  | |
  Vitry-le-François  Vitry-le-François | |
| Coordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E / 48.7256°N 4.5853°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Marne |
| Arrondissement | Vitry-le-François |
| Canton | Vitry-le-François-Champagne et Der |
| Intercommunality | Vitry, Champagne et Der |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2014-2020) | Jean-Pierre Bouquet |
| Area 1 | 6.45 km2 (2.49 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | 11,454 |
| • Density | 1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 51649 /51300 |
| Elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Vitry-le-François (French pronunciation: [vitʁi lə frɑ̃swa]) is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It is located on the Marne River and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal.
History
In 1142, Louis VII invaded Champagne and seized Vitry-le-François. Over a thousand residents were killed when the town's church was set ablaze.
The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site, Vitry-en-Perthois, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's Italian War of 1542–46.[2] The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by Girolamo Marini. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name.
Demography
Features
- Its church of Notre-Dame is a 17th-century building with fine 18th-century monuments.
- A convent of the Récollets was later converted to contain the town hall, the court-house, a library and a small museum.
- There is a bronze statue of Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (1763–1845), the politician and philosopher, a native of the district.[3]
Twin towns
Vitry-le-François is twinned with:
Tauberbischofsheim, Germany, since 1961
Personalities
- Guy Georges, serial killer
- Étienne-Gabriel Morelly, proto-communist philosopher
- René Herbin (1911–1953), classical pianist
See also
References
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Vitry-le-François". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 151.
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