Compiègne

Compiègne
Subprefecture and commune
Town hall

Coat of arms
Compiègne
Location within Hauts-de-France region
Compiègne
Coordinates: 49°24′54″N 2°49′23″E / 49.4149°N 2.8231°E / 49.4149; 2.8231Coordinates: 49°24′54″N 2°49′23″E / 49.4149°N 2.8231°E / 49.4149; 2.8231
Country France
Region Hauts-de-France
Department Oise
Arrondissement Compiègne
Canton Compiègne-1 and 2
Intercommunality Région de Compiègne
Area1 53.1 km2 (20.5 sq mi)
Population (2012)2 40,028
 • Density 750/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code 60159 /60200
Elevation 31–134 m (102–440 ft)
(avg. 41 m or 135 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Compiègne (French pronunciation: ​[kɔ̃pjɛɲ]; Picard: Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.[1] It is located on the Oise River.[1] Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.

Administration

Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:

History

665 - Saint Wilfrid was consecrated Bishop of York. Wilfrid refused to be consecrated in Northumbria at the hands of Anglo-Saxon bishops. Deusdedit, Archbishop of Canterbury, had died, and as there were no other bishops in Britain whom Wilfrid considered to have been validly consecrated, he travelled to Compiègne, to be consecrated by Agilbert, the Bishop of Paris.
833 - Louis the Pious (also known as King Louis I, the Debonair) was deposed in Compiègne.[1]
February 888 - Odo, Count of Paris and king of the Franks was crowned in Compiègne.
23 May 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.
1624 - Compiègne gave its name to the Treaty of Compiègne, a treaty of alliance concluded by Cardinal Richelieu with the Dutch.[1]
1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Richelieu ultimately led to her exile to Compiègne, from where she escaped to Brussels in 1631.
17 July 1794 - The Martyrs of Compiègne are executed in Paris during the Reign of Terror.
1900 - The golf events for the 1900 Summer Olympics took place.[2]
11 November 1918 - The Armistice with Germany (Compiègne), agreed at Le Francport near Compiègne, ends fighting of World War I
22 June 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.
1941 - During the German occupation of France, the Compiègne internment camp was established in Compiègne. A memorial of the camp, and another along the railway tracks, commemorate the tragedy.
1968 - The starting location of the Paris–Roubaix bicycle race was changed from Paris to Compiègne.
1972 - Creation of the University of Technology of 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)

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

View of Compiègne

Museums

Compiègne Forest

The Glade of the Armistice in the Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistices; those of 11 November 1918 and 22 June 1940. Hitler specifically chose the location of the second, 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, Marshal Foch's Carriage was taken to Germany as a trophy of victory following the second armistice. Various rumors about what happened to this railway-carriage thereafter, have flourished ever since. Some believe it was destroyed by the SS in Thuringia in April 1945; others say this happened in Berlin, but most likely was it destroyed during an allied air-raid on Berlin. The latter version seems most plausible, since Ferdinand Foch's carriage actually was displayed at a Berlin museum.[3][4][5]

The University of Technology of Compiègne

Compiègne is home to the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC), one of the top ranking engineering school in France, founded as a Technology University in 1972 to provide an alternative to the traditional "grandes écoles" for students interested in technologies and applied science.[6]

Transport

The Gare de Compiègne railway station offers connections with Paris, Amiens, Cambrai and several regional destinations. The nearest motorway is the A1 Paris-Lille.

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:

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Compiègne is twinned with:

Compiègne is also partnered with:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wikisource Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Compiègne". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 811.
  2. ↑ 1900 Summer Olympics official report. p. 15. Accessed 14 November 2010. (in French)
  3. ↑ Moved to Berlin - Steven Budiansky, "The Complete story of Codebreaking during WW2", ISBN 0-684-85932-7, page 136
  4. ↑ Moved to Berlin, and there destroyed in an air-raid - Brian Hanley, "Planning for Conflict in the 21st Century", page 116" available here
  5. ↑ Also William L Shirer in his "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (unknown ISBN) states it was destroyed during a bombing raid on Berlin
  6. ↑ https://www.utc.fr/en/utc.html
  7. ↑ "Elbląg - Podstrony / Miasta partnerskie". Elbląski Dziennik Internetowy (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  8. ↑ "Elbląg - Miasta partnerskie". Elbląg.net (in Polish). Retrieved 2013-08-01.
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