Compiègne: Guide

Compiègne is a commune in France|commune in the Oise département in France|département of France, of which it is a sous-préfecture. The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.

Administration

Compiègne is the chief town of 3 canton in France|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)

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 Siege of Compiègne|free Compiègne. They then sold her to the English.

: 1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Cardinal Richelieu|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)

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

Château de Compiègne

Compiègne Forest

The Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistice; the 1918 Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice with Germany and the 1940 Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)|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).

Miscellaneous

Compiègne is the traditional start of the Paris-Roubaix road bicycle racing|bicycle race.

Births

Compiègne was the birthplace of:
Roscellinus (~1050 - ~1122), philosopher and theologian, often regarded as the founder of Nominalism
Pierre d'Ailly (1350-1420), theology|theologian and Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
Albert Robida (1848-1926), illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist

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

Dialogues of the Carmelites
Siege of Compiègne

External links

(in French)

This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Compiègne". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.