Ardennes

(department)

Ardennes

Coat of arms of the Ardennes department
Location

Administration
Department number:	08
Region:	Champagne-Ardenne
Prefecture:	Charleville-Mézières
Subprefectures:	Rethel Sedan Vouziers
Arrondissements:	4
Cantons:	37
Communes:	463
President of the General Council:	Benoît Huré
Statistics
Population	Ranked 75th
-1999	290,130
Population density:	55/km²
Land area¹:	5229 km²

¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km².

Ardennes is a department in the northeast part of France named after the Ardennes area.

History

The department is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was named after the Ardennes hills, which are located in northeast France, southern Belgium and Luxembourg. It is constituted of parts of the former provinces of Champagne and Argonne (Celtic: "Ar Gonn", meaning "deep forest")^{[citation needed]}, and the principality of Sedan.

Origins: The name of "Ardennes" ("Ar Denn", from Celtic : "the forest") was first mentioned by Julius Caesar who talked in his "War of Gaules" about a celtic female god, who was named "Arduinna" (warrior god usually painted as riding a wild boar).

The area has been the location of much fighting, both in World War I and World War II, such as the Battle of the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge.

Geography

The department is surrounded by the French departments of Meuse, Marne, and Aisne and by Belgium on the north.

Situated in the Ardennes uplands on the border with Belgium, the department of Ardennes includes many areas of very dense woodland.

The principal river is the Meuse River.

Famous "Ardennais"

Robert de Sorbon (1201-1274), who created in Paris la Sorbonne, the famous French university, was born in the village of Sorbon, near Rethel
Guillaume de Machaut (1284-1370), poet/composer and author of Le Voir Dit, was born in Machault;
Turenne (1611-1675), maréchal de France, was born in Sedan;
Jean-Nicolas Corvisart (1755-1821), famous doctor and scientist, was born in Dricourt, near Vouziers;
Hippolyte Taine (1828-1893), philosopher and historian, member of the Académie française, was born in Vouziers;
Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), one of the most famous poets from France, was born in Charleville.

Demographics

The population of Ardennes has been in steady decrease since 1982 due to exodus to the cities. With 290,000 people (a density of 55/km²), it is one of France's least-populated regions.