Coordinates: 49°24′54″N 2°49′23″E / 49.4149°N 2.823056°E
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Commune of Compiègne |
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 Town hall |
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| Location | |
  Compiègne
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Picardie |
| Department | Oise |
| Arrondissement | Compiègne |
| Intercommunality | Région de Compiègne |
| Mayor | Philippe Marini (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 31–134 m (100–440 ft) (avg. 41 m/130 ft) |
| Land area1 | 53.10 km2 (20.50 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 41,254 (1999) |
| - Density | 777 /km2 (2,010 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 60159/ 60200 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Compiègne is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.
The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.
Contents |
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of three cantons
- Compiègne-Nord (with 5 communes)
- Compiègne-Sud-Est (southeast) (with 4 communes)
- 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.
- 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.
- 1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Richelieu ultimately led to her exile to Compiègne, from where she escaped to Brussels in 1631.
- 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.
- 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
Museums
- Château de Compiègne - the castle itself, and museums of the Second French Empire, of historic figurines and of motoring and tourism within its walls
- Musée Antoine Vivenel
Compiègne Forest
The Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistices; the 1918 Armistice with Germany and the 1940 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 use in the 1940 armistice was moved to Berlin as a trophy of Nazi triumph. However, in April 1945, facing certain and a humiliating defeat, and to avoid it being used again, Hitler ordered the carriage's destruction by SS in Crawinkel, Thuringia and the remains scattered and/or buried.
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.
Notable people
Compiègne was the birthplace of:
- Roscellinus (~1050 - ~1122), philosopher and theologian, often regarded as the founder of Nominalism
- Pierre d'Ailly (1350-1420), theologian and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
- Albert Robida (1848-1926), illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist
- Marcel Tabuteau (1887-1966), Oboist, regarded as the founder of American oboe playing.
- Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938), tennis player, international female sport star
Twin towns
Compiègne is twinned with:
Arona, Italy, since 1962
Bury St Edmunds, England, since 1967
Elbląg, Poland, since 2002
Huy, Belgium, since 1959
Kiryat Tivon, Israel, since 1988
Landshut, Germany, since 1962
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, since 1989
Shirakawa, Fukushima, Japan, since 1988
Vianden, Luxembourg, since 1964
See also
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Compiègne |
- City council website (in French)
- Le musée du château/The Château museum
- SAND Project site
- Steven Lehrer's Compiègne site
- INTERREG
- Universite de Technologie de Compiegne
- Joan of Arc Captured At Compiegne
- Cultural Association defending the Death-Rap values
- customized transport in compiègne
| North: Clairoix, Choisy-au-Bac and Margny-lès-Compiègne | ||
| West: Jaux, Venette |
Compiègne | East: Saint-Jean-aux-Bois and Vieux-Moulin |
| South: Lacroix-Saint-Ouen |
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