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Please expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French Wikipedia. (December 2008) After translating, {{Translated|fr|Sedan}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance.Translation instructions · Translate via Google |
Coordinates: 49°42′09″N 4°56′28″E / 49.70250°N 4.94111°E
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Commune of Sedan |
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| Location | |
  Sedan, Ardennes
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne-Ardenne |
| Department | Ardennes |
| Arrondissement | Sedan |
| Canton | 3 cantons |
| Mayor | Dominique Billaudelle (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 157 m (520 ft) avg. |
| Land area1 | 16.28 km2 (6.29 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 20,548 (1999) |
| - Density | 1,262 /km² (3,270 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 08409/ 08200 |
| 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. | |
Sedan is a town and commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.
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Geography
The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around 10 kilometres (6 mi) from the Belgian border, and around 200 kilometres (124 mi) from Paris.
History
Sedan was founded in 1424. In the sixteenth century Sedan was an asylum for Protestant refugees from the Wars of Religion.
Until 1651, the Principality of Sedan belonged to the La Tour d'Auvergne family. It was at that time a sovereign principality. Their most illustrious representative, Marshal Turenne, was born at Sedan on 11 September 1611. With help from the Holy Roman Empire, it managed to defeat France at the Battle of La Marfée, though immediately afterwards it was besieged and its prince, Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon, submitted to France. Only a year after that submission, it was annexed to France in return for sparing his life after he became involved in a conspiracy against France.
During the Franco-Prussian War, on 2 September 1870 the French emperor Napoleon III was taken prisoner with 100,000 of his soldiers at the Battle of Sedan.
Due to this major victory, which also made the "Second Reich" of Germany possible, 2 September was declared "Sedan Day" (Sedantag) and a national German holiday in 1871. It remained a holiday until 1919.
During World War II the German troops first invaded neutral Belgium and crossed the Meuse River in Sedan. This allowed them to bypass the French fortification system, the Maginot Line.
Points of interest
Castle
Today Sedan is known for its castle, that is claimed to be the largest fortified medieval castle in Europe with a total area of 30,000 m2 on seven levels. Construction started in 1424 and the castle's defences were constantly improved over the ages. It is the only remaining part of the once enormous fortifications in and around the town.
Other points of interest
Economy
A centre of cloth production, begun under the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin, supported the town until the late nineteenth century.
Births
Sedan was the birthplace of:
- Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675), Marshal of France
- Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (1765–1840), Marshal of France
- Charles Baudin (1792-1854), admiral
- René Guyon (1876-1963), jurist
- Yves Marie Joseph Cardinal Congar (1904-1995) was a French Dominican priest and theologian
- Pierre Cartier (born 1932), mathematician
- Yannick Noah (born 1960), former professional tennis player
- Benjamin Lemaire (born 1985), actor and film director
- Anais Dechamps (born 1988), elite distance runner
Twin town
See also
- CS Sedan Ardennes, football club based in Sedan
- Stade Louis Dugauguez, a multi-use stadium in Seda
External links
- Sedan city council website (in French)
- The German breakthrough in 1940
- Webpage about the fortifications of Sedan
- Article on the Battle of Sedan at 'Battlefields Europe'
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