Sedan, France

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For other uses of Sedan, see Sedan (disambiguation).

Administration
Commune of Sedan
Location
Longitude	4.56°
Latitude	49.42°
Country	France
Région	Champagne-Ardenne
Département	Ardennes (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Sedan
Canton	Chief town of 3 cantons
Mayor	Dominique Billaudelle (2001-2008)
Statistics
Land area¹	16.28 km²
Population² (1999)	20,548
- Density (1999)	1,262/km²
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: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Sedan is a town and commune in France, a sous-préfecture of the Ardennes département.

The historic center is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. A center of cloth production, begun under the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin, supported the town until the late 19th century.

1 History
2 Castle
3 Miscellaneous
- 3.1 Births
- 3.2 Twin town
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

In the 16th 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. Their most illustrious representative, Marshal Turenne, was born at Sedan on September 11, 1611.

During the Franco-Prussian War, on September 2, 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, September 2 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.

[edit] Castle

Castle in Sedan

Today Sedan is known for its castle, that is claimed to be the largest fortified medieval castle in Europe with a total surface of 30.000 m2 on 7 levels. It is the only remaining part of the once enormous fortifications in and around the town.

Construction started in 1424 and the castle's defences were constantly improved over the ages.