Sens

Sens
Palais synodal de Sens.JPG
Sens is located in France
Sens
Administration
Country France
Region Burgundy
Department Yonne
Arrondissement Sens
Mayor Daniel Paris
(2008–2014)
Statistics
Land area1 27.86 km2 (10.76 sq mi)
Population2 26,646  (2006)
 - Density 956 /km2 (2,480 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 89387/ 89100
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.
Inside the cathedral of Sens, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, c. 1874.

Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.

Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.

Contents

History

Caesar mentions Agedincum in the territory of the Senones[1] several times in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, and the city retains the skeleton of its Roman street-plan.[2] The site was referred to by Ammianus Marcellinus as Senones (oppidum Senonas) but it did not become an administrative center until after the reorganization of the Roman Empire in 375, when it was the chief town of Lugdunensis Quarta.

During the Middle Ages, its archbishops[3] held the prestigious role of Primates of Gaul and Germany. The Hôtel de Sens in Paris was their official residence in that city. Starting from 1135, the cathedral of Sens, dedicated to Saint Stephen, was rebuilt as one of the first Gothic cathedrals; there, in 1234 Louis IX of France celebrated his wedding to Marguerite of Provence. Sens witnessed the trial of Peter Abelard, Pope Alexander III sojourned for some time in the city, and there also Thomas Becket spent part of his exile. The archdiocese of sens hosted a number of Church councils.

Sens lived troublesome times during the Wars of Religion.

Main sights

Sports

Sens is one of a few French towns with a youth baseball team. Originally started by a local English teacher, Laurent Carpentier, as a way to introduce students to American culture, the team has grown in popularity.

Personalities

Twin towns

See also

References

  1. ↑ The manuscripts of the Gallic War also give varied readings of Agendicum and Agetincum (William Smith, ed. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography); the gilded statue of "Brennus" ("leader") surmounts the hôtel de ville.
  2. ↑ Its Cardo (rue de la République) and Decumanus Maximus (Grande Rue) still meet at near right angles.
  3. ↑ The bishop of Sens perhaps became an archbishop as early as the mid-5th century, but the cult of the traditional founders Savinian and Potentian, not mentioned by Gregory of Tours, did not appear until the 8th century, when they were added to the local recension of the Seventy Apostles. (Catholic Encyclopedia: Sens).

External links