Compiègne

Compiègne
Hôtel de ville de Compiègne.jpg
Town hall
Compiègne is located in France
Compiègne
Administration
Country France
Region Picardy
Department Oise
Arrondissement Compiègne
Intercommunality Région de Compiègne
Mayor Philippe Marini
(2001–2008)
Statistics
Elevation 31–134 m (102–440 ft)
(avg. 41 m/135 ft)
Land area1 53.10 km2 (20.50 sq mi)
Population2 41,254  (1999)
 - Density 777 /km2 (2,010 /sq mi)
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 (French pronunciation: [kɔ̃pjɛɲ]) 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

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.
1900 - The golf events for the 1900 Summer Olympics took place.
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

Sights

View of Compiègne

Museums

UTC

Compiègne is home to the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC), an engineering school founded in the mid-seventies to provide an alternative to the traditional grand-ecoles for students interested in technical fields. The UTC has a strong international students program known as Esperanto, and hosts students from around the world.

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:

Twin towns

Compiègne is twinned with:

Compiègne is also partnered with:

See also

References

External links

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
Venues of the 1900 Summer Olympics
7th arrondissement of Paris · Bois de Boulogne · Bois de Vincennes · Boulogne-Billancourt · Compiègne · Croix-Catelan Stadium · Le Havre · Meulan-en-Yvelines  · Neuilly-sur-Seine · Puteaux · Satory · Seine · Tuileries Garden · Vélodrome de Vincennes