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Péronne |
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Péronne
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Picardy |
| Department | Somme |
| Arrondissement | Péronne |
| Canton | Péronne |
| Intercommunality | Haute Somme |
| Mayor | Valérie Kumm (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 47–117 m (154–384 ft) (avg. 54 m/177 ft) |
| Land area1 | 14.16 km2 (5.47 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 8,754 (2006) |
| - Density | 618 /km2 (1,600 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 80620/ 80200 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.
It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place during World War I.
The Museum of the Great War (known in French as the Historial de la Grande Guerre) is located in the chateau.
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Péronne is situated in the old region of Santerre, home of the early French kings.
Hidden in the Somme valley, between lakes and huge fields of crops, the town is known as a paradise for fishing and hunting.
The autoroutes A1 and A16 pass close by. The national road, the N17, traverses the town
| 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7146 | 8568 | 9129 | 8497 | 8387 | 8213 | 8754 |
| Starting in 1962: Population without duplicates | ||||||
Urbs nescia vinci (The town that ignores defeat)
On a hill, dominating the Somme river and its lakes, Péronne was a well-fortified place during the early Middle Ages. The ramparts were built in the 9th century. All that remains today of the ancient fortress is the Porte de Bretagne. Few towns have been as involved in the history of France, few towns so often devastated, as Péronne. Burned and pillaged in the time of the Normans; Gravely damaged during the time of the Spanish occupation; Devastated by the Germans in 1870; Totally destroyed in 1917; Bombarded and burned in May 1940 by the German airforce. Péronne was awarded two Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur.
Its founder, the former mayor Charles Alfred Danicourt, created the museum as a cultural beacon of the Somme around 1900. Nowadays one can find one of the finest collections of early Gallic coins, antique gold jewelry, Merovingian funeral artefacts, a panorama of sand production during prehistoric times and some local examples of 19th and 20th century paintings.