Langres

Coat of arms

Langres

Location within Champagne-Ardenne region

Langres

Coordinates: 47°51′48″N 5°20′02″E / 47.8633°N 5.3339°ECoordinates: 47°51′48″N 5°20′02″E / 47.8633°N 5.3339°E

Country

Langres

Étoile de Langres

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Didier Loiseau

Area¹

22.33 km² (8.62 sq mi)

Population (1999)²

9,586

• Density

430/km² (1,100/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

52269 / 52200

Elevation

327–475 m (1,073–1,558 ft)
(avg. 475 m or 1,558 ft)

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.

Langres is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Champagne-Ardenne.

History

As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then Lingones, and now Langres.

The town is built on a limestone promontory of the same name. This stronghold was originally occupied by the Gauls, and, at a later date the Romans fortified the town belonging to the Celtic tribe the Lingones; Andemantunum the strategic cross-roads of twelve Roman roads. The 1st century Triumphal Gate and the many artefacts exhibited in the museums are witnesses to the Gallo-Roman town.

After the period of invasions, the town prospered in the Middle Ages due, in part, to the growing political influence of its bishops. The diocese covered Champagne, the Duchy of Burgundy and Franche-Comté, and the bishops gained the right to coin money in the 9th century and to name the military governor of the city in 927. The Bishop of Langres was a duke and peer of France. The troubled 14th and 15th centuries were reason enough for the town to strengthen its fortifications, which still give the old part of the city its fortified character, and Langres entered a period of royal tutelage. The Renaissance, which returned prosperity to the town, saw the construction of numerous fine civil, religious and military buildings that still stand today. In the 19th century, a "Vauban" citadel was added.

Main sights

Today Langres is a historical town with numerous art treasures within the ancient defensive walls surrounding the old city (3.5 km), including a dozen towers and seven gates.

The cathedral of Saint-Mammès is a late 12th-century structure dedicated to Mammes of Caesarea, a 3rd-century martyr.

Culture

Langres is home to producers of an AOC-protected cheese of the same name. It is a soft, pungent cow's milk cheese that is known for its rind, which is washed.

The museum Denis Diderot´s House of Enlightenment. With it Langres pays homage to Denis Diderot. This museum, set up in a private mansion from the 16th and 18th centuries, is dedicated to the philosopher and to his most famous work, the Encyclopédie, as well as to the “Age of French Enlightenment”.

Notable people

Langres was the birthplace of:

Jeanne Mance (1606–1673), the co-founder of Montreal
Claude Gillot (1673–1722), painter
Denis Diderot (1713–1784), the philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, and the editor-in-chief of the Encyclopédie.
Jules Violle (1841–1923), physicist and inventor