Sedan, France

French commune
nomcommune=Sedan
région=Champagne-Ardenne
département=Ardennes
arrondissement=Sedan
canton=3 cantons
insee=08409
cp=08200
maire=Dominique Billaudelle
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=
longitude=4.94111
latitude=49.70250
alt moy=157 m
alt mini=
alt maxi=
hectares=1,628
km²=16.28
sans=20,548
date-sans=1999
dens=1,262
date-dens=1999

Sedan is a town and commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.

Geography

The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River.

History

Sedan was founded in 1424. 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. It was at that time a sovereign principality. Their most illustrious representative, Marshal Turenne, was born at Sedan on September 11, 1611. With help from the Holy Roman Empire, it managed to defeat France at the Battle of La Marfée, though immediately afterwards it was besieged and its prince, Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon, submitted to France. Only a year after that submission, it was annexed to France in return for sparing his life after he became involved in a conspiracy against France.

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.

Points of interest

Castle

:"Main article: Château de 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. Construction started in 1424 and the castle's defences were constantly improved over the ages. It is the only remaining part of the once enormous fortifications in and around the town.

Other points of interest

* Jardin botanique de Sedan

Economy

A centre of cloth production, begun under the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin, supported the town until the late 19th century.

Miscellaneous

Births

Sedan was the birthplace of:
* Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675), Marshal of France.
* Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (1765–1840), Marshal of France
* Charles Baudin (1792-1854), admiral
* Yves Marie Joseph Cardinal Congar (1904-1995) was a French Dominican priest and theologian.
* René Guyon (1876-1963), jurist
* Yannick Noah (born 1960), former professional tennis player
* Benjamin Lemaire (born 1985), actor and film director

Twin town

* Sedan is twinned with Eisenach, Germany since 1991

ee also

* CS Sedan Ardennes, football club based in Sedan
* Stade Louis Dugauguez, a multi-use stadium in Seda

External links

* [http://www.sedan.fr Sedan city council website] (in French)
* [http://www.onwar.com/maps/wwii/blitz/1fsedan40.htm The German breakthrough in 1940]
* [http://www.fortified-places.com/sedan.html Webpage about the fortifications of Sedan]
* [http://battlefieldseurope.co.uk/sedan.aspx Article on the Battle of Sedan at 'Battlefields Europe']