Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François (French pronunciation: [vitʁi lə frɑ̃swa]) is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It is located on the Marne River and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal.
Vitry-le-François | |
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Subprefecture and commune | |
The town hall in Vitry-le-François | |
Coat of arms | |
Location of Vitry-le-François | |
Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François | |
Coordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E | |
Country | France |
Region | Grand Est |
Department | Marne |
Arrondissement | Vitry-le-François |
Canton | Vitry-le-François-Champagne et Der |
Intercommunality | Vitry, Champagne et Der |
Government | |
• Mayor (2014-2020) | Jean-Pierre Bouquet |
Area 1 | 6.45 km2 (2.49 sq mi) |
Population (2017-01-01)[1] | 12,133 |
• Density | 1,900/km2 (4,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 51649 /51300 |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
History
In 1142, Louis VII invaded Champagne and seized Vitry-le-François. Over a thousand residents were killed when the town's church was set ablaze.
The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site, Vitry-en-Perthois, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's Italian War of 1542–46.[2] The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by Girolamo Marini. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name.
Demography
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Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE[4] |
Features
- Its church of Notre-Dame is a 17th-century building with fine 18th-century monuments.
- A convent of the Récollets was later converted to contain the town hall, the court-house, a library and a small museum.
- There is a bronze statue of Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (1763–1845), the politician and philosopher, a native of the district.[5]
Personalities
- Guy Georges, serial killer
- Étienne-Gabriel Morelly, proto-communist philosopher
- René Herbin (1911–1953), classical pianist
- Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (fl. c. 1100), Talmudist
See also
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vitry-le-François. |
- "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- Chisholm 1911.
- Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Vitry-le-François, EHESS. (in French)
- Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Vitry-le-François". Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 151.