Compiègne

Compiègne is a commune in the Oise département of France, of which it is a sous-préfecture. The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.

Administration

Compiègne is the chief town of 3 cantons

Canton of Compiègne-Nord (with 5 communes)
Canton of Compiègne-Sud-Est (southeast) (with 4 communes)
Canton of Compiègne-Sud-Ouest (southwest) (with 5 communes)

History

665 - Saint Wilfrid consecrated Bishop of York.

February 888 - Odo, Count of Paris and king of the Franks was crowned in Compiègne.

May 23, 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.

November 11, 1918 - The Armistice with Germany (Compiègne), agreed at Rethondes near Compiègne, ends fighting of WWI

June 21, 1940 - Another Armistice with France (Second Compiègne) was signed between Nazi Germany and the defeated France in Rethondes, 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

1882: 13,393
1990: 41,663 (municipal), 44,703 (total)
1999: 41,076 (municipal), 44,703 (total), 69,903 (agglomeration), urban (108,234)

Sights

Château de Compiègne

Compiègne Forest

The Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistice; the 1918 Armistice with Germany and the 1940 Armistice with France . The site still houses sevaral memorials to the 1918 armistice, including a copy of the original railway carriage.

Miscellaneous

Compiègne is the traditional start of the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race.

Births

Compiègne was the birthplace of:

Roscellinus (~1050 - ~1122), philosopher and theologian, often regarded as the founder of Nominalism
Pierre d'Ailly (1350-1420), theologian and cardinal of the Catholic Church
Albert Robida (1848-1926), illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist

Twin towns

Compiègne is twinned with:

Landshut, Germany, since 1962
Huy, Belgium, since 1959
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, since 1989
Kiryat Tivon, Israel, since 1988
Arona, Italy, since 1962
Vianden, Luxembourg, since 1964
Shirakawa, Fukushima, Japan, since 1988
Elblag, Poland, since 2002
Bury St Edmunds, England, since 1967

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

World War I | Communes of Oise

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