commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
in the
Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
in north-central France.
It is located at a crossing point over the river Marne between
Meaux
Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
and
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne.
The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition at ...
.
History
This area of France has frequently been a site of warfare. In 1819, British naval officer,
Norwich Duff
Admiral Norwich Duff FRSE (15 August 1792 – 21 April 1862) was a Royal Navy officer.
Life
The son of Captain George Duff RN, and Sophia Dirom, he was born at 9 South Castle Street, Edinburgh. He entered the Royal Navy in July 1805, just befor ...
(1792–1862),
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
born, recorded a note on La Ferté. The Bourbon Restoration had apparently dampened the Napoleonic road building boom, as evidenced by unused milestones. Construction projects had rebuilt some facilities destroyed in the wars with Britain and other Powers.
La Ferté is famous for millstones used for milling flour. Some have even been found in England.
Among notable residents, the artist Émile Bayard was born in this town (1837). The Irish avant-garde writer, dramatist, poet and nobel prize winner Samuel Beckett lived in the neighboring hamlet of Mollien for 36 years. The town's library and secondary school are named after him.
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess ...
, three times Worldwide Wrestling champion, icon of the
André the Giant Has a Posse
Andre the Giant Has a Posse is a street art campaign based on a design by Shepard Fairey created in 1989 while Shepard attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. Distributed by the :wikt:skater, skater community and ...
(aka Obey) street art project grew up in the local canton. As a child, the American writer and filmmaker Oliver Stone used to spend all his summer holiday at his French maternal grands-parents' hotel in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre.
The area was invaded and occupied by the Germans from the beginning of the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, which led to considerable damage and casualties. After the war, on 14 August 1921, the town of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre was awarded the War Cross with the following citation:
On the south-western edge of the town, on the south bank of the river Marne, is the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial, commemorating more than 3000 British soldiers from the Great War with no known grave. They died in fighting in the area against the Germans.
Demographics
Inhabitants of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre are called ''Fertois'' in French.
Notable residents
*
Antoine of Navarre
Antoine de Bourbon, roi de Navarre (22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562) was the King of Navarre through his marriage ('' jure uxoris'') to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he ...
(1518–1562), King of Navarre, Father
Henri IV
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
*
Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon
Charles de Bourbon (22 September 1523 – 9 May 1590) was a French cardinal. The Catholic League considered him the rightful King of France as Charles X after the death of Henry III in 1589. His claim was recognized as part of the secret Treaty o ...
Henri Pouctal
Henri Pouctal (21 October 1860 – 2 February 1922) was an early France, French silent film director and actor best known for his silent films of the 1910s, notably ''Alsace (film), Alsace'' or ''Chantecoq (film), Chantecoq'', and his directorsh ...
(1860–1922), early French silent film director
*
Maurice Holleaux
Maurice Holleaux (15 April 1861 – 21 September 1932) was a 19th–20th-century French historian, archaeologist and epigrapher, a specialist of Ancient Greece.
Biography Années de formation
Admitted in the École normale supérieure in 18 ...
(1861–1932), 19th–20th-century French historian, archaeologist and epigrapher died in the city.
* Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), Irish avant-garde writer, dramatist, and poet
*
Maurice Tranchant de Lunel Maurice Tranchant de Lunel (25 November 1869, La Ferté-sous-Jouarre – 1944, La Seyne-sur-Mer), was a 20th-century French architect and writer.
Biography
An architect of historical monuments in Morocco, Maurice Tranchant de Lunel was the desig ...
(1869-1944), French architect born in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre
*
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess ...
(1946–1993), Triple Worldwide Wrestling champion, wrestler and icon of the Andre the Giant Has a Posse (Obey) street art
* Oliver Stone (1946–), American writer and filmmaker.
* Robert Hampson (1965–), English musician, singer, composer
Twin towns
*
Zuffenhausen
Zuffenhausen is one of three northernmost boroughs of the city of Stuttgart, capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The borough is primarily an incorporation of the formerly independent townships Zuffenhausen, Zazenhausen, Neuwirtshau ...