Montmédy (, german: Mittelberg) is a
commune in the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...
department in
Grand Est
Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administr ...
in north-eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Citadel of Montmédy
In 1221 the first castle of Montmédy was built on top of a hill by the
Count of Chiny. Montmédy soon became the capital of his territory – later it belonged to
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, Burgundy, Austria and Spain. The original castle was replaced with a fortress by
Charles V in the 16th Century.
After
Marville Marville may refer to:
* ''Marville'' (comics), a Marvel Comics series from the early 2000s
* Marville, Meuse
Marville () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
An airbase built by NATO hosted fighter squa ...
and
Stenay
Stenay () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Its inhabitants are called ''Stenaisiens''.
History
In 679, the assassinated king Dagobert II was buried in the church of Saint-Remi in Stenay. In 872, Ki ...
had been occupied by the French, 30,000 soldiers, including
King Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
, attacked Montmédy, whilst 756 were defending it in 1657. They held it for 57 days and surrendered only after the death of the governor Jean V of Allamont. The military engineer
Vauban advanced the outer fortifications, the moats and the walls after the siege of 1657.
During the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
in 1791, the fortress was the anticipated destination of King
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
and his family in their unsuccessful
attempt to escape from the growing radical republicanism of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. The area at that time was overwhelmingly pro-monarchy. The royal party never arrived, however, because they were discovered en route at
Varennes
Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639.
Geography
Varennes-en-Ar ...
and escorted back to the capital city. The King had hoped to establish a counter-revolutionary military base of operations in the citadel from which he could reclaim the country. The citadel has also been used as a fortress during both World Wars.
Buildings, including a church dating back to the 17th century, can be found inside the citadel itself; it still is used as a place to live. Most of the buildings are derelict or already collapsed; some of them are still in use as tenements. An ''Office de Tourisme'' (Tourist Office) can be found in the citadel.
Geography
The river
Othain joins the
Chiers in the eastern part of the commune. The village lies on the right bank of the Chiers.
Population
Notable people
A museum is devoted to the painter
Jules Bastien-Lepage
Jules Bastien-Lepage (1 November 1848 – 10 December 1884) was a French painter closely associated with the beginning of naturalism, an artistic style that emerged from the later phase of the Realist movement.
His most famous work is his land ...
. The eccentric harpist and composer
Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789–1856) was born in Montmédy where his father Karl Bochsa was an
oboist belonging to the Army. Future President
François Mitterrand was stationed as a soldier at Montmédy in 1939.
See also
*
Siege of Montmédy
*
Communes of the Meuse department
References
External links
Webpage about the citadel
Communes of Meuse (department)
Vauban fortifications in France
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