Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a
commune in the
Oise
Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...
department in northern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
.
[INSEE commune file]
/ref> It is located on the river Oise
Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...
. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:[
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 communes and part of Compiègne)
* Compiègne-2 (with 16 communes and part of Compiègne)
]
History by year
: 665 - Saint Wilfrid
Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...
was consecrated Bishop of York
York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...
. Wilfrid refused to be consecrated in Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
at the hands of Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
bishops. Deusdedit, Archbishop of Canterbury, had died, and as there were no other bishops in Britain whom Wilfrid considered to have been validly consecrated, he travelled to Compiègne, to be consecrated by Agilbert, the Bishop of Paris.
: 833 - Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
(also known as King Louis I, the Debonair) was deposed in Compiègne.[
: February 888 - Odo, Count of Paris and king of the ]Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
was crowned in Compiègne.
: 23 May 1430 - During the Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...
, Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...
was captured by the Burgundians while attempting to free Compiègne. They then sold her to the English.
: 1557 - Bataille de Saint Quentin
: 1558 - Les Anglais occupe Compiegne
: 1624 - Compiègne gave its name to the Treaty of Compiègne, a treaty of alliance concluded by Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
with the Dutch.[
: 1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace ]Richelieu
Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to:
People
* Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister
* Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal
* Louis François Armand ...
ultimately led to her exile to Compiègne, from where she escaped to Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 1631.
: 17 July 1794 - The Martyrs of Compiègne
The Martyrs of Compiègne were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France: 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). They were executed by the guillotine towards the end of the Reign of Terror, ...
are executed in 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. ...
during the Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...
.
: 1900 - The golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
events for the 1900 Summer Olympics took place.
: 11 November 1918 - The Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistic ...
, agreed at Le Francport near Compiègne, ends fighting of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
: 22 June 1940 - Another Armistice with France (Second Compiègne) was signed between Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the defeated France in Le Francport, near Compiègne, in the same place as in 1918, in the same railroad carriage, but with the seats swapped.
: 1941 - During the German occupation of France, the Compiègne internment camp
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 co ...
was established in Compiègne. A memorial of the camp, and another along the railway tracks, commemorate the tragedy.
: 1968 - The starting location of the Paris–Roubaix bicycle race was changed from 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. ...
to Compiègne.
: 1972 - Creation of the University of Technology of Compiègne
Population
Compiègne is the central commune of an urban unit
In France, an urban unit (''fr: "unité urbaine"'') is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition , an "unité urbaine" is a ...
with 70,699 inhabitants, and a larger commuter zone with 141,504 inhabitants as of 2017. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Compiègne proper.
Sights
Museums
* Château de Compiègne - the castle itself, and museums of the Second French Empire and of motoring and tourism within its walls
* Musée Antoine Vivenel
The Musée Antoine Vivenel is the municipal museum of the city of Compiègne in northern France, located at 2, rue d'Austerlitz, 60200 Compiègne. It was founded in 1839, following an important gift by Antoine Vivenel, architect and art collecto ...
* Museum of historic figurines
* Memorial of internment and deportation
Compiègne Forest
The Glade of the Armistice in the Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of two armistices; those of 11 November 1918 and 22 June 1940. Hitler specifically chose the location of the second, and had the original signing carriage moved from Paris to Compiègne, as an irony for the defeated French.
The site still houses several memorials to the 1918 armistice, including a copy of the original railway carriage. The original, Marshal Foch's Carriage was taken to Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
as a trophy of victory following the second armistice. Various rumors about what happened to this railway-carriage thereafter, have flourished ever since. Some believe it was destroyed by the SS in Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
in April 1945; others say this happened in Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
, but most likely was it destroyed during an allied air-raid on Berlin. The latter version seems most plausible, since Ferdinand Foch's carriage actually was displayed at a Berlin museum.
The University of Technology of Compiègne
Compiègne is home to the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC), one of the top ranking engineering school in France, founded as a Technology University in 1972 to provide an alternative to the traditional "grandes écoles Grandes may refer to:
* Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician
* Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia
* Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spa ...
" for students interested in technologies and applied science.
Transport
Compiègne station offers connections with Paris, Amiens, Cambrai and several regional destinations. The nearest motorway is the A1 Paris-Lille.
Cycling
Since 1968 Compiègne is the traditional start city of the famous Paris–Roubaix bicycle race. It was also the finish city of 3rd stage in the 2007 Tour de France.
Notable People
Compiègne has been home to:
* Roscellinus (~1050 - ~1122), philosopher and theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
, often regarded as the founder of Nominalism
In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are at least two main versions of nominalism. One version denies the existence of universalsthings th ...
* Pierre d'Ailly
Pierre d'Ailly (; Latin ''Petrus Aliacensis'', ''Petrus de Alliaco''; 13519 August 1420) was a French theologian, astrologer and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
Academic career
D'Ailly was born in Compiègne in 1350 or 1351 of a prospe ...
(1350–1420), theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
* Albert Robida (1848–1926), illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist
* Eugène Albertini (1880–1941), teacher in Latin literature, historian of ancient Rome, and epigrapher of Latin texts
* Marcel Tabuteau (1887–1966), Oboist
An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.
The following is a list of notable past a ...
, regarded as the founder of American oboe playing.
* Suzanne Lenglen
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...
(1899–1938), tennis player, international female sport star
* Lucas Debargue (1990–), pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.
* The Martyrs of Compiègne
The Martyrs of Compiègne were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France: 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). They were executed by the guillotine towards the end of the Reign of Terror, ...
International relations
Compiègne is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
Compiègne is also partnered with:
See also
* Communes of the Oise department
The following is a list of the 679 communes of the Oise department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):[Dialogues of the Carmelites
' (''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc, completed in 1956. The composer's second opera, Poulenc wrote the ...]
* Martyrs of Compiegne
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
* Monument aux morts (Oise)
* Siege of Compiègne
The siege of Compiègne (1430) was conducted by Duke Philip III of Burgundy after the town of Compiègne had refused to transfer allegiance to him under the terms of a treaty with Charles VII. The siege is perhaps best known for Joan of Arc's ...
* Timeline of deportations of French Jews to death camps
References
External links
City council website
(in French)
Le musée du château/The Château museum
Memorial to Nazi/French Internment Camp and Deportations During WW2
Universite de Technologie de Compiegne
Joan of Arc Captured At Compiegne
customized transport in compiègne
Concerts in Compiègne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Compiegne
Venues of the 1900 Summer Olympics
Communes of Oise
Subprefectures in France
World Heritage Sites in France