Darney () is a commune in the Vosges

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is located in the Vôge Plateau, around the location of the source of the river Saône. Darney is known for its forest of oak and beech trees.

History

Darney is built on a

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...

dominating the valley of the Saône. The Romans built a castle here to control the area, and watch the forested countryside. As a fortified town in the Middle Ages, Darney had towers and two fortified gates, and was known as the "city of thirty towers". Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine gave the town its church in 1308. The town suffered during the Thirty years war, being razed by the Swedes led by

Bernard of Saxe-Weimar Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (german: Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar; 16 August 160418 July 1639) was a German prince and general in the Thirty Years' War. Biography Born in Weimar within the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johan ...

, who were allies of the French, in 1634. The castle of the time was destroyed in 1639. Remnants of this castle still exist, as well as the current, smaller castle, which was built in 1725. During the First World War, Darney was the rallying point for Czech and Slovak volunteers, where they were stationed at Camp Kleber. Due to their presence, on 30 June 1918, Czechoslovakian independence was proclaimed in the village. The French President,

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (, ; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected deputy in 1 ...

inspected 6,000 Czech and Slovak legionnaires, before handing over the Czechoslovakian army flag to Edvard Beneš, Minister of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs within the Provisional Czechoslovak government. This flag became the flag of the 21st rifle regiment. The former town hall is now a Franco-Czechoslovak museum, dedicated to Camp Kleber, the Czechoslovak troops stationed there, and the birth of the Czechoslovak state.

Twin towns

Darney is twinned with the town of Slavkov u Brna, also known as Austerlitz, in Moravia.

Points of interest

* Arboretum de la Hutte Exceptional Darney forest and wilderness assets of Ourche Valley: Oak trees, roe deers, red deers, wild cats. The Ourche river. Scenic views at La Hutte with peaceful pond and lakes, the old chapel and of course the giant trees of the Arboretum. Scenic views at Abbaye de Droiteval.

History

Twin towns

Points of interest

Natives of Darney

See also

References

External links