Compiègne

Compiègne (French pronunciation: [kɔ̃pjɛɲ]; Picard: Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.[3] It is located on the river Oise.[4] Its inhabitants are called Compiégnois.

Compiègne
Subprefecture and commune
Town hall
Town hall
Coat of arms of Compiègne
Coat of arms
Location of Compiègne
Compiègne is located in France
Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is located in Hauts-de-France
Compiègne
Compiègne
Coordinates: 49°24′54″N 2°49′23″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentOise
ArrondissementCompiègne
CantonCompiègne-1 and 2
IntercommunalityCA Région de Compiègne et Basse Automne
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Philippe Marini[1]
Area
1
53.1 km2 (20.5 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
40,453
 • Density760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
60159 /60200
Elevation31–134 m (102–440 ft)
(avg. 41 m or 135 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Administration

Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:[3]

History by year
665 - Saint Wilfrid was consecrated Bishop of York. Wilfrid refused to be consecrated in Northumbria at the hands of Anglo-Saxon 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.
757 - Byzantine emperor Constantine V sent to Compiègne a gift for Pepin the short : France's first organ.
833 - Louis the Pious (also known as King Louis I, the Debonair) was deposed in Compiègne.[4]
February 888 - Odo, Count of Paris and king of the Franks was crowned in Compiègne.
23 May 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.[5]
1557 - Battle of Saint Quentin
1558 - The English occupy Compiegne
1624 - Compiègne gave its name to the Treaty of Compiègne, a treaty of alliance concluded by Cardinal Richelieu with the Dutch.[4]
1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Richelieu ultimately led to her exile to Compiègne, from where she escaped to Brussels in 1631.
17 July 1794 - The Martyrs of Compiègne are executed in Paris during the Reign of Terror.
1900 - The golf events for the 1900 Summer Olympics took place.[6]
11 November 1918 - The Armistice with Germany (Compiègne), agreed at Le Francport near Compiègne, ends fighting of World War I
22 June 1940 - Another Armistice with France (Second Compiègne) was signed between Nazi Germany 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 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 to Compiègne.
1972 - Creation of the University of Technology of Compiègne

Population

Compiègne is the central commune of an urban unit with 70,699 inhabitants, and a larger commuter zone with 141,504 inhabitants as of 2017.[7] The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Compiègne proper.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 8,000—    
1800 7,058−1.77%
1806 7,165+0.25%
1821 7,228+0.06%
1831 8,879+2.08%
1836 8,895+0.04%
1841 9,076+0.40%
1846 9,762+1.47%
1851 10,795+2.03%
1856 10,364−0.81%
1861 12,137+3.21%
1866 10,714−2.46%
1872 10,775+0.09%
1876 13,393+5.59%
1881 14,008+0.90%
1886 14,375+0.52%
1891 14,498+0.17%
1896 15,225+0.98%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 16,503+1.63%
1906 16,868+0.44%
1911 17,046+0.21%
1921 16,179−0.52%
1926 17,361+1.42%
1931 17,852+0.56%
1936 18,885+1.13%
1946 18,218−0.36%
1954 22,325+2.57%
1962 24,427+1.13%
1968 29,700+3.31%
1975 37,699+3.47%
1982 40,384+0.99%
1990 41,896+0.46%
1999 41,254−0.17%
2007 41,714+0.14%
2012 40,028−0.82%
2017 40,199+0.09%
Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE (1968-2017)[9]

Sights
View of Compiègne
Compiegne-Noyon Hospital

Museums

Compiègne Forest
Main article: 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 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 in April 1945; others say this happened in Berlin, 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.[10][11][12]

The University of Technology of Compiègne
Main article: 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" for students interested in technologies and applied science.[13]

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:

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Compiègne is twinned with:

Compiègne is also partnered with:

See also

References
  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. INSEE commune file
  4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Compiègne" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 811.
  5. Deborah A. Fraioli (2005). Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-313-32458-1.
  6. 1900 Summer Olympics official report. p. 15. Accessed 14 November 2010. (in French)
  7. Comparateur de territoire: Unité urbaine 2020 de Compiègne (60502), Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Compiègne (078), INSEE
  8. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Compiègne, EHESS (in French).
  9. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  10. Moved to Berlin - Steven Budiansky, "The Complete story of Codebreaking during WW2",ISBN 0-684-85932-7, page 136
  11. Moved to Berlin, and there destroyed in an air-raid - Brian Hanley, "Planning for Conflict in the 21st Century", page 116" available here
  12. Also William L Shirer in his "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (unknown ISBN) states it was destroyed during a bombing raid on Berlin
  13. "utc - UTC". www.utc.fr. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016.
  14. "Elbląg - Podstrony / Miasta partnerskie". Elbląski Dziennik Internetowy (in Polish). Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. "Elbląg - Miasta partnerskie". Elbląg.net (in Polish). Retrieved 1 August 2013.
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