Épinal (; german: Spinal) is a

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 northeastern

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 ...

and the prefecture of the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

department.

Geography

The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

, south of Nancy.

Épinal station Épinal station ( French: ''Gare d'Épinal'') is a railway station serving the commune of Épinal, Vosges department, France. The station is owned and operated by SNCF, in the TER Grand Est regional rail network and is served by TGV and TER train ...

has rail connections to Paris, Remiremont, Strasbourg, Belfort and Nancy.

Population

In 2018, 32,223 people lived in the town proper, while its functional area had a population of 119,955.Comparateur de territoire
INSEE, retrieved 20 June 2022.

Main sights

The old town centre features the Place des Vosges, the Chapitre district, Saint-Maurice's Basilica, medieval castle remains and the Roman House (11th and 13th centuries). It is also known for its parks and gardens, as well as a large communal forest with arboretum (the

Arboretum de la Forêt d'Épinal The Arboretum de la Forêt d'Epinal (1.1 hectares) is an arboretum located in Saut-le-Cerf, in the 3600-hectare communal forest of Épinal, Vosges, Grand Est, France. See also * List of botanical gardens in France This list of botanical garden ...

). There are major fortifications, extended and maintained until the early 20th century. There is a legend, among the populace of Épinal, that

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's ghost strolls the wall ramparts on 9 September of each year at 05:00. It was on this day and at this time that, in 1811, Napoleon gave his first and last oration to the city of Épinal, wherein he addressed the challenges posed by northern expansion. The

Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial is a United States military cemetery in Dinozé, France. The site rests on a plateau above the Moselle River in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. It contains the graves of 5,255 of the United States' ...

on the outskirts of the town where United States service members killed in World War II are buried.

Notable residents

* Isabelle Cogitore (born 1964), historian *

Jean-Baptiste Jacopin Jean Baptiste Jacopin (20 October 1755 – 28 May 1811), was a French General during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was appointed Adjutant General and Chief of Brigade on 28 November 1793, and General of Brigade on 10 Jan ...

(1755–1811), general of the armies of the 1st Republic and the First French Empire. * Victor Magnien (1802–1885), violinist, guitarist and composer *

Émile Durkheim David Émile Durkheim ( or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science, al ...

(1858–1917), founder of sociology * Louis Lapicque (1866–1952), physiologist, specialist of the nervous system and known for his discovery of the chronaxie. *

Marcel Mauss Marcel Mauss (; 10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist and anthropologist known as the "father of French ethnology". The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss, in his academic work, crossed the boundaries between sociology and ...

(1872–1950), father of French modern

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

and nephew of

. *

Marc Boegner Marc Boegner, commonly known as ''pasteur'' Boegner (; 21 February 1881 – 18 December 1970), was a theologian, pastor, essayist, notable member of the French Resistance and a notable voice in the ecumenical movement. Biography Marc Boegner w ...

(1881–1970), writer, thinker and pastor, president of the Fédération protestante de France and the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

, a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. * Henry Daniel-Rops (1901–1965), writer and historian *

Jean-Marie Cavada Jean-Marie Cavada (born 24 February 1940 in Épinal, Vosges) is a French politician and former journalist and media executive who last served as a Member of the European Parliament for Ile de France from 2004 until 2019. Since 3 December 2011 he ...

(1940) journalist and politician. *

Léo Valentin Léon Alfred Nicolas Valentin (22 March 1919, Épinal (Vosges), France - 21 May 1956, Liverpool, England) was a French adventurer, who attempted to achieve human flight using bird-like wings. Léo Valentin is widely considered to be the most famou ...

(1919–1956), French soldier and adventurer, nicknamed "l'homme-oiseau". *

Marceline Loridan-Ivens Marceline Loridan-Ivens (née Rozenberg; 19 March 1928 – 18 September 2018) was a French writer and film director. Her memoir ''But You Did Not Come Back'' details her time in Auschwitz-Birkenau. She was married to Joris Ivens. Biography Ma ...

(1928), film director *

Philippe Séguin Philippe Séguin (21 April 1943 – 7 January 2010) was a French political figure who was President of the National Assembly from 1993 to 1997 and President of the Cour des Comptes of France from 2004 to 2010. He entered the Court of Financi ...

(1943–2010), Mayor of Épinal, French politician, President of the Court of Auditors under the Fifth Republic. *

Ségolène Royal Marie-Ségolène Royal (; born 22 September 1953) is a French politician who was the Socialist Party candidate for the Presidency of France in the 2007 election. Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 2014 ...

(1953), completed her high school in Charmes, before joining the Lycée Saint-Joseph of Épinal in 1968. *

Laetitia Masson Lætitia Masson (born 18 August 1966) is a French film director and screenwriter. She has directed twelve films since 1991. Her film '' À vendre'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cann ...

(1966), screenwriter and film director *

Valérie Donzelli Valérie Donzelli (born 2 March 1973) is a French actress, filmmaker and screenwriter. She has directed five feature films and two short films since 2008, including the film ''Declaration of War'' (2011). Early life Valérie Donzelli was born ...

(1973), actress and film director * Jeanne Cressanges, novelist, essayist * Nicolas Matthieu (1978), writer, winner of the

Prix Erckmann-Chatrian The prix Erckmann-Chatrian is a literary award from Lorraine, awarded every year since 1925 in memory of the literary duo Erckmann-Chatrian. It rewards a written prose work by someone form Lorraine or about Lorraine. It is often nicknamed the " Gonc ...

in 2014. *

Maria Pourchet Maria Pourchet (born 5 March 1980) is a French novelist. Her novels have been published by Éditions Gallimard in the Collection Blanche. Pourchet was born in Épinal. Publications Novels * ''Avancer'', novel, Gallimard, Collection Blanche, ...

, (1980), writer, winner of the

in 2013.
Marie-Antoinette Gout

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

Sportspeople

Gauthier Klauss Gauthier Klauss (born 17 December 1987) is former French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2003. His career ended in 2018 after C2 category was removed from the World cup and World championship. He won a bronze me ...

(1987), canoeist. *

Matthieu Péché Matthieu Patrick François Péché (born 7 October 1987, in Épinal) is former French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2003.His career ended in 2018 after C2 category was removed from the World cup and World cham ...

(1987), canoeist * Aurore Mongel (1982), swimmer *

Damien Nazon Damien Nazon (born 26 June 1974) is a former French racing cyclist. He finished in last place in the 1998 Tour de France. Nazon took a total of 33 victories during his career, including stage wins in the Dauphiné Libéré, the Grand Prix du Mid ...

(1974), rider *

Jean-Patrick Nazon Jean-Patrick Nazon (born 18 January 1977, in Épinal) is a French former professional road bicycle racer who turned professional in 1997. He is the brother of former racing cyclist Damien Nazon. Major results ;1998 : 6th Overall Circuit de Lo ...

(1977), rider *

Julien Bontemps Julien Francis Bontemps (born 1 June 1979 in Épinal, Vosges) is a male windsurfer from France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions an ...

(1979), windsurfer *

Maxime Mermoz Maxime Mermoz (born 28 July 1986) is a French former professional rugby union player. Mermoz won the 2006 Under 21 Rugby World Championship. He earned his first cap for the senior France national team on 5 July 2008 against Australia. He made ...

(1986), rugby player *

Nacer Bouhanni Nacer Bouhanni (born 25 July 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . A sprinter, he was the winner of the 2012 French National Road Race Championships. Although his first Grand Tour was in 2012, his r ...

(1990), rider * Rayane Bouhanni (1996), brother of the former, also a rider *

Grégory Gaultier Grégory Gaultier (born 23 December 1982, in Épinal, France) is a former professional squash player from France. He has won the 2015 World Open Squash Championship, the British Open three times, in 2007, 2014 and 2017, the Qatar Classic in 2 ...

(1982), 2015 squash world champion

Economy

Épinal is best known for the " Images d'Épinal" – which is now a common expression in French language – the popular prints created by a local company, the Imagerie d'Épinal, formerly known as the Imagerie Pellerin. These stencil-colored woodcuts of military subjects, Napoleonic history, storybook characters and other folk themes were widely distributed throughout the 19th century. The company still exists today, and still uses its hand-operated presses to produce the antique images. Other local industries include textiles, metals,

morocco leather Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maroquin, or German Saffian from Safi, Morocco, Safi, a Moroccan town famous for leather) is a Vegetable tanning, vegetable-tanned leather known for its softness, pliability, and ability to take c ...

, precision instruments, and bicycles. There is a school of textile weaving.

Politics

Épinal is contained within Vosges' 1st constituency for elections to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

Education

The engineering College

École nationale supérieure des technologies et industries du bois The École nationale supérieure des technologies et industries du bois (ENSTIB, formerly ESSTIB) is a French engineering College created in 1985. The school's teaching is based on the needs of the wood sector, drawing on research. Four sectors o ...

dedicated to

wood Industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furnit ...

is located in the city.

Sport

SAS Épinal is based in the commune.

International relations

Épinal is twinned with: *

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

, North Macedonia *

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torine ...

, Italy *

Gembloux Gembloux (; wa, Djiblou; nl, Gembloers, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants. The total area is 95.86 km², yielding a population dens ...

, Belgium *

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

, United States *

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Nový Jičín Nový Jičín (; german: Neutitschein) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservatio ...

, Czech Republic *

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

, Germany