Chaumont () is a

commune of France The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equi ...

, and the capital (or '' préfecture'') of the

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

and is situated on the Paris-Est–Mulhouse-Ville railway, which runs over a tall and long

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

built in 1856.

Chaumont station Chaumont station ( French: ''Gare de Chaumont'') is a French railway station serving the town Chaumont, Haute-Marne department, eastern France. It is situated on the Paris–Mulhouse railway. The station is served by regional trains towards Pari ...

has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Dijon, Mulhouse and regional destinations.

History

Historically, Chaumont was the seat of the Counts of

Bassigny The arrondissement of Langres is an arrondissement of France in the Haute-Marne department in the Grand Est region. It has 157 communes. Its population is 43,943 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement of Langres ...

and later of Champagne, receiving a charter in 1190. It was the venue of an offensive treaty against

Napoleon I 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 ...

signed by the United Kingdom, Austria,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1814, by which they agreed to continue war until France returned to its 1792 boundaries. Chaumont was bombed in 1940 and 1944 during World War II. From 1951 to 1967, the United States Air Force under NATO operated the Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base on the outskirts of the city.

Notable buildings

* The church of St-Jean-Baptiste dates from the 13th century, the choir and lateral chapels belonging to the 15th and 16th. In the interior the sculptured triforium (15th century), the spiral staircase in the transept and a Holy Sepulchre are of interest. * The Tour Hautefeuille (a keep of the 11th century) is the principal relic of a château of the counts of Champagne * In the Square Philippe-Lebon stands a statue of the engineer

Philippe Lebon Philippe le Bon (or Lebon) (D'Humbersin) (May 29, 1767 – December 1, 1804) was a French engineer, born in Brachay, France. There is much confusion about his life and accomplishments. His main contributions were improvements to steam engines ...

(1767–1804), born in Haute-Marne. The bronze statue was melted down during the second world war and replaced by a stone copy.

Population

Notable people

Edmé Bouchardon Edmé Bouchardon (; 29 May 169827 July 1762) was a French sculptor best known for his neoclassical statues in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, his medals, his equestrian statue of Louis XV of France for the Place de la Concorde (destroy ...

(1698–1762), sculptor *

Luc Chatel Luc-Marie Chatel () (born on 15 August 1964 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA) is a French politician of the Republicans (LR) who served as Minister of National Education in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon from June 2009 to May 20 ...

(born 1964), politician * Lucie Décosse (born 1981), judo player *

Denis Decrès Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne on 18 June 1761 and joined the Navy at the age of 18, ...

(1761–1820), Minister of the French Navy *

André Godard André Godard (21 January 1881 – 31 July 1965) was an archaeologist, architect and historian of French and Middle Eastern Art. He served as the director of the Iranian Archeological Service for many years. Life Godard was born in Chaumont. A ...

(1881–1965), architect and archaeologist * Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), archaeologist, topographer and orientalist *

Jean Masson Jean Masson (8 September 1907, Bayon, Meurthe-et-Moselle – 10 August 1964) was a French politician who served as state secretary in various governments during the French Fourth Republic The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième républiq ...

(1907–1964), politician * Louise Michel (1830–1905), anarchist * Christian Pineau (1904–1995), politician *

Nicole Rieu Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Eurovi ...

(born 1949), singer and director

Sport

The

Chaumont Volley-Ball 52 Chaumont Volley-Ball 52 is a French volleyball club, founded in 1996 and based in Chaumont (Haute-Marne) and have played in Ligue A since the 2012-2013 season. It won the 2017 LNV Ligue A and the French Supercup in 2017 and 2021. The club finish ...

, is a volleyball club playing in

Pro A (volleyball) LNV Ligue A Masculine (LAM) is the top men's volleyball league in France, established in 1938. It is governed by the Ligue Nationale de Volley (LNV), an independent body that runs French professional volleyball under delegation from the French ...

, created in 1996. The club became champion of France in Ligue A during the 2016–2017 season. She twice finished second in 2017-2018 and 2018–2019 seasons. On 2 April 2017, for the first time in its history, the CVB52 became a finalist in the

2016–17 CEV Challenge Cup The 2016–17 CEV Challenge Cup was the 37th edition of the CEV Challenge Cup tournament, the former CEV Cup. Russian club Fakel Novy Urengoy Fakel Novy Urengoy (russian: Факел Новый Уренгой) is a Russian professional men's v ...

. On 7 October 2017 in Mulhouse, the CVB52HM won a second title by becoming champion of the French Supercup. The club also participated in the

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tot ...

and

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 it was renamed CE ...

. The

Chaumont FC Chaumont Football Club is a French association football club founded in 1957. The club is based in Chaumont, Haute-Marne and its home stadium is the Stade Georges Dodin in the town, which has a capacity of 5,000 spectators. It had professional st ...

, is a football club, created in 1957. Which spent 16 seasons in the second division (

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

) under the name of E.C.A.C. She finished second in the 1971 season. ECAC Rugby Chaumont, created in 1968. Playing in the 1st Grand-Est Series for the 2018–2019 season. The club finished second in the Burgundy Championship 2nd series 2018 and second in the Grand-Est Championship 2nd series 2019. The Chaumont Handball 52 or ECAC Chaumont Handball, created in 1963. Playing in the National 2 women's season since 2018–2019. ECAC Basket Chaumont, created in 1946. Playing in Regional Championship 2. The Phénix de Chaumont, is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

club playing in the Grand-Est Regional Challenge, finalist of the 2018 Grand-Est Regional Challenge championship. La Chaumontaise Gymnastique, is a gymnastics club founded in 1883 under the name of "Gymnastics and Shooting Society"; it is also the oldest association in the town of Chaumont. The Tomb Raiders of Chaumont, is a

Roller in-line hockey Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport ...

and hockey club. The Vélo Club Chaumontais is a cycling club created in 1923. The association is one of the oldest in the city.

Twin towns – sister cities

Chaumont is twinned with: * Ashton-under-Lyne, England, United Kingdom (1956) *

Ivrea Ivrea (; pms, Ivrèja ; ; lat, Eporedia) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it stradd ...