or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () 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 ...

of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department,

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

History

Plan Charleville Meziere Edme Moreau 1625

Charleville and Mézières were originally separate communities on opposite banks of the

, about from one another. Charleville was founded by Charles Gonzaga, the 8th

duke of Mantua During its history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of the House of Canoss ...

, in 1606. Its inhabitants were known as Carolopolitans (' or ''Carolopolitaines''). It was prosperous from the 17th century, although its fortifications were dismantled under LouisXIV in 1687 and it passed into French hands in 1708. It was plundered by the Prussians in 1815. France's royal armaments factory was formerly located there and gave its name to the

Charleville musket The Charleville musket was a .69 caliber standard French infantry musket used in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was made in 1717 and was last produced during the 1840s. However, it still saw limited use in conflicts through the mid-19th century ...

, before being relocated and divided between

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...

and

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...

. In the 19th century, the city continued to produce arms through private firms, as well as nails, hardware, wine, spirits, coal, iron, and slate. It boasted a spacious port, a theatre, a large public library, and a museum of natural history. The inhabitants of Mézières were known as Macerians (' or ''Macériennes''). By the mid-19th century, the two towns were linked by a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

. It was occupied by the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and by

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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

- the town served as the center of the Oberstee Heeresleitung (OHL) for 26 days during World War I. The present

was established in 1966. Another commune, Le Theux, had already been merged into Mézières in 1965. It has a population of about 51,000. Charleville place ducale face

Climate

With an annual average of 9 °C (48,1 °F), Charleville-Mézières is generally the coolest city of France. Winters are long, cold and gloomy while summers are hot enough but sometimes, even in the middle of July, night temperatures can drop below 5 °C (41 °F). Under the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, Charleville-Mézières features a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfb'') with strong

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

influences (''Dfb'').

Population

In the table and graph below, data for 1962 and earlier refer to the old commune of Charleville, before the merger with Étion, Mézières, Mohon and Montcy-Saint-Pierre.

Culture

Puppetry is an important part of the cultural life of Charleville-Mézières, which is called the "World Capital of Puppetry Arts". A
international puppet festival
has been held there every three years since 1961, and became a biennial event in 2011. The town is also home to the world headquarters of

UNIMA UNIMA (''Union Internationale de la Marionnette'' - ''International Puppetry Association'') was founded in Prague in 1929 (the then Czechoslovak magazine Loutkář was UNIMA's first official journal in years 1929–1930). In 1981, the French pup ...

as well as the International Puppetry Institute (French: Institut International de la Marionnette), which is housed in a historic building featuring a giant

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

of a puppeteer who performs a puppet show every hour on the hour. The École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette (ESNAM), a college which offers a higher education in puppetry, is also situated in Charleville-Mézières. The poet

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

(1854–1891) was born in Charleville. The ' is located in the old water mill (''Le Vieux Moulin'') to the north of the town.

Transport

The local network of public buses within the

Ardenne Métropole Ardenne Métropole is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the cities of Charleville-Mézières and Sedan. It is located in the Ardennes department, in the Grand Est region, northern France. It was created ...

, TAC, is operated by

RATP Dev RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respon ...

. The Charleville-Mézières railway station offers connections to Paris (by TGV), Reims, Lille, Metz and regional destinations.

Sport

OFC Charleville Olympique Football Club de Charleville-Mézières is a French football team from the city of Charleville-Mézières, Ardennes, which plays in Division d'honneur (6th division in the French football league system). History The team was founded ...

represent the town at

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. Étoile de Charleville-Mézières is a basketball club.

Famous residents

Dubois-Crancé député du balliage de Vitry

* Louise Bellocq (1919–1968), French writer, winner of the 1960

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

, was born in Charleville * Olivier Brochard (born 1967), former football player *

Antoine Louis Dugès Antoine Louis Dugès (19 December 1797 – 1 May 1838) was a French obstetrician and naturalist born in Charleville-Mézières, Ardennes. He was the father of zoologist Alfredo Dugès (1826–1910), and a nephew to midwife Marie-Louise Lachape ...

(1797–1838), obstetrician and naturalist *

François Habeneck François Antoine Habeneck (22 January 1781 – 8 February 1849) was a French classical violinist and conductor. Early life Habeneck was born at Mézières, the son of a musician in a French regimental band. During his early youth, Habeneck w ...

(1781–1849), violinist born in Mézières * Adolphe-Hippolyte Couveley (1802–1867), painter born in Charleville *

Edmond Louis Alexis Dubois-Crancé Edmond Louis Alexis Dubois-Crancé (; 14 October 1747 – 28 June 1814) was a French musketeer, general, and revolutionary politician who served for a few months as Minister of the Armed Forces (France), minister of war. Family life Born in Char ...

(1747–1814), general,

French revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

minister of war A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, 12th President of the National Convention. * Louis Dufour (1652–1733), the abbé of Longuerue, was born in Charleville. *

Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette (6 May 1769 – 16 January 1834), French mathematician, was born at Mézières, where his father was a bookseller. For his early education he proceeded first to the college of Charleville, and afterwards to that of ...

(1769–1834), mathematician born in Mézières. * Henri Mialaret (1855–1919), sailor *

Gaspard Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse (9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geometry. During ...

(1746–1818), mathematician, taught at the

École royale du génie de Mézières The École royale du génie de Mézières (Royal Engineering School of Mézières) was a military engineering school in what is now Charleville-Mézières, France. It was founded in 1748 on proposal of the comte d'Argenson, then Secretary of stat ...

. * Étienne Riché (1883–1934), politician and banker, twice under-secretary of state and deputy for the Ardennes, born in Charleville *

(1854–1891), the French poet, was born in Charleville. *

Félix Savart Félix Savart (; ; 30 June 1791, Mézières – 16 March 1841, Paris) was a French physicist and mathematician who is primarily known for the Biot–Savart law of electromagnetism, which he discovered together with his colleague Jean-Bapti ...

(1791–1841), physicist and mathematician born in Mézières *

Louis Tirman Louis Tirman (29 July 1837 – 2 August 1899) was a French lawyer and civil servant who was prefect of several departments, Governor General of French Algeria from 1881 to 1891 and then Senator of Ardennes from 1892 until his death in 1899. He beli ...

(1837–1899), lawyer and civil servant, Governor General of Algeria from 1881 to 1891 *

Natalis de Wailly Natalis de Wailly (10 May 1805, Mézières, Ardennes – 4 December 1886, Paris) was a French archivist, librarian and historian. In 1841, as head of the Administrative Section of the Royal Archives, he wrote a ministerial circular, issued by C ...

(1805–1886), 19th-century historian and palaeographer born in Charleville

International relations

Charleville-Mézières is twinned with: *

Dülmen Dülmen () is a town in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems ri ...

, Germany *

Euskirchen Euskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Öskerche'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted to ...

, Germany *

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: * Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district **Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city * Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost ...

, Germany *

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, France *

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

, Italy * Tolosa, Spain

History

Climate

Population

Culture

Transport

Sport

Famous residents

International relations

See also