Soissons () is a commune in the northern French

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, ...

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.region of

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...

. Located on the river

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the

Suessiones The Suessiones were a Belgic tribe, dwelling in the modern Aisne and Oise regions during the La Tène and Roman periods. During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), their oppidum Noviodunum ( Pommiers) was besieged and conquered by Caesar. Following th ...

. Soissons is also the see of an ancient Roman Catholic diocese, whose establishment dates from about 300, and it was the location of a number of church

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

s called "

Council of Soissons There have been several Catholic Church synods called the Council of Soissons: __NOTOC__ * March 744: Presided over by Saint Boniface. Attended by Hartbert, bishop of Sens. Appointed Abel bishop. * 13 November 833: Presided over by Ebbo, archbisho ...

History

Soissons enters written history under its

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

name, later borrowed into Latin, Noviodunum, meaning "new hillfort", which was the capital of the

. At Roman contact, it was a town of the

, mentioned by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

(''B. G.'' ii. 12). Caesar (''B.C.'' 57), after leaving the Axona (modern

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Aegidius and his son Syagrius, Noviodunum was the capital of the Kingdom of Soissons, until it fell to the Frankish king

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

in 486 after the Battle of Soissons. Part of the Frankish territory of Neustria, the Soissons region, and the Abbey of Saint-Médard, founded in the sixth century, played an important political part during the rule of the Merovingian dynasty (447–751). After the death of

in 511, Soissons was made the capital of one of the four kingdoms into which his states were divided. Eventually, the kingdom of Soissons disappeared in 613 when the Frankish lands were amalgamated under Chlothar II. The 744

met at the instigation of

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

and

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

, the Pope's missionary to pagan Germany, secured the condemnation of the Frankish bishop

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

and the missionary Clement of Ireland. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, French forces committed a notorious massacre of English archers stationed at the town's garrison, in which many of the French townsfolk were themselves raped and killed. The massacre of French citizens by French soldiers shocked Europe; Henry V of England, noting that the town of Soissons was dedicated to the saints Crispin and Crispinian, claimed to avenge the honour of the saints when he met the French forces at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

on Saint Crispin's Day 1415. The town was liberated by French troops under the command of Joan of Arc on July 23, 1429. Between June 1728 and July 1729 it hosted the Congress of Soissons an attempt to resolve a long-standing series of disputes between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Spain which had spilled over into the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729. The Congress was largely successful and led to the signing of the Treaty of Seville between them. During World War I, the city came under heavy bombardment. There was mutiny after the disastrous '' Chemin des Dames'' offensive at the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne (french: Bataille du Chemin des Dames or french: Seconde bataille de l'Aisne, 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the Germa ...

. A statue erected with images of French soldiers killed in action in 1917 is behind the St Peter's Church, next to the Soissons Courthouse. Soissons, France, 1919 panorama

Sights

Today, Soissons is a commercial and manufacturing centre with the 12th century Soissons Cathedral and the ruins of St. Jean des Vignes Abbey as two of its most important historical buildings. The nearby

Espace Pierres Folles The Espace Pierres Folles is a museum with geological exhibit and botanical garden located at 116 chemin du Pinay, St Jean des Vignes, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. It is open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged. The m ...

contains a museum, geological trail, and botanical garden.

Landmarks

*Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons is constructed in the style of Gothic architecture. The building of the south transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the choir in 1182. The choir with its original three-storey elevation and extremely tall clerestory was completed in 1211. This was earlier than

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, on which the design was supposed to have been based. Work then continued into the nave until the late 13th century.John James, The Template-makers of the Paris Basin, Leura, 1989. *Abbey of Notre Dame – The former abbey of Notre Dame, former royal abbey, founded in the Merovingian era, famous for its rich treasure of relics, including the "shoe of the Virgin." The abbey was prestigious abbesses like Gisèle, sister of Charlemagne, or Catherine de Bourbon, aunt of Henry IV. *Saint-Médard Abbey – The Saint-Médard Abbey was a Benedictine monastery of Soissons whose foundation went back to the sixth century. Today, only the crypt remains. *Hôtel de ville – Since 1833 the city hall has been housed in a chateau built by architect Jean-François Advyné between 1772 and 1775 at the request of the Intendant Pelletier Mortefontaine on the site of a previous one belonging to the counts of Soissons. *Arsenal – Exhibition space in the arsenal of the former

Abbey of St. Jean des Vignes The Abbey of St. Jean des Vignes was a monastery of Augustinian canons in Soissons, France, southwest of the city center. Only ruins remain, of which the west facade remains one of the more outstanding examples of architecture in the town. It is a ...

*Passerelle des Anglais – The "Passerelle des Anglais" (literally: "Footbridge of the English") is a concrete footbridge over the Aisne in the center of the city. The original bridge was destroyed in 1914. It was rebuilt by British soldiers, after which it was known as the "Pont des Anglais" ("Bridge of the English"). Destroyed again during World War II, it was rebuilt in 1950 as a pedestrian bridge. *The covered market – Built in 1908 by architect Albert-Désiré Guilbert (1866–1949)

Personalities

* The actress Aurore Clément was born in Soissons in 1945. * The artist

Emmanuel Fillion Emmanuel Fillion (born October 28, 1966) is a French-American sculptor. His marble and bronze works can be seen in public places, private homes and private collections including the Spencer and Marlene Hays collection. He has a studio in the Piet ...

was born in Soissons in 1966. * The saints Crispin and Crispinian were martyred c. 286 at Soissons for preaching Christianity to the local Gauls. * The 6th century

Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...

king Guntram was born in Soissons around 532. * Jeanne Macherez (1852–1930), heroine during World War I; Mayor of Soissons

Population

References

External links

Official website

Discovering Soissons

Local Bus Routes
{{Authority control Communes of Aisne Capitals of former nations Subprefectures in France Suessiones Gallia Belgica Aisne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia