Sainte-Menehould (; german: Sankt Mathilde) is a commune in the

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 ...

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, ...

in north-eastern France. The 18th-century French playwright

Charles-Georges Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey Charles-Georges Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey (16 July 1727 – 28 October 1800) was an 18th-century French playwright. --> Works ;Theatre *'' L'Honnête Criminel, ou l'Amour filial, drama in 5 acts and in verse'', published in 1767 and giv ...

(1727–1800) died in Sainte-Ménéhould. It was the subprefecture of the

arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould The arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould is a former arrondissement of France in the Marne department in the Grand Est region. It was disbanded at the April 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Marne.Décret n° 2017-453 du 29 mars 2017 portant suppression de l'arrondissement de Sainte-Menehould (département de la Marne)

History

Dom Pérignon, the Benedictine monk who made important contributions to the production and quality of Champagne wine, and is often (erroneously) credited with its invention, was born in Sainte-Menehould around 1638. As part of the county of Clermont-en-Argonne, Sainte-Menehould was in the Duchy of Lorraine until 1641, when the county was ceded to France; in 1648, it was granted as an appanage to Louis, ''le Grand Condé'', effectively making it independent of Crown control. Condé established Sainte-Menehould as his capital and fortified it in 1652, when he was leader of the 1650-1653 civil war known as the '' Fronde des nobles''. The military engineer Vauban worked on the fortifications as a member of Condé's regiment; he changed sides when captured by a Royalist patrol in early 1653. Condé's governor, the Comte de Montal surrendered the town in November 1653, allegedly in return for a payment of 50,000

pistoles Pistole is the French name given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a doubloon or double escudo, the gold unit. The name was also given to the Louis d'Or of Louis XIII of France, and to other European gold coins of about the value ...

. After his return to France in 1659, Condé retained Clermont, which remained in his family until the

abolition of feudalism in France One of the central events of the French Revolution was to abolish feudalism, and the old rules, taxes and privileges left over from the age of feudalism. The National Constituent Assembly, acting on the night of 4 August 1789, announced, "The Na ...

during the French Revolution in 1790. The next year, Louis XVI passed through the town during the

Flight to Varennes The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...

, where he was recognized, allegedly on account of the similarity between his face and the image on the coinage. The royal party left the town before the significance of the king's recognition had been acted upon, but they were pursued along the road towards

Varennes Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639. Geography Varennes-en-Ar ...

and arrested by Citizen Drouet the local postmaster. 130 years later Ste-Menehould was important in the

Champagne Riots The Champagne Riots of 1910 and 1911 resulted from a series of problems faced by grape growers in the Champagne area of France. These included four years of disastrous crop losses, the infestation of the phylloxera louse (which destroyed of viney ...

of 1910/1911. Following the end of World War I, Sainte-Menehould saw the birth of French sociologist

Michel Crozier Michel Crozier (6 November 1922, Sainte-Menehould, Marne – 24 May 2013, Paris) was a French sociologist and member of the ''Académie des sciences morales et politiques'' from 1999 until his death. He also was a fellow of the American Academy ...

Population

Cuisine

The town and its several restaurants pride themselves on serving a local specialty called ''pied de cochon'' or pig's trotter ''à la Sainte-Menehould'', which are cooked for hours, to the point of softening the bones and making them edible.

Twinning

Cupar,

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland Cap-Pelé, NB, Canada

References

External links