Villers-Cotterêts () 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 the

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.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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is notable as the signing-place in 1539 of the ''

Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (french: Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts) is an extensive piece of reform legislation signed into law by Francis I of France on August 10, 1539, in the city of Villers-Cotterêts and the oldest French legislat ...

'' discontinuing the use of Latin in official French documents, and as the birthplace in 1802 of French novelist Alexandre Dumas '' père''.

Geography

It is located NE of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

via the RN2 facing

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...

. Its nickname ''Petite villa sur la côte de Retz'' means ''Little villa by the coast of Retz'', as the town is situated next to the

Forest of Retz The Forest of Retz (French ''Forêt de Retz'', ) is one of the largest forests of France, covering some 13,000 hectares in the Aisne about 80 km northeast of Paris. It is a national forest (''forêt domaniale'') in the former Picardy re ...

, which covers of land.

History

Villers-Cotterêts is famous in French law because of the ''

'' of 1539 signed by king

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

('François Ier'), which made French the official language in the kingdom instead of regional languages like

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

or the elite European

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

of the time,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought a rearguard action here during the

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

. On 1 September, the British 4th ( Guards) Brigade who were covering the withdrawal of 2nd Division, came into contact with the leading units of the

German III Corps III Army Corps was a corps level formation of the German Army during World War II. III Army Corps The III Corps was formed in October 1934 as III. Armeekorps. The corps took part in Fall Weiss, the 1939 invasion of Poland as a part of Army Gr ...

on the edge of woodland near Villers-Cotterêts. The brigade lost more than 300 men in the encounter, but were able to break away and continue the withdrawal. Many are buried at

Guards' Grave Guards' Grave is a military cemetery near Villers-Cotterêts in northern France, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought a rearguard action here during the Retreat from Mons. On 1 ...

, a

military cemetery A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. An ancillary hospital to that of

Royaumont Royaumont Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d'Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France. History It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of Louis IX. Several members of the Fren ...

was set up in the town and a silent documentary about it was made. La Plaine Saint-Rémy, Pisseleux, was an ancient commune that was merged with Villers-Cotterêts in 1971.

Population

The inhabitants are called ''Cottevreziens'' in French.

Notable residents

Charles Baur Charles Baur (20 December 1929, Paris – 2 January 2015) was a French politician. He served as the longtime President of the Regional Council of Picardy from 1976 until 1978 and again from 1985 to 2004. He was a member of the Union for French De ...

(1929–2015), Mayor of Villers-Cotterêts (1953–1989), President of the Regional Council of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

(1976–1978, 1985–2004)

Sports

The town was the start of Stage 4 in the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...

Sights

The original château was built around 950 AD and was burnt to the ground twice before being rebuilt out of stone in the early 12th century. The front entrance is the only original remaining structure, which is listed with the Historic Monument Registry at the École des Beaux Arts. Francis I purchased the château from the de Noüe family to house his mistress

Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly (), Duchess of Étampes, (15081580) was chief mistress of Francis I of France. She became Francis' mistress following his return from captivity in 1526. Anne enriched her family and friends through her courtly influen ...

. The was updated with 18th-century

régence The ''Régence'' (, ''Regency'') was the period in French history between 1715 and 1723 when King Louis XV was considered a minor and the country was instead governed by Philippe d'Orléans (a nephew of Louis XIV of France) as prince regent ...

decoration by

Gilles-Marie Oppenordt Gilles-Marie Oppenordt (27 July 1672 – 13 March 1742) was a celebrated French designer at the '' Bâtiments du Roi'', the French royal works, and one of the initiators of the Rocaille and Rococo styles, nicknamed "the French Borromini".Gie ...

. The current owner is the Pépinières du Valois, an agricultural venture. In 1902 the city opened a

Museum Alexandre Dumas The Alexandre Dumas Museum (french: Musée Alexandre Dumas, italic=no) opened in 1905 in Villers-Cotterêts in the commune of Aisne, France, where Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, father of the writer Alexandre Dumas and grandfather of ...

to gather souvenirs about the family. In 1952 the museum moved to a local 19th century mansion that served as General Maunoury's headquarters during the First World War. It has three rooms, each of them dedicated to one of the family members,Page du musée sur le site internet de la mairie
/ref> being Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, his son novelist Alexandre Dumas ''père'' and grandson novelist/playwright Alexandre Dumas ''fils''.

Gallery

File:Villers-Cotterêts - Château de Noüe - 2.jpg, The 16th century File:Villers-Cotterêts - Château François Ier - Staircase - 1.jpg, One of the very decorated staircases of the castle where

King Francis I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

signed the ''

''. File:2012--DSC 0208-Hôtel-de-Ville-de-Villers-Cotterêts.jpg, Villers-Cotterêts town hall

References

External links

Tourist office website
(in French)
Historic society of Villers-Cotterêts
(in French) * The

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

entry o
Gilles-Marie Oppenordt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villerscotterets Communes of Aisne Aisne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia