Villers-Cotterêts () is a commune in the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

department in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts The Ordinance of 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 legislation still used partly by French court ...

'' 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

via the RN2 facing

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

. 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, forests of France, covering some 13,000 hectares in the Aisne about 80 km northeast of Paris. It is a National forest (France), national forest (''f ...

, 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 (; ; 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 removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

('François Ier'), which made

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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, spoken in parts 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, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

of the time,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. 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 F ...

. 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 Gro ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

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

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

(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 Tour de France, 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 ...

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 History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

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 Maîtresse-en-titre, 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 ...

. The was updated with 18th-century

régence The ''Régence'' (, ''Regency'') was the period in History of France, French history between 1715 and 1723 when King Louis XV was considered a minor (law), minor and the country was instead governed by Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (a nephew ...

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".Gietmann ...

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

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Army general (France), Army-General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (; 25 March 1762 – 26 February 1806) was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars. Along with fellow French officers and Toussaint Lo ...

, his son novelist

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

''père'' and grandson novelist/playwright Alexandre Dumas ''fils''.

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 Encyclopedi ...

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