Vitry-le-François () 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

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 northeastern

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 located on the river

and is the western terminus of the

Marne–Rhine Canal The Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Marne–Rhine Canal) is a canal in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original objective ...

Vitry-le-François station Vitry-le-François station ( French: ''Gare de Vitry-le-François'') is a railway station serving the town Vitry-le-François, Marne department, eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily lo ...

has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Dijon and several regional destinations.

History

The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site,

Vitry-en-Perthois Vitry-en-Perthois () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. History Vitry-en-Perthois was called ''Vitry-le-Brûlé'' (Vitry the burnt) after being burnt two times; in 1142 by the armies of Louis VII of France and in 1544 ...

, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's

Italian War of 1542–46 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by Girolamo Marini. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name. At the beginning of

World War I 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 ...

in August 1914,

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroupi ...

established the Grand Quartier Général at the Place Royer-Collard.

Demography

Features

* Its church of Notre-Dame is a 17th-century building with fine 18th-century monuments. * A convent of the

Récollets The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spirit ...

was later converted to contain the town hall, the court-house, a library and a small museum. * There is a bronze statue of

Pierre Paul Royer-Collard Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (21 June 1763 – 2 September 1845) was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830). Biography Early life He was born at Sompuis, near Vitry-le-Franç ...

(1763–1845), the politician and philosopher, a native of the district.

Twin towns

Vitry-le-François is twinned with: *

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous historical b ...

, Germany, since 1961

Personalities

Guy Georges Guy Georges (born Guy Rampillon; 15 October 1962) is a French serial killer and serial rapist, dubbed ''le tueur de l'Est Parisien'' (the East Paris killer) or The Beast of the Bastille. He was convicted on April 5, 2001 of murdering seven women ...

, serial killer *

Étienne-Gabriel Morelly Étienne-Gabriel Morelly (; 1717–1778) was a French utopian thinker, philosopher and novelist. An otherwise "obscure tax official",Michael Sonenscher, ''Sans-Culottes: An Eighteenth-Century Emblem in the French Revolution'', Princeton Universit ...

, proto-communist philosopher *

René Herbin René Herbin (1911 – 1 September 1953) was a French composer and pianist, who died accidentally in the Mount Cimet air disaster in the French Alps. Life Born in Vitry-le-François, Herbin entered the Conservatoire de Paris at 14 years old. ...

(1911–1953), classical pianist *

Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry ( he, שמחה בן שמואל מויטרי; died 1105) was a French Talmudist of the 11th and 12th centuries, pupil of Rashi, and the compiler of ''Machzor Vitry''. He lived in Vitry-le-François. ''Machzor Vitry'' ' ...

(fl. c. 1100), Talmudist *

Abraham de Moivre Abraham de Moivre FRS (; 26 May 166727 November 1754) was a French mathematician known for de Moivre's formula, a formula that links complex numbers and trigonometry, and for his work on the normal distribution and probability theory. He moved ...

, mathematician

References