Sedan () 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 Ardennes department and Grand Est

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is also the chef-lieu (administrative centre) of the

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

of the same name.

Location

The town is situated about 200 km from Paris, 85 km north-east of Reims, and 10 km south of the border with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The historic centre occupies a peninsula formed by a bend in the river Meuse. Sedan station has rail connections to Charleville-Mézières, Reims and Longwy. The A34 autoroute links Sedan with Charleville-Mézières and Reims.

History

Sedan was founded in 1424. In the 16th century Sédan was an asylum for

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

refugees from the Wars of Religion. Until 1651, the

Principality of Sedan The Principality of Sedan (French: ''Principauté de Sedan'') was an independent Protestant state centered on the Château de Sedan (now the city of Sedan) in the Ardennes. It was ruled by the Prince of Sedan (''prince de Sedan''), who belong ...

belonged to the La Tour d'Auvergne family. It was at that time a sovereign principality. Their representative, Marshal Turenne, was born at Sedan on 11 September 1611. With help from the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, it defeated France at the Battle of La Marfée. Immediately after its victory, Sedan was besieged and its prince,

Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impres ...

, submitted to France. It was annexed to France in return for sparing the prince's life after he became involved in a conspiracy against France. Sedan was the birthplace of

Jacques MacDonald Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

, a general who served in the Napoleonic Wars. During the Franco-Prussian War, on 2 September 1870, French emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

was taken prisoner with 100,000 of his soldiers at the First Battle of Sedan. Due to this victory, which made the unification of Germany possible, 2 September was declared Sedan Day (''

Sedantag Sedantag (, ''Day of Sedan'') was a semi-official memorial holiday in the German Empire celebrated on the second day of September to commemorate the victory in the 1870 Battle of Sedan. After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War a few we ...

'') and a national German holiday in 1871. It remained a holiday until 1919. Sedan was occupied by the Germans for four years during

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 ...

. On 13 November 1917, the German

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

paraded the 13th Infantry Division over the course of " d'Alsace-Lorraine". From May 12 to 15, 1940, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, German troops invaded neutral

and crossed the river Meuse by winning the Second Battle of Sedan. The battle allowed them to win the Battle of France by bypassing the Maginot Line, which was the French fortification system, and entrapping the Allied Forces that were advancing east into Belgium, as part of the Allied

Dyle Plan Dyle may refer to: *Dyle (river), is a river in central Belgium, a tributary of the Rupel * Dyle, Poland * Dyle Plan * Dyle (department) * ATSC-M/H mobile TV Mobile television is television watched on a small handheld or mobile device. It incl ...

strategy.

Points of interest

Castle

Today Sedan is known for its castle, which is claimed to be the largest fortified medieval castle in Europe with a total area of on seven levels. Construction started in 1424 and the castle's defences were constantly improved over the ages. It is the only remaining part of the once enormous fortifications in and around the town. File:Sedan 4juni2006 064.jpg, Sedan Castle File:Sedan Castle 20060212 panorama.jpg, Central courtyard of the castle File:Mémorial 1917-18 450.JPG, War memorial at the castle's Turenne gate

Other points of interest

* Jardin botanique de Sedan * in May

Population

Economy

A centre of cloth production, begun under the patronage of

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

, supported the town until the late nineteenth century.

Sport

CS Sedan Ardennes Club Sportif Sedan Ardennes, commonly referred to as CS Sedan or simply Sedan (), is a French association football club based in Sedan. The club was formed in 1919 and plays its home matches at the Stade Louis Dugauguez located within the ci ...

is based in the town.

Notable people

* Charles Baudin (1792–1854), admiral *

Frédéric Brillant Frédéric Brillant (born 26 June 1985) is a French former footballer who is currently an assistant coach for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. He has played most of his career with clubs in Belgium and in the United States. Career Belgiu ...

(born 1985), professional football player *

Élise Bussaglia Élise Bussaglia (born 24 September 1985) is a French footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Dijon of the Division 1 Feminine. She was a member of the France national team. Bussaglia is a former winner of the National Union of P ...

(born 1985), professional football player * Pierre Cartier (born 1932), mathematician * Jean de Collas (1678–1753), architect * Yves Congar (1904–1995), French Dominican theologian and cardinal *

Michel Fourniret Michel Paul Fourniret (4 April 1942 – 10 May 2021) was a French serial killer who confessed to killing 12 people in France and Belgium between 1987 and 2003. After he was arrested in June 2003 for the attempted kidnapping of a teenage girl in ...

(1942–2021), serial killer *

Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: * Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) *Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble *Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick III ...

(1596-1632), Count Palatine and Elector of the Palatinate from 1610 to 1623 and King of Bohemia (as ''Frederick I'') from 1619 to 1620 * René Guyon (1876–1963), jurist * Benjamin Lemaire (born 1985), writer and film director * Marie-Jeanne Larrivée Lemière (1733 - 1786),

dramatic soprano A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...

* Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (1765–1840), Marshal of France * Yannick Noah (born 1960), former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player * Vicomte de Turenne (1611–1675),

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

Twin towns

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, since 1991 *🇺🇸 Sedan, Kansas

Notes

External links

Sedan city council website

Article on the Battle of Sedan at 'Battlefields Europe'
{{Authority control 1424 establishments in Europe 1420s establishments in France Communes of Ardennes (department) Populated places established in the 1420s Subprefectures in France Champagne (province) Ardennes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Vauban fortifications in France