Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the

Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, afte ...

and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached to the city of Paris.

History

The

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusati ...

was imprisoned in Vincennes fortress in 1777, where he remained until February 1784 although he escaped for a little over a month in 1778. Thereafter Vincennes fortress was closed and de Sade transferred to the Bastille. In 1821, the noted French poet, Alfred de Vigny, wrote his poem, "La Prison," which details the last days of the Man in the Iron Mask at Vincennes. The ministers of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

were imprisoned at the fortress of Vincennes after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...

. A test was conducted in 1849 on Claude-Étienne Minié's invention the Minié ball which would prove successful and years later be adopted by the French army. On the morning of 15 October 1917, famous

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype o ...

Mata Hari was executed for espionage by a French firing squad at Vincennes. In 1929, the commune of Vincennes lost about half of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes, a large part of which belonged to the commune of Vincennes. Vincennes was also the site of some famous European colonial expositions in the 20th century in which fairs were held to showcase artifacts from former European colonies.

Population

Sights

The city is famous for its castle, the

, and its park, the Bois de Vincennes hosting the only larger zoo in Paris, Paris Zoological Park (though these two are now within the limits of the City of Paris). It also features a large military fort, now housing various

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

services. This fort and an adjoining plain known as the "Polygon" has historically been an important proving ground for French armaments. The city is also home to the Service Historique de la Défense (SHD), which holds the archival records of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

Art

In 1933

Georges Saupique Georges Saupique was a French sculptor born on 17 May 1889 in Paris. He died in Paris on 8 May 1961. Biography After studies at the Stanilas college in Paris and the lycée Henri-IV, he studied at Paris' École nationale supérieure des beaux-a ...

was commissioned to work on one of three "dessus-de-porte" to be placed above the doors of the new Vincennes' city hall "salle des fêtes". His composition involved allegorical figures representing commerce and industry supporting the Vincennes' coat of arms.

Porcelain

In the old royal château, a

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

manufactory was established in 1740, specializing in imitations of

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albre ...

porcelain and naturalistic flowers, which were incorporated into bouquets under the direction of Parisian ''marchands-merciers''. The Vincennes porcelain factory continued until 1756, when the production was transferred to new buildings at Sèvres, initiating the career of world-famous

Sèvres porcelain Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

Transport

Vincennes is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 1: Bérault and

. Vincennes is also served by Vincennes station on Paris RER line A. The public transport network also includes 11 bus lines : 46, 56, 112, 114, 115, 118, 124, 210, 215, 318 and 325.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vincennes is twinned with: * Blackrock, Ireland * Castrop-Rauxel, Germany *

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

, United Kingdom * Montigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium * Tomar, Portugal * Vincennes, United States

Education

The commune has eight public preschools, six public elementary schools, and three private schools contracted by the state. * Public elementary schools: Est-Passeleu, Est-Libération, Roland-Vernaudon, Sud, Ouest, Jean-Monnet * Private elementary schools: Externat Saint-Joseph, Notre-Dame de la Providence, Ohel-Barouch There are three public junior high schools, Collège Hector-Berlioz, Collège Saint-Exupéry, and Collège Françoise-Giroud; as well as a contracted private junior high school, Notre-Dame de la Providence.Collège et lycée
" Vincennes. Retrieved on September 3, 2016. Public senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: * Lycée général et technologique Hector-Berlioz * Lycée professionnel Jean-Moulin Private senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: *

Notre-Dame de la Providence Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the ...

* Lycée Grégor-Mendel * Lycée Claude-Nicolas Ledoux

Vincennes University

In 1970 the " University of Paris VIII" was established in Vincennes as France's first major experiment in open admissions education, as a result of the academic reforms which followed the student risings of 1968. Intended to lessen the French university system's traditional emphasis on formal and elitist schooling, the school (generally known simply as ''Vincennes'') admitted students without the usual entrance requirement of the ''baccalaureat'' degree and introduced courses such as the History of Cinema, Sexology, and Third World Economics. Enrollments peaked at 32,000 with more than 40% of students holding full-time jobs off the campus. However problems associated with political unrest and alleged widespread drug usage among the student body led to the resignation of the Vincennes University President and the relocation of the campus to Saint-Denis by the French Government in 1980.Time Magazine March 31, 1980

Notable people

Lætitia Sadier Lætitia Sadier (born 6 May 1968, sometimes known as Seaya Sadier) is a French musician, best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. In 1996, while Stereolab was still active, she formed the side project Monade. ...

, musician *

Alphonse Halimi Alphonse Halimi (February 18, 1932 – November 12, 2006) was a French boxer. He took the World Bantamweight Championship on April 1, 1957, in Paris, and the European Bantamweight Championship three years later. Early life He was born in Consta ...

, boxer * Nicolas Pousset, ice hockey player * Jules Toutain, archaeologist

Gallery

Pano vincennes.JPG, Panoramic view of the church and City Hall of Vincennes Donjon du Château de Vincennes.jpg, Main tower of the Vincennes medieval castle Bois de Vincennes - Paris.jpg, The Vincennes Park in autumn Parc zoologique de Vincennes 20060816 18.jpg, The famous rock of Vincennes zoo

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Communes of Val-de-Marne