Chaumont, also known Chaumont-en-Bassigny (), is a

commune of France A () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in Canada and the United States; ' in Germany; ' in Italy; ' in Spain; or civil parishes in the U ...

, and the prefecture of the

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Marne and is situated on the Paris-Est–Mulhouse-Ville railway, which runs over a tall and long

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

built in 1856. Chaumont station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Dijon, Mulhouse and regional destinations.

History

Historically, Chaumont was the seat of the Counts of Bassigny and later of Champagne, receiving a charter in 1190. Much later, it was the venue of an offensive treaty against

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

signed by the United Kingdom, Austria,

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1814, by which they agreed to continue war until France returned to its 1792 boundaries. Chaumont was bombed in 1940 and 1944 during World War II. From 1951 to 1967, the United States Air Force under NATO operated the Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base on the outskirts of the city.

Notable buildings

* The

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

church of St-Jean-Baptiste dates from the 13th century, the choir and lateral chapels belonging to the 15th and 16th. In the interior the sculptured triforium (15th century), the spiral staircase in the transept and a Holy Sepulchre are of interest. * The Tour Hautefeuille (a keep of the 11th century) is the principal relic of a château of the counts of Champagne * In the Square Philippe-Lebon stands a statue of the engineer Philippe Lebon (1767–1804), born in Haute-Marne. The bronze statue was melted down during the second world war and replaced by a stone copy. * Château du Val des Écoliers, former monastery that served as the headquarters of the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

in 1917–1918

Population

Notable people

Edmé Bouchardon Edmé Bouchardon (; 29 May 169827 July 1762) was a French sculptor best known for his neoclassical statues in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, his medals, his equestrian statue of Louis XV of France for the Place de la Concorde (destro ...

(1698–1762), sculptor * Luc Chatel (born 1964), politician *

Lucie Décosse Lucie Décosse (born 6 August 1981 in Chaumont) is a female French retired judoka. Career Décosse competed in the half-middleweight (57–63 kg) category until 2008. Thereafter, she switched to the middleweight (63–70 kg) catego ...

(born 1981), judo player * Denis Decrès (1761–1820), Minister of the French Navy * André Godard (1881–1965), architect and archaeologist * Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), archaeologist, topographer and orientalist * Jean Masson (1907–1964), politician *

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and prominent figure during the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she began to embrace anarchism, and upon her return to France she emerged as an im ...

(1830–1905), anarchist *

Christian Pineau Christian Pineau (; 14 October 1904 – 5 April 1995) was a noted French Resistance fighter, who later served an important term as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1956 through 1958. Life and career Pineau was born in 1904 in Chaumont-en-Bass ...

(1904–1995), politician * Nicole Rieu (born 1949), singer and director * Christian J. Robin (born 1943), orientalist and scholar

Sport

The Chaumont Volley-Ball 52, is a volleyball club playing in Pro A (volleyball), created in 1996. The club became champion of France in Ligue A during the 2016–2017 season. She twice finished second in 2017-2018 and 2018–2019 seasons. On 2 April 2017, for the first time in its history, the CVB52 became a finalist in the 2016–17 CEV Challenge Cup. On 7 October 2017 in Mulhouse, the CVB52HM won a second title by becoming champion of the French Supercup. The club also participated in the

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

and

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed to CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 to CEV Cup. T ...

. The Chaumont FC, is a football club, created in 1957. Which spent 16 seasons in the second division (

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

) under the name of E.C.A.C. She finished second in the 1971 season. ECAC Rugby Chaumont, created in 1968. Playing in the 1st Grand-Est Series for the 2018–2019 season. The club finished second in the Burgundy Championship 2nd series 2018 and second in the Grand-Est Championship 2nd series 2019. The Chaumont Handball 52 or ECAC Chaumont Handball, created in 1963. Playing in the National 2 women's season since 2018–2019. ECAC Basket Chaumont, created in 1946. Playing in Regional Championship 2. The Phénix de Chaumont, is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

club playing in the Grand-Est Regional Challenge, finalist of the 2018 Grand-Est Regional Challenge championship. La Chaumontaise Gymnastique, is a gymnastics club founded in 1883 under the name of "Gymnastics and Shooting Society"; it is also the oldest association in the town of Chaumont. The Tomb Raiders of Chaumont, is a Roller in-line hockey and hockey club. The Vélo Club Chaumontais is a cycling club created in 1923. The association is one of the oldest in the city.

Twin towns – sister cities

Chaumont is twinned with: *

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

, England, United Kingdom (1956) * Ivrea, Italy (1983) * Bad Nauheim, Germany (1992) * Owasso, United States (2017)