Montmédy (, ) is a commune in the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in north-eastern

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 ...

Citadel of Montmédy

In 1221 the first castle of Montmédy was built on top of a hill by the Count of Chiny. Montmédy soon became the capital of his territory – later it belonged to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, Burgundy, Austria and Spain. The original castle was replaced with a fortress by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

in the 16th century. After

Marville Marville may refer to: * ''Marville'' (comics), a Marvel Comics series from the early 2000s * Marville, Meuse Marville () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. An airbase built by NATO hosted fighter sq ...

and Stenay had been occupied by the French, 30,000 soldiers, including King Louis XIV, attacked Montmédy, whilst 756 were defending it in 1657. They held it for 57 days and surrendered only after the death of the governor Jean V of Allamont. The military engineer Vauban advanced the outer fortifications, the moats and the walls after the siege of 1657. During the French Revolution in 1791, the fortress was the anticipated destination of King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

and his family in their unsuccessful attempt to escape from the growing radical republicanism 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 ...

. The area at that time was overwhelmingly pro-monarchy. The royal party never arrived, however, because they were discovered en route at Varennes and escorted back to the capital city. The King had hoped to establish a counter-revolutionary military base of operations in the citadel from which he could reclaim the country. The citadel has also been used as a fortress during both World Wars. Buildings, including a church dating back to the 17th century, can be found inside the citadel itself; it still is used as a place to live. Most of the buildings are derelict or already collapsed; some of them are still in use as tenements. An ''Office de Tourisme'' (Tourist Office) can be found in the citadel.

Geography

The river

Othain The Othain () is a long river in the Meurthe-et-Moselle and Meuse '' départements'', northeastern France. Its source is at Gondrecourt-Aix, in the Woëvre. It flows generally northwest. It is a left tributary of the Chiers into which it flows ...

joins the

Chiers The Chiers (; , ) is a river in Luxembourg, Belgium and France. It is a right tributary of the Meuse. The total length of the Chiers is approximately , of which in France. The source of the Chiers is near Differdange, in Luxembourg. The Chiers ...

in the eastern part of the commune. The village lies on the right bank of the Chiers.

Population

Notable people

A museum is devoted to the painter

Jules Bastien-Lepage Jules Bastien-Lepage (1 November 1848 – 10 December 1884) was a French painter closely associated with the beginning of naturalism, an artistic style that grew out of the Realist movement and paved the way for the development of impressioni ...

. The eccentric harpist and composer Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789–1856) was born in Montmédy, where his father Karl Bochsa was an oboist belonging to the Army. Future President

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

was stationed as a soldier at Montmédy in 1939.

References

External links