Saint-Dié-des-Vosges
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Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (; , before 1999: ''Saint-Dié'') is a commune in the Vosges department,
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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
, northeastern
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 ...
. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.


Geography

Saint-Dié is located in the
Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...
southeast of Nancy and southwest of
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
. This route in the valley of the river Meurthe was always the more frequented, and first to get a rail line in 1864, so now it accommodates the primary road. Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, principal town of an arrondissement of the same name, belongs to the Vosges ''département'' of France. This ''commune'' with a little town in her center, is approximately northeast of
Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...
, and connected by two roads, south through the passes of Haut-Jacques and Bruyères or north by the pass of Haut-du-Bois and the ancient land of Rambervillers. By rail, Épinal is from Saint-Dié. The Saint-Dié-des-Vosges station offers rail connections to Épinal, Strasbourg, Nancy and Paris. The river Meurthe flows in the
Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...
basin of Saint-Dié surrounded by wooded mountains Ormont, Kemberg and La Madeleine. The peaks of these mountains are high, and are composed of
Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
formations, especially the so-called "Vosges sandstone", a kind of red sandstone.


Features

The town was nearly completely redesigned and rebuilt in the French Uniform Style after the fire of 1757. A major part was destroyed in November 1944 and was rebuilt largely in a material imitating red
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. Its cathedral has a Gothic
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and choir designed in the 14th century; the portal of red stone was created by Giovanni Betto in the beginning of the 18th century. A cloister, begun in the 14th century but never finished, contains a stone pulpit, and connects with the Petite-Eglise or Notre-Dame-de-Galilée, a well-preserved specimen of Romanesque architecture of the 12th century. All of the monuments were restored or rebuilt in the same manner after 1950. Since 1880, the Council House"Mairie" has held a marvelous theater, a library with some old and valuable manuscripts, a reading hall and a museum of rocks and antiquities collected by the members of the Vosges Philomatic Society. This society, which engaged in the collection and diffusion of knowledge, was founded in 1875 by Henry Bardy, who was soon an editor of the first local republican paper named ''La Gazette Vosgiennne''. All this center of town was destroyed in November 1944. After 1948, a new hôtel-de-ville was built to the west. At its west side there is now a monument by Merci to
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...
, long ago in an old union place under the cathedral. Born in the town in 1832, Jules Ferry was a great French politician of the conservative Republic, constitutionally called Third Republic in 1875. After World War II, the right side of the Meurthe was completely razed and most people lived outside the town in wood cabins for decades. The radical plan created by
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
in 1945, which called for a large plaza with factories and other buildings in the heart of the city, was rejected in 1947, and only one private factory belonging to Jean-Jacques Duval was ever built. There were no means nor materials in this terrible period and the great street called "rue Thiers" was finished only at the end of 1954.


Economy

The town was industrial in nature long before the local economy reaped the benefits from a migration of Alsatians, who arrived after the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
of 1870–1871. Its industries included the spinning, weaving and bleaching of cotton, wire-drawing, metal-founding, the manufacture of hosiery, woodwork of various kinds ( toleware), machinery, iron goods and wire screen. Since the world wars, major industrial activities have declined precipitously. Now the town is primarily a center of public services, educational institutions, a hospital, and businesses in the service industries, such as supermarkets.


History

Saint-Dié (Lat. ''Deodatum, Theodata, S. Deodati Fanum'') is named for
Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
Deodat. A holy man who was known as "le bonhomme", he founded a ''ban'' (a political and Christian subdivision of the royal territory) in the 7th century that was originally called Foresta. Some religious historians believed he was the bishop of Nevers, Deodatus of Nevers. Deodatus gave up his official functions to retire to a desert dwelling. Other sources connect the name, however, with an earlier saint, Deodatus of Blois (d. 525). Archeological and historical records confirm the total time that this area has been inhabited. One hypothesis holds that a column constructed by Romans on a site originally dedicated to Tiwaz – Tius, god of war – might explain ancient ceremonies in the old Saint-Dié chapel at the foot of Kemberg mountain (locally called Saint-Martin). Deodatus, who could have been an ''episcopus hiberniensis'' (bishop from Ireland) or an ''episcopus niverniensis'' (bishop from Nevers), would have lived in an old monastery or ''vieux moutier'' above the old chapel and a water source. Legends originating in the 11th century as well as popular traditions say that Saint Deodatus himself dreamed of a new monastery to be built upon a little hill called '' la monticule des Jointures'', visible on the other side of the river. A little monastic community dedicated to Saint Maurice was probably founded during Carolingian times, as there is evidence of its presence there since the 10th century. After 1006, the monastery took the name Saint-Dié. The little monastery was partially destroyed by fire in 1065 and again in 1155. The date on which the site became a chapter of canons is uncertain. Historians deny that Brunon de Dabo-Egisheim, future
Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...
, was a young monk and great provost here, but his family did play a great role in the elevated status of this religious place, giving their coat of arms to it after the First Crusades. Canons who subsequently held the rank of provost or dean came from very rich and noble families, among them Giovanni de Medici and several princes of the ducal House of Lorraine. Among the extensive privileges enjoyed by them was the coining of money; the Duchy of Lorraine was the last to hold this privilege, in 1601. Though they co-operated in building the town walls in 1290, the canons and the dukes of Lorraine soon became rivals for the authority over Saint-Dié. The institution of a town council in 1628 which appropriated part of their temporal jurisdiction, in addition to numerous French occupations, diminished the financial influence of the canons. During the Stanislas reign and after the Lorraine annexation in 1776, the establishment in 1777 of a
bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
condemned the venerable institution, with the first bishop Monseigneur de Chaumont. With the French Revolution all the religious people were completely swept away. The town was repeatedly sacked during the wars of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The little but religiously very prestigious town was partially destroyed by fire in 1554 and 1757. Funds for the rebuilding of the portion of the town destroyed by the last fire were supplied by Stanislas, last duke of Lorraine. The Musée Pierre-Noël was built in 1977 and originally showcased life in the High Vosges, but the collections now also prominently feature contemporary art.


Ecclesiastical history

The diocese of Saint-Dié was created in 1777, but suppressed by the
Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...
. It was restored in 1822 as a
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
of the Diocese of Besançon covering the department of the Vosges, of which 18 parishes were transferred to the Diocese of Strasbourg in 1871. The diocese of Saint-Dié originated in the celebrated abbey, initially named "Galilée", and was established by Saint Deodatus (Dié) in the 7th century, around which the town of Saint-Dié grew up. The
Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
of the original foundation Saint Maurice were replaced in 996 by Augustinian Canons. During the sixteenth century, and the long vacancy of the see of Toul, the abbots of the several monasteries in the Vosges, without actually declaring themselves independent of the diocese of Toul, claimed to exercise a quasi-episcopal jurisdiction. In 1718, the
Bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...
requested the creation of a see at Saint-Dié, but the suggestion was opposed by the
King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
. The see was eventually created by
Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...
in 1777 by the elevation of the abbey of Saint-Dié into a bishopric. The new diocese was removed from the diocese of Toul and made instead a suffragan of the German Archdiocese of Trier. The Reformed Church building in Saint-Dié contains six stained windows, depicting the first six days of Creation, designed by the Swiss artist Annie Vallotton, whose brother was the minister there.


Population


Cosmography

Vautrin Lud, Canon of St-Dié in charge of the mines of the valleys was the chaplain and secretary of René II, Duke of Lorraine. He set up a printing-establishment at St-Dié and facilitated reflections on the theme of Earth representation and also met with what would today be called geographers, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, and the Alsatian professor
Matthias Ringmann Matthias Ringmann (1482–1511), also known as Philesius Vogesigena, was an Alsatian German Humanism, humanist scholar and cosmography, cosmographer. Along with cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, he is credited with the first documented usage of ...
and clever Canons. The team began at once to produce an edition of a Latin translation of Ptolemy's "Geography". In 1507, René II received the Soderini Letter from Lisbon, an abridged account of the four voyages of
Amerigo Vespucci Amerigo Vespucci ( , ; 9 March 1454 – 22 February 1512) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Florence for whom "Naming of the Americas, America" is named. Vespucci participated in at least two voyages of the A ...
. Canon Lud had this translated into Latin by Basin de Sandaucourt. The translation dedicated to the Emperor Maximilian was completed at St-Dié on 24 April 1507; it was prefaced by a short explanatory booklet, entitled '' Cosmographiae Introductio'', certainly the work of Waldseemüller, an introduction to cosmography that can be seen as the baptismal certificate of the New Continent. Indeed, Waldseemüller and the scholars of the Gymnasium Vosagense then made a capital decision writing: "...And since Europe and Asia received names of women, I do not see any reason not to call this latest discovery Amerige, or America, according to the sagacious man who discovered it". The first and second printings appeared in August 1507 at St-Dié, a third at Strassburg in 1509, and thus the name of America was spread about. Thus, Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is honored today with the title of "godmother of America", the city that named America. The work was re-edited with an English version by Charles Herbermann (New York, 1907). Gallois proved that in 1507, Waldseemüller inserted this name in two maps, but that in 1513, in other maps Waldseemüller, being better informed, inserted the name of Columbus as the discoverer of America. But it was too late; the name of America had been already firmly established. In 1507, Martin Waldseemüller produced in St-Dié also a world globe bearing the first use of the name "America".


Born, educated or lived in Saint-Dié

* Jean Fredel, captain of the Duke of Lorraine, Charles II * Claude Bausmont, "châtelain" and "cellerier" of Saint-Dié (1430–1477). * Vautrin Lud (1448–1527), canon, master of the brotherhood of Saint Sébastien, and hypothetical creator of the Gymnasium Vosagense in the year 1507. * Mechtilde of the Blessed Sacrament, institutor of the order, "Bénédictines de l'adoration perpétuelle" (born Catherine Barre in 1619, died in Paris in 1698) * Jacques Augustin (1759–1832), miniaturist painter born in St-Dié * Dieudonné Dubois (1759–1803), lawyer and member of Conseil des Cinq-Cents in the revolutionary year IV and conseil d'État in year VIII. * Nicolas Souhait (1773–1799), colonel du génie born in Saint-Dié * Nicolas Philippe Guye (1773–1845), general and mayor of Saint-Dié in 1829 * Antonio de Sedella, Catholic missionary in Canada born in Saint-Dié * Léon Carrière (1814–1877), physician, father of Paul Carrière, the forestry restorer in the south Alps. * Jean-Romary Grosjean (1815–1888), musicologist and cathedral organist, who first published "Il est né, le divin Enfant" (the well-known traditional French Christmas carol) in 1862. * Henry Bardy (1829–1909), pharmacist, president-founder of the Société Philomatique Vosgienne. * Emile Erckmann, writer who lived in the château de l'Hermitage between 1870 and 1880. *
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...
(1832–1893), lawyer and politician, born in Saint-Dié. * Henri Rovel (1849–1926), painter and meteorologist born and dead in Saint-Dié * Paul Descelles (1851–1915), painter * Victor Franck (1852–1907), photographer born in Saint-Dié. * Ferdinand Brunot (1860–1938), grammatician (linguistics) born in Saint-Dié. * Léon Julien Griache (1861–1914), général de brigade d’artillerie born in Saint-Dié * Fernand Baldensperger (1871–1958), academic (literature) * Brothers Grollemund, polytechnicians and généraux de brigade: Marie-Joseph (1875–1954) and Marie-Paul Vincent (1879–1953) * Victor-Charles Antoine (1881–1959), sculptor and engraver born in Saint-Dié * Albert Ohl des Marais, engraver and historian * Georges Baumont (1885–1974), professor of literature, librarian and local historian * Yvan Goll (1891–1950), poet and novelist, born in Saint-Dié * Jacques Brenner (1922–2001), writer and critic born in saint-Dié. * Emmanuel Clément-Demange (born 1970 in saint-Dié), French former professional footballer * Kalidou Koulibaly, athlete born in Saint-Die


Higher education

University Institute of Technology: IUT (Institut universitaire de technologie) *
Robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
*
Electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
*
Computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and softw ...
*
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
*
Graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
*
Communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...


Twin towns – sister cities

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is twinned with: *
Arlon Arlon (; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it ...
, Belgium (1962) *
Cattolica Cattolica (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Rimini, Italy, with 16,233 inhabitants as of 2007. History Archaeological excavations show that the area was already settled in ancient Rome, Roman times. According to one legend, Catto ...
, Italy (1997) * Crikvenica, Croatia (2006) *
Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...
, Germany (1973) * Lorraine, Quebec, Canada (1990) * Lowell, United States (1989) * Meckhe, Senegal (1991) *
Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
, Poland (1990)


See also

*
Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 506 communes of the Vosges department of France. Intercommunalities The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):University Institute of Technology website

The Cosmographiæ Introductio of Martin Waldseemüller
(Facsimile). *

David Brown,
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
. November 17, 2008; Page A07.
"You Are Here—The Library of Congress buys 'America's birth certificate'."
John J. Miller,
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
. July 25, 2003.
"The map that changed the world"
Toby Lester,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, October 28, 2009. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintdiedesvosges Communes of Vosges (department) Subprefectures in France Leuci