Stenay () is a commune in

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

-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 ...

. It lies 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, which is located in the Lorraine portion of the

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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

region. Its inhabitants are called ''Stenaisiens''.

History

In 679, the assassinated king Dagobert II was buried in the church of Saint-Remi in Stenay. In 872, King

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

had his body moved a newly built basilica dedicated to him. In 1069, the canons of the basilica were accused of laxness. Duke Godfrey the Bearded handed the basilica over to Gorze Abbey and it became a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

priory. The '' Vita Dagoberti'' was written there. In 1580, the basilica was secularized and the cloisters demolished. In 1591, what remained was sacked by

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

. Stenay was one of the last villages to experience fighting during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The village was captured on 11 November 1918 by the U.S. 89th Division, commanded by Major General William M. Wright, only hours before the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The 89th Division lost 365 men, mainly to enemy

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

fire.

Toponymy

According to local tradition in antiquity, the village is named after a local temple of Saturn. The name has changed significantly over time, starting with Sathanagium and Astenidum, and, through natural language change, resulting in Stenay. The progression of names is as follows: *Sathanagium, Sathonagium (714) *Astenidum (877) *Astanid (888) *Satenaium (900s) *Sathaniacum (900s) *Sathinidium (1036) *Sathanacum (1069) *Setunia (1000s) *Sathanacum villam (1079) *Satiniacum, Sathiniacum (1086) *Sathanaco (1108) *Sathanacensi (1157) *Sathaniaco (1159) *Sathanai (1173) *Sethenac (1208) *Settenai (1243) *Sethenai (1264) *Sathenay (1276, 1399, 1463, 1483, 1549, 1558, 1585) *Sathanay (1284) *Satenay (1399) *Astenæum (1580) *Satanagus (1630) *Satanay, Sthenay (1643) *Stenay (1793)

Population

Tourism

The European Beer Museum (Musée Européen de la bière), founded in 1986, is considered the largest of its kind on the continent.

References

External links