Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

department in 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 located on the river

and is the western terminus of the

Marne–Rhine Canal The Canal de la Marne au Rhin (, ''Marne–Rhine Canal'') is a canal in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original o ...

Vitry-le-François station Vitry-le-François station ( French: ''Gare de Vitry-le-François'') is a railway station serving the town Vitry-le-François, Marne department, eastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Weste ...

has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Dijon and several regional destinations.

History

The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site,

Vitry-en-Perthois Vitry-en-Perthois () is a commune in Marne, a department in northeastern France. Geography The Chée flows into the Saulx in the northern part of the commune. The Saulx forms part of the commune's eastern border, then flows westward throu ...

, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's

Italian War of 1542–46 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by

Girolamo Marini Girolamo may refer to: * Girolamo (given name) * Girolamo (surname) See also * San Girolamo (disambiguation) San Girolamo may refer to: * San Girolamo, Italian for Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of S ...

. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name. At the beginning of

World War I 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 ...

in August 1914,

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre , (; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...

established the Grand Quartier Général at the Place Royer-Collard. In 1961, a terrorist attack took place on a train going between Strasbourg and Paris.

Demography

Features

* Its church of Notre-Dame is a 17th-century building with fine 18th-century monuments. * A convent of the

Récollets The Franciscan Recollects () were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects devoted their lives to an extra emphasis on prayer, penance, and spiritual reflecti ...

was later converted to contain the town hall, the court-house, a library and a small museum. * There is a bronze statue of

Pierre Paul Royer-Collard Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (; 21 June 1763 – 2 September 1845) was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830). Biography Early life He was born at Sompuis, near Vitry-le-F ...

(1763–1845), the politician and philosopher, a native of the district.

Twin towns

Vitry-le-François is twinned with: *

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim () is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due t ...

, Germany, since 1961

Personalities

* René Gateaux (1889–1914), mathematician *

Guy Georges Guy Georges (born Guy Rampillon, 15 October 1962) is a French serial killer and serial rapist, dubbed ("the East Paris killer") or the Beast of the Bastille (). He was convicted on 5 April 2001, of murdering seven women between 1991 and 1997. He ...

(born 1962), serial killer * René Herbin (1911–1953), classical pianist *

Abraham de Moivre Abraham de Moivre FRS (; 26 May 166727 November 1754) was a French mathematician known for de Moivre's formula, a formula that links complex numbers and trigonometry, and for his work on the normal distribution and probability theory. He move ...

(1667–1754), mathematician *

Étienne-Gabriel Morelly Étienne-Gabriel Morelly (; 1717–1778) was a French utopian thinker, philosopher and novelist. An otherwise "obscure tax official",Michael Sonenscher, ''Sans-Culottes: An Eighteenth-Century Emblem in the French Revolution'', Princeton Universit ...

(1717–1778), proto-communist philosopher *

Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (; died 1105) was a French Talmudist of the 11th and 12th centuries, pupil of Rashi, and the compiler of ''Machzor Vitry''. He lived in Vitry-le-François. ''Machzor Vitry'' ''Machzor Vitry'' contains decisions and ru ...

(fl. c. 1100), Talmudist

Climate

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitrylefrancois Communes of Marne (department) Subprefectures in France Champagne (province) Marne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia