Sedan, France
For other uses of Sedan, see Sedan (disambiguation).Sedan is a town and
commune in
France, a
sous-préfecture of the
Ardennes département.
The historic center is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the
Meuse River. A center of cloth production, begun under the patronage of
Cardinal Mazarin, supported the town until the late 19th century.
In the 16th century Sedan was an asylum for Protestant refugees from the
Wars of Religion.
Until
1651, the Principality of Sedan belonged to the
La Tour d'Auvergne family. Their most illustrious representative,
Marshal Turenne, was born at Sedan on
September 11,
1611.
During the
Franco-Prussian War, on
September 2,
1870 the French emperor
Napoleon III was taken prisoner with 100,000 of his soldiers at the
Battle of Sedan.
Due to this major victory, which also made the "Second Reich" of
Germany possible,
September 2 was declared "Sedan Day" (
Sedantag) and a national German holiday in 1871. It remained a holiday until
1919.
During
World War II the German troops first invaded neutral
Belgium and crossed the
Meuse River in Sedan. This allowed them to bypass the French fortification system, the
Maginot Line.
Today Sedan is known for its
castle, that is claimed to be the largest fortified medieval castle in Europe with a total surface of 30.000 m2 on 7 levels. It is the only remaing part of the once enourmous fortifications in and around the town.
Construction started in
1424 and the castle's defences were constantly improved over the ages.
Births
Sedan was the birthplace of:
*
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (
1611-
1675),
Marshal of France.
*
Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald (
1765â€"
1840), Marshal of France
*
Charles Baudin (
1792-
1854),
admiral*
René Guyon (
1876-
1963), jurist
*
Yannick Noah (born
1960), former professional
tennis player
*
Benjamin Lemaire (born
1985), actor and film director
Twin town
* Sedan is twinned with
Eisenach,
Germany since 1991
*
CS Sedan Ardennes,
football club based in Sedan
*
Sedan city council website (in French)
*
The German breakthrough in 1940*
Webpage about the fortifications of Sedan
