Vincennes

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Vincennes
Vincennes coat of arms
Vincennes (France)
Vincennes
region Île-de-France
Department Val-de-Marne
Arrondissement Nogent-sur-Marne
Canton Fontenay-sous-Bois
Vincennes (main town)
Community association Métropole du Grand Paris and
Paris Est Marne et Bois
Coordinates 48 ° 51 '  N , 2 ° 26'  E Coordinates: 48 ° 51 '  N , 2 ° 26'  E
height 47-69 m
surface 1.91 km 2
Residents 49,891 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 26,121 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 94300
INSEE code 94080
Website www.vincennes.fr
Château de Vincennes in Vincennes
Château de Vincennes with dungeon

Vincennes is a French city with 49,891 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the greater Paris area , located southeast of the center in the Marne Valley and seamlessly connected to the urban area of ​​the French capital. Vincennes is part of the Val-de-Marne department in the Île-de-France region . Vincennes Castle and Fort-Neuf are in the city .

history

The origin and history of Vincennes is closely linked to the castle there, the château de Vincennes . In the 12th century, King Louis VII of France decided to declare the forest of Vincennes a royal hunting area and had a castle built. Over the years this has been redesigned and expanded again and again. The medieval buildings are the only structures of a royal residence from the Middle Ages in France.

In 1162, Louis VII had part of the Vincennes forest surrounded by a wall and a hunting pavilion built in it. In the 13th century, King Philip August began building a castle, which was built under Louis IX. has been completed. From 1270 to 1350 the castle was the favorite place of residence of the French kings. Two royal weddings were celebrated in the palace ( Philip III and Philip V ) and two kings died there ( Louis X and Charles IV ). Even after the Hundred Years War , kings resided in Vincennes (especially Louis XI. , Franz I and Henry II ). In 1661 a peace treaty between France and Lorraine was concluded in Vincennes . Louis XIV also moved the seat of the Ordre de Saint-Michel from Mont-Saint-Michel here. Only with the death of Louis XIV in 1715 was Vincennes abandoned as a residence.

The state prison in the Donjon of Vincennes , in which the Marquis de Sade , the revolutionary Mirabeau and the enlightener Denis Diderot were temporarily imprisoned, was closed in 1784.

In the 18th century, different branches of industry settled in the castle (porcelain manufacture, faience painters and an armory). Vincennes only became a city in 1787. With the new construction of Fort-Neuf (1841) Vincennes became a garrison town and between 1817 and 1856 there were around 4,000 inhabitants. In 1861 there were already 5,800.

In 1900 the Vélodrome de Vincennes served as the main venue for the II. Modern Olympic Games .

The Vincennes castle was in 1917 the scene of the execution of Mata Hari , a German spy of the World War II.

In 1969 the reform university Paris VIII was opened in the city ; but this was moved to Saint-Denis in 1980 .

Attractions

See: List of Monuments historiques in Vincennes

Trivia

The French also call the castle of Vincennes the “Versailles of the Middle Ages” because several medieval kings resided there (see above).

Town twinning

Personalities

Sons and daughters:

Middle Ages:

Modern times:

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes du Val-de-Marne . 2nd Edition. Flohic Editions, Charenton-le-Pont 1994, ISBN 2-908958-94-5 .

Web links

Commons : Vincennes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files