Sedan

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Sedan
Sedan Coat of Arms
Sedan (France)
Sedan
region Grand Est
Department Ardennes
Arrondissement Sedan
Canton Sedan-1
Sedan-2
Sedan-3
Community association Ardenne metropolis
Coordinates 49 ° 42 ′  N , 4 ° 56 ′  E Coordinates: 49 ° 42 ′  N , 4 ° 56 ′  E
height 149-301 m
surface 16.28 km 2
Residents 16,428 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 1,009 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 08200
INSEE code 08409
Website sedan.fr
Visit of InfRgt 15 by the Crown Prince in Sedan
Sedan Castle

Sedan is a French city ​​with 16,428 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Ardennes department of the Grand Est region . At Sedan there were battles in wars between Germany and France in 1870 and 1940 .

geography

The city is located near the Belgian border on the banks of the Meuse (French: Meuse ) and on the parallel Canal de la Meuse (Meuse Canal, formerly: Canal de l'Est, branche Nord ).

history

Sedan was founded in 1424. In the second half of the 16th and first half of the 17th century Sedan was the capital of the independent principality of Sedan , which was ruled by Reformed princes. It offered asylum to Protestant refugees from the Huguenot Wars . After the battle of La Marfée , the duke had to cede his territory to France in September 1642. The Sedan Academy, founded as a high school in 1579, existed until 1681.

During the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War , the French Emperor Napoléon III. captured at Sedan on September 2, 1870 with 100,000 of his soldiers; in the subsequently founded German Empire (until 1918) this event was celebrated as Sedan Day.

On November 13, 1917, the 13th Infantry Division paraded across the " d'Alsace-Lorraine " square in front of the Crown Prince .

In World War II , the German army bypassed in the western campaign , the French Maginot Line by a foray through the Belgian Ardennes . This came to a short standstill at Sedan - French troops had blown up the bridges over the Meuse immediately after their retreat. The Battle of Sedan began on May 13, 1940 with targeted, permanent bombing from the air, which culminated in the afternoon shortly before the attack by the ground forces. On the morning of May 14th, the first German tanks crossed a pontoon bridge. This contributed significantly to the French defeat of June 1940. The Compiègne armistice , signed on June 22, 1940 and a de facto declaration of surrender , ended the campaign in the west.

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2016
Residents 20,336 23,037 23,995 23,477 21,667 20,548 19,934 16,846
Sources: Cassini and INSEE

Attractions

Personalities

Town twinning

See also

Web links

Commons : Sedan  - collection of images, videos and audio files