Vittel

Vittel
region	Grand Est
Department	Vosges
Arrondissement	Neufchâteau
Canton	Vittel (main town)
Community association	Terre d'Eau
Coordinates	48 ° 12 ' N , 5 ° 57' E Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ' N , 5 ° 57' E
height	322-457 m
surface	24.13 km 2
Residents	5,071 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	210 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	88800
INSEE code	88516
Website	http://www.ville-vittel.fr/
	; Location of Vittel in the Vosges department

Vittel (German outdated: Wittel ) is a French commune with 5071 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Vosges department in the Grand Est region (until 2015 Lorraine ). It belongs to the Arrondissement Neufchâteau and is the main town (chef-lieu) of the canton of Vittel . Benefiting from its altitude and the wooded surroundings, the small spa town is one of the most famous spas in north-eastern France. The place is known for the mineral water brand Vittel of the Nestlé group bottled there .

geography

Town hall ( Hôtel de ville ) of Vittel

Vittel station on the Merrey – Hymont-Mattaincourt railway line

Counter hall in Vittel train station

The city is located about 40 kilometers west of the departmental capital ( prefecture ) Épinal at an altitude of 322 to 457 m above sea level. A few kilometers southeast of Vittel (on the Col des Clochettes ) is the watershed point that separates the catchment areas of the Maas , Rhine ( North Sea ) and Rhone ( Mediterranean ) rivers .

Neighboring municipalities of Vittel are Parey-sous-Montfort and They-sous-Montfort in the north, Haréville and Valleroy-le-Sec in the east, Thuillières in the southeast, Lignéville in the south, Contrexéville in the southwest and Norroy and Saint-Remimont in the west.

history

The water from the cold springs in Vittel was already known to the ancient Romans and is still used today in particular for the treatment of metabolic and liver diseases . The Grande Source is used for kidney problems. Several million bottles of the mineral water sold worldwide are filled every day. The sources were the late sixties by Nestlé taken Corporation in October 1990 and were part of the Nestlé Waters group. The city has a 25-hectare spa park, which is used in many ways and is popular with families.

During the Second World War , a German internment camp was set up in Vittel for Canadian, British, US American and other citizens of western enemy states. 300 Jews from Poland with international passports, who had been brought to Vittel from the Warsaw ghetto in January 1943 , were deported via Drancy to Auschwitz in 1944 and murdered. Here the Jewish writer Jizchak Katzenelson wrote his most important work “Dos lid vunm ojsgehargetn Yidischen folk” . He buried the manuscript in bottles under a tree, while a copy - sewn into a suitcase handle - was smuggled into Israel. Both copies have been preserved. Katzenelson was deported to Auschwitz and murdered there.