Sedan, France

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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.

History

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.

Castle

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.

Miscellaneous

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 (1765–1840), 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

See also

• CS Sedan Ardennes, football club based in Sedan

External links

• [Sedan city council website] (in French)
• [The German breakthrough in 1940]
• [Webpage about the fortifications of Sedan]

 

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