Villers-Cotterêts

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Villers-Cotterêts
Commune
Main square with a statue of Alexandre Dumas and church
Coat of arms
show Location of Villers-Cotterêts Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
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Coordinates: 49°15′36″N 3°05′26″E / 49.26°N 3.0906°E / 49.26; 3.0906Coordinates: 49°15′36″N 3°05′26″E / 49.26°N 3.0906°E / 49.26; 3.0906
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Aisne
Arrondissement	Soissons
Canton	Villers-Cotterêts
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Franck Briffaut (RN)
Area 1	41.71 km2 (16.10 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2018)[1]	10,676
• Density	260/km2 (660/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	02810 /02600
Elevation	65–226 m (213–741 ft) (avg. 120 m or 390 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Villers-Cotterêts (pronounced [vilɛʁ kɔt(ə)ʁɛ]) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, France.

Geography[]

It is located 80 km (50 mi) NE of Paris via the RN2 facing Laon. Its nickname Petite villa sur la côte de Retz means Little villa by the coast of Retz, as the town is situated next to the Forest of Retz, which covers 130 km² (50 sq mi) of land.

History[]

Villers-Cotterêts is famous because of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts of 1539 signed by king Francis I of France ('François Ier'), which made French the official language in the kingdom instead of regional languages like Occitan or the elite European lingua franca of the time, Latin.

In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought a rearguard action here during the Retreat from Mons. On 1 September, the British 4th (Guards) Brigade who were covering the withdrawal of 2nd Division, came into contact with the leading units of the German III Corps on the edge of woodland near Villers-Cotterêts. The brigade lost more than 300 men in the encounter, but were able to break away and continue the withdrawal.^[2] Many are buried at Guards' Grave, a military cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.^[3]

La Plaine Saint-Rémy, Pisseleux, was an ancient commune that was merged with Villers-Cotterêts in 1971.

Gallery[]

• 

  The 16th century  [fr]

• 

  One of the very decorated staircases of the castle where King Francis I signed the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts.

• 

  Villers-Cotterêts town hall

Population[]

The inhabitants are called Cottevreziens.

Notable natives and residents[]

• Charles Baur (1929–2015), Mayor of Villers-Cotterêts (1953–1989), President of the Regional Council of Picardy (1976–1978, 1985–2004)^[4]
• Alexandre Dumas, père (1802–1870), popular novelist, was born and grew up here.

Sports[]

The town was the start of Stage 4 in the 2007 Tour de France.

Sights[]

The original château was built around 950 AD and was burnt to the ground twice before being rebuilt out of stone in the early 12th century. The front entrance is the only original remaining structure, which is listed with the at the École des Beaux Arts. Francis I purchased the château from the de Noüe family to house his mistress Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly. The  [fr] was updated with 18th-century régence decoration by Gilles-Marie Oppenordt. The current owner is the Pépinières du Valois, an agricultural venture.

The city opened, at the beginning of the 20th century, a Museum Alexandre Dumas to gather souvenirs about this family.

See also[]

• Communes of the Aisne department

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Villers-Cotterêts.

• Tourist office website (in French)
• Historic society of Villers-Cotterêts (in French)
• The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Gilles-Marie Oppenordt