Vitry-le-François

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Vitry-le-François
Subprefecture and commune
The town hall in Vitry-le-François
Coat of arms
show Location of Vitry-le-François Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François Show map of FranceShow map of Grand EstShow all
Coordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E / 48.7256°N 4.5853°E / 48.7256; 4.5853Coordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E / 48.7256°N 4.5853°E / 48.7256; 4.5853
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Marne
Arrondissement	Vitry-le-François
Canton	Vitry-le-François-Champagne et Der
Intercommunality
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Pierre Bouquet[1]
Area 1	6.45 km2 (2.49 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2018)[2]	11,743
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	51649 /51300
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vitry-le-François (French: [vitʁi lə fʁɑ̃swa]) is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the Marne River and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal.

History[]

In 1142, Louis VII invaded Champagne and seized Vitry-le-François. Over a thousand residents were killed when the town's church was set ablaze.

The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site, Vitry-en-Perthois, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's Italian War of 1542–46.^[3] The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by Girolamo Marini. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name.

At the beginning of World War I in August 1914, Joseph Joffre established the Grand Quartier Général at the Place Royer-Collard.

On June 18, 1961, a train was derailed deliberately by sabotaging the rails with an explosive device, killing 28, and injuring over 100.

Demography[]

Features[]

• Its church of Notre-Dame is a 17th-century building with fine 18th-century monuments.
• A convent of the Récollets was later converted to contain the town hall, the court-house, a library and a small museum.
• There is a bronze statue of Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (1763–1845), the politician and philosopher, a native of the district.^[6]

Twin towns[]

Vitry-le-François is twinned with:

• Tauberbischofsheim, Germany, since 1961

Personalities[]

• Guy Georges, serial killer
• Étienne-Gabriel Morelly, proto-communist philosopher
• René Herbin (1911–1953), classical pianist
• Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (fl. c. 1100), Talmudist

See also[]

• Communes of the Marne department
• Champagne Riots
• French wine
• 1961 Vitry-Le-François train bombing

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vitry-le-François.