With a population of 55,416 inhabitants in 2018, Meaux is the most populous city in the Seine-et-Marne department, just beforeChelles (55,148 inhabitants in 2018).[4]
Inhabitants of Meaux are calledMeldois. Both namesMeaux andMeldois originated with theMeldi, theLatin name of the originalGaulish tribe who occupied this area of the valley of theMarne river. Although during the Roman period the city was called Iantinum by the Romans,[7] the name of the Meldi persisted and was finally kept for naming both the city and its inhabitants.
The episcopal palace (bishop's palace).Meaux Cathedral can be seen behind the palace.
Historical buildings and monuments in Meaux are mainly located in the old city, inside the old defensive walls, still nowadays partially kept thanks to an important segment of the original surrounding wall from theGallo-Roman period. Ameander of the Marne river divides the old city into the North Quarter (called among theMeldois as the Cathedral Quarter) and the South Quarter (known among the locals as the Market Quarter). In the North Quarter there is theMeaux Cathedral, the episcopal palace and its gardens (outlining the shape of abishop'smitre), the old seat of thechapter (le vieux chapitre), part of the defensive walls (as mentioned), some keeps and towers, and the archaeological remains of the sanctuary of La Bauve, all-embracing the Gaulish period (4th, 3rd and 1st centuriesBC), the era of the early Roman Empire (Gallo-Roman: 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuriesAD) and the early Christian Era and subsequent centuries (from the 3rd to the 18th centuries, with the remains, among others, of theSaint-Faron Abbey, demolished during theFrench Revolution). The South Quarter of the old city mainly includes the historic covered market and theCanal Cornillon, built during the Middle Ages, in the year 1235.[8] Centuries later, in 1806, during theNapoleonic era, was built theCanal de l'Ourcq, destined to theinland navigation when the Marne river is not navigable because of temporary sandbanks.
At 73, Rue du Marché stood the house of Etienne Mangin in which he started the first Calvin-inspired Protestant church in France. The house was ordered by the Parliament in Paris to be razed and a chapel built in its place following the execution at the stake offourteen members of the congregation for heresy in 1546.[9] Rather than a chapel, there remains a fairly nondescript building on the site to this day with a plaque which bears the following inscription (translated): "Here stood the house of ETIENNE MANGIN in which was constructed the first Reformed Church of France. In front of this location 14 Reformists, arrested during a cult, were burned on 8 October 1546 at the decree of the Parliament in Paris on 4 October 1546. Offered by the City of Meaux 1985."[10]
Meaux is nowadays mainly known forBrie de Meaux (a variety ofBrie cheese) and the local variety ofmustard. Following the official administrative FrenchAOC there are two designations of Brie de Meaux:Brie de Meaux fermier ("farm Brie de Meaux", made out of the milk from the cows of a single unique producer) andBrie de Meaux laitier (laitier, that is from the Frenchlait, "milk", which designates here an agreement, a mixture of the milk of different producers). TheMoutarde de Meaux ("Meaux Mustard") recipe is since the 18th century a label commercially owned by the Pommery company and is nowadays derived not only in its traditional well known form but also in a variety of new different ingredient combinations: Honey Mustard, Green Pepper Mustard,Moutarde Royale (that latter includingCognac in its composition) etc.
Several festivals and concerts are celebrated in Meaux, venues for live music like the Music Festival "Musik'elles" (usually at the end of every summer). There is a local publicconcert band in Meaux:L'Harmonie du Pays de Meaux. It is constituted by three different ensembles, following different ages:Les Minimes (children),Les Juniors (teenagers) andL'Harmonie de Meaux (adults). The band is also one of the two official music academies of the town. The other one is the conservatory of the city.
Also, every summer for more than 30 years, during several weekends per summer, a show is played by stage actors in the esplanade situated between the cathedral and the episcopal palace: theSpectacle historique ("History show"). The show represents the history of Meaux all along the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and also, more recently, duringWorld War I (the German advance had been halted at Meaux in 1914 during theFirst Battle of the Marne).
There is only one cinema in Meaux: The Majestic, a former stage theatre. In modern days there are three stage theatres in the city. One is theThéâtre Gérard Philippe, a private theatre, situated close to the covered market.[11] Not far from the market, in the same area but in a bigger and more recent building, there is the official subsidised theatre of the city, theThéâtre Luxembourg, divided in two separatedauditoriums in the same building: theSalle Luxembourg (601 seats) and theSalle du Manège (107 seats). In an eastern area of Meaux, the Beauval quarter, there is the third stage theatre of the town, theSalle Champagne (200 seats), located in theEspace Caravelle, a building dedicated to cultural activities.[12] Private theatre companies andcommunity arts associations play in all three theatres.[13]
Defeat of the Jacquerie in Meaux on 9 June 1358La Liberté éplorée or "TheAmerican Monument", erected to the memory of the French casualties during the Battle of the MarneThe inscription in the slab, at the pedestal of the monument, in the rear side. The front side inscription is in French
TheSiege of Meaux took place between October 1421 and May 1422, during theHundred Years' War between England and France. The besiegers were the English, under Henry V. The town's defence was led by the Bastard of Vaurus, notorious for his savagery.[15] The siege commenced on October 6, 1421, and mining and bombardment soon brought down the walls. Casualties began to mount in the English army, includingJohn Clifford, 7th Baron de Clifford who had been at the siege of Harfleur, the Battle of Agincourt, and received the surrender of Cherbourg. The English also began to fall sick rather early into the siege, and it is estimated that one sixteenth of the besiegers died from dysentery and smallpox. On 9 March 1422, the town surrendered, although the garrison held out. Under continued bombardment, the garrison gave in as well on 10 March, following a siege of six months. The Bastard of Vaurus was decapitated, as was a trumpeter named Orace, who had once mocked King Henry. SirJohn Fortescue was then installed as English Captain of Meaux Castle.[16]
During theFirst Battle of the Marne (September 1914), the German troops were stopped at the gates of Meaux. This heroic action not only prevented the city from being taken by the Germans but also changed the course of the war. In 1932, at the place of the battlefield, the people of theUnited States of America had a monument erected in the memory of the French soldiers fallen in action. Called, in French,La Liberté éplorée ("The Tearful Liberty"), the sculpture byFrederick MacMonnies is popularly known among the French asLe Monument américain ("theAmerican Monument").Coordinates:48°58′23″N2°54′18″E / 48.973°N 2.905°E /48.973; 2.905 In 2011, beside the monument was built the Museum of the Great War (Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux [fr]).
The town is represented by theCS Meauxassociation football club. Many other sports are also practiced in Meaux like rugby or field hockey, especially water sports. There are in Meaux, for example different sporting clubs dealing withcanoeing (mainly practiced in the Canal de l'Ourcq),scuba diving (the club "Asterina", named after a starfishgenus, trains in the swimming pools of the city), swimming (Club sportif Meaux Natation).
Meaux is served byMeaux station on theTransilien Paris – Est suburban rail line and on several national rail lines. The rail line connecting Paris to Meaux was established in 1849. The nowadaysSNCF train station, still in use, was built in 1890.[17]
Alongside the Meaux rail station, there is also the mainbus station in the city, with more than 30 bus lines serving the whole eastern Paris metropolitan area.
Charles de Gaulle Airport is nearby, located 29 km (18 mi) north west of the Meaux. The airport can easily be reached by bus and car.
Alexis Soyer (1810-1858), celebrated chef in Victorian London, was born here.
Léon Charles Thévenin (1857-1926), engineer, developed a famous theorem (under his name) for electrical circuits.
L'Aigle de Meaux – fictional character. L'Aigle de Meaux (alsoBossuet's nickname) was a character inVictor Hugo'sLes Misérables, who petitioned for a post office to be created in Meaux.
Joop Zoetemelk –Tour de France,Vuelta a España and UCI World Champion cyclist. Zoetemelk and his French wife owned and operated a hotel in Meaux, still open nowadays:Le Richemont.
^Histoire Ecclesiastique des eglises reformees. Vol. 5 (New ed.). 1883. p. 67. Meaux produced strictly the first "Église Réformée", in the accepted sense, in France proper.
Patrice Croisy:Bibliographie de Meaux (Meaux, 2006–2009). This database includes over 8 000 articles and books on Meaux and neighbourhood. Some of them are in English.
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