TheMarquis de Sade was imprisoned in Vincennes fortress in 1777, where he remained until February 1784 although he escaped for a little over a month in 1778. Thereafter Vincennes fortress was closed and de Sade transferred to theBastille.
In 1821, the noted French poet, Alfred de Vigny, wrote his poem, "La Prison," which details the last days of theMan in the Iron Mask at Vincennes.
A test was conducted in 1849 onClaude-Étienne Minié's invention theMinié ball which would prove successful and years later be adopted by the French army. TheHôtel de Ville was completed in 1891.[4]
On the morning of 15 October 1917, famousfemme fataleMata Hari was executed for espionage by a French firing squad at Château de Vincennes.[5]
In 1929, the commune of Vincennes lost about half of its territory when the city of Paris annexed theBois de Vincennes, a large part of which belonged to the commune of Vincennes.
The north front of the Hôtel de Ville, Rue de Fontenay in Vincennes
Vincennes was also the site of some famous European colonial expositions in the 20th century in which fairs were held to showcase artifacts from former European colonies.
The city is famous for its castle, theChâteau de Vincennes, and its park, theBois de Vincennes hosting the only larger zoo in Paris,Paris Zoological Park (though these two are now within the limits of the City of Paris). It also features a large militaryfort, now housing variousarmy services. This fort and an adjoining plain known as the "Polygon" has historically been an important proving ground for French armaments.
The city is also home to the Service Historique de la Défense (SHD), which holds the archival records of theFrench Armed Forces.[8]
In 1933Georges Saupique was commissioned to work on one of three "dessus-de-porte" to be placed above the doors of the new Vincennes' city hall "salle des fêtes". His composition involved allegorical figures representing commerce and industry supporting the Vincennes' coat of arms.
In the old royal château, aporcelain manufactory was established in 1740, specializing in imitations ofMeissen porcelain and naturalistic flowers, which were incorporated into bouquets under the direction of Parisianmarchands-merciers. The Vincennes porcelain factory continued until 1756, when the production was transferred to new buildings atSèvres, initiating the career of world-famousSèvres porcelain.
The commune has eight public preschools, six public elementary schools, and three private schools contracted by the state.[10]
Public elementary schools: Est-Passeleu, Est-Libération, Roland-Vernaudon, Sud, Ouest,Jean-Monnet
Private elementary schools: Externat Saint-Joseph, Notre-Dame de la Providence, Ohel-Barouch
There are three public junior high schools, Collège Hector-Berlioz, Collège Saint-Exupéry, and Collège Françoise-Giroud; as well as a contracted private junior high school, Notre-Dame de la Providence.[11]
Public senior high schools/sixth-form colleges:[11]
In 1970 the "University of Paris VIII" was established in Vincennes as France's first major experiment in open admissions education, as a result of the academic reforms which followed the student risings of 1968. Intended to lessen the French university system's traditional emphasis on formal and elitist schooling, the school (generally known simply asVincennes) admitted students without the usual entrance requirement of thebaccalaureat degree and introduced courses such as the History of Cinema, Sexology, and Third World Economics. Enrollments peaked at 32,000 with more than 40% of students holding full-time jobs off the campus. However problems associated with political unrest and alleged widespread drug usage among the student body led to the resignation of the Vincennes University President and the relocation of the campus to Saint-Denis by the French Government in 1980.[12][page needed]
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