^1 French Land Register data, which excludesestuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2
Ardennes (French:[aʁdɛn]ⓘ) is adepartment in theGrand Est region of northeastern France named after the broaderArdennes. Its prefecture is the townCharleville-Mézières. The department has 270,582 inhabitants.[4] The inhabitants of the department are known asArdennais orArdennaises.[3]
The district is crossed in its northern part by the windingMeuse valley where most people live and activities are focused.Charleville-Mézières andSedan are the main urban centres.
It is in the catchment of the Academy of Reims and the jurisdiction of theCourt of Appeal of Reims.
Ardennes is part of theArdennes, a plateau deeply cut by the Meuse and its many tributaries which reach intoWallonia in Belgium,Luxembourg, Germany (Eifel), and the north of the neighbouringdepartment of Meuse.
Covering 5,229 square kilometres (2,019 square miles), the department was the smallest among the four contributors toChampagne-Ardenne. It is diverse in climate, topography, natural vegetation and land use, which is a mixture of forest and arable farming.
It is in this part of theArdennes mountains or high hills that the Meuse winds through, known locally as "the valley". Flowing into the northern part of the department, it waters the main cities ofSedan,Charleville-Mézières, andNouzonville. It has numerous tributaries – the main ones locally being theSemois and theChiers.
As to the south, theAisne flows through the vast near-treeless plain of Champagne chalk (historically by the landed class andbourgeoisie disparaged as flea-ridden Champagne) extended to the south-west by the small, grain-growing Porcien,Thiérache in the west andArgonne in the east are fringe grasslands with very distinctive upper soils.
A typical landscape of Champagne chalk in the south of the department.
View of the Meuse valley in the north of the department atGivet.
Farm of Porcien in the south-west of the department.
The department does not have a uniform climate throughout its territory, especially most winters.
From the north near Aisne and the border with Belgium, through the centre near the canton of Omont, to the south of the valley of the Meuse, the climate is considered "degraded continental" (heavy rainfall in autumn and frequent frosts in winter). The rest of the department has a "degraded oceanic" or "temperate continental" climate (relative to an oceanic climate, the winters are colder and the summers are hotter, rainfall in the lowlands is lower and winds are of lower strength). All this stems from location, midway between theEnglish Channel, theNorth Sea and parts of the continent relatively far from any sea.
Winter can be as cold as inner continental lowland Europe some winters and quite often snowier, particularly near main settlementsRocroi,Givet andSedan in the north.
This climatic difference is particularly pronounced in the presence of frost especially in the valleys of theMeuse,Semoy, the plateau ofRocroi, and around the Croix-Scaille where it can be very marked and persists longer in the year with great influence on vegetation.
Across lands further west and south frontal zones (affecting air and precipitation) are tempered more by theEnglish Channel,Bay of Biscay andNorth Sea; nearby seeing quite flat terrain – isolated small ranges or lower regions of hills, excluding the mountains across much of the south-eastern third of France.
Despite a high birth rate (the highest rate in France in 1968), the department continues to lose population: 275,371 in 2016 due to high unemployment (hence "migration" continues). The two world wars have each time resulted in a loss of population (such as the "exodus" of 1940). There were 330,000 people at the end of the 19th century.
That the major urban areas of the department are the most affected is characterized by a stagnation of the population – a population decline of up to 2% compared to 1999 in the city centres and suburbs (Charleville-Mézières,Revin,Fumay,Givet,Rethel).
The communes, however, are gaining inhabitants (the phenomenon of urban sprawl). This is explained by the search for better living in the countryside which matches the desire of many people to build a small land-holding, typically a house with land to the detriment of their proximity to their workplace. This highly contemporary concept favours commuting between Home and Work. This is the phenomenon of suburbanization which has become common in the whole of France from which Ardennes does not escape.
On 1 January 2006, the Ardennes population stood at 295,653 inhabitants. The population is declining in urban areas but five times less than in rural areas. The limited decline in the urban space where two-thirds of the Ardennes people live is the result of two opposite dynamics. Semi-urban communes have gained 0.5% of inhabitants per year over the period 1999–2006 at the expense of urban centres (downtown and suburbs) which lost 0.6% per year. For thirty years the population has lagged in the main cities of Ardennes. Between 1999 and 2006, the annual decline was 0.2% forSedan andRethel, 1.8% forRevin, and 1% forCharleville-Mézières. The most unfavourable rural population change came from degradation of rural employment centres, such asFumay orVouziers and to a lesser extent that of their periphery. This was slightly mitigated by a small increase in population in other rural communes.
The department is one of the original 83 departments created during theFrench Revolution on 4 March 1790 under the Act of 22 December 1789. It includes part of the former provinces ofChampagne and Argonne, several principalities including those of Arches andSedan, countships (such asRethel), and different areas returned to France (from the formerSpanish Netherlands) in the 18th century.
Forest of Argonne in October 1915 ravaged by shellfire.
During the two world wars, for strategic reasons, the region each time became the passage for the invading armies because of the narrow width of the Meuse and its deep valley. The French military believed that the region was defended by its terrain and thick forests present in the northern of the department and so neglected the defence of the territory. During the First World War, theBattle of the Ardennes was fought in the department, andCharleville-Mézières became the headquarters of theGerman Crown Prince. It was at Vouziers and other places that theCzechoslovak legions fought, and it was also near the same city that the aeroplane ofRoland Garros was shot down.
It was the only French department to have been fully occupied during that conflict, except for northernLorraine (Moselle) andAlsace, which had been under German administration since 1871.
During the Second World War, the main effort of the German army was again focused on this area, especially on the right bank of the River Meuse, symbolized by the breakthrough at Sedan which would lead the French troops into the strategic trap theYellow Plan designed byGeneral von Manstein and approved byHitler.
It is in this department that theMaginot Line ended: the last fort of the line (Fort Villy la Ferte) was located about five kilometres fromCarignan. The French General staff did not want to continue the line of defence along the border with Belgium, a neutral and friendly country. Furthermore, they hoped that the unique geography and the forest would stop the German army.
After the armistice of 1940, Ardennes was declared a "forbidden zone" (actually a German settlement area) throughout the occupation by theNazi army.
The name of the department is related to thetoponymArdenne which could derive from the Gallicardu meaning "high". It would have been transformed intoArduenna by theRomans to designate the ancientArdennes forest and the mountains mentioned by Julius Caesar in the work attributed to him:Commentaries on the Gallic War.Arduenna Sylva was used for the pine forest on the plateau ofBastogne. It was then transformed intoArdenna in the 6th century.[8]
This toponym is absent from the names of communes in the department of Ardennes while those of Argonne (Beaumont-en-Argonne), Porcien (Château-Porcien,Novion-Porcien,Chaumont-Porcien, and evenChampagne (Vaux-Champagne) are sometimes fused and all have a connotation of regional belonging. This is why the name ofArdenne is not specific to the department as it is found in many other parts of France – for example in western and central-western France,[N 1] Belgium, and Luxembourg where it has its usual sense – from Celtic origin – of "high", "high woods" or "forest".[9]
Azure, a bend argent potent counter potent of Or with an inescutcheon argent charged with a boar in sable; in chief of gules charged with 3 rakes of Or 2 and 1.
Place Ducale in Charleville-Mézières, prefecture of the Ardennes department.
The seat of the prefecture of the department is atCharleville-Mézières and the three sub-prefectures areRethel,Sedan, andVouziers.Rocroi was also a sub-prefecture until 1926.[5] In addition, the departmental seat of theGeneral Council of Ardennes is located at Charleville-Mézières.
The Ardennes is composed of 452 communes which are grouped into 19 cantons and four arrondissements of varying sizes.
The largest arrondissement of the department is that ofCharleville-Mézières while the smallest isSedan which is half the size. The two arrondissements that occupy the northern part of the Ardennes, however, have four-fifths of the departmental population.
The other two arrondissements,Rethel andVouziers, occupy the southern part of the department with roughly comparable areas but are very sparsely populated.
Before the Poincaré decree of 10 September 1926 which removed many sub-prefectures in France, the department had five arrondissements. In addition to the four mentioned above, the fifth was that ofRocroi – a small historic city in the north-west of the department close to Belgium – which has been since annexed in its entirety to the district of Charleville-Mézières. The former arrondissement of Rocroi then consisted of six cantons – including four on the border with Belgium – which wereGivet,Fumay,Revin,Rocroi,Rumigny, andSigny-le-Petit.[10]
The Hotel de Ville inGivet, a border town withBelgium.
Under the intercommunality framework,[clarification needed] Ardennes consists of an urban community organized around the city préfecture, calledHeart of Ardennes and has fifteen communities of communes including in Sedan theCommunauté de communes du Pays sedanais which is the most important.
In addition, the Ardennes has 33 communes that do not adhere to any Intercommunal cooperative organisation (EPCI).
The small town ofRocroi was a sub-prefecture of Ardennes until 1926.
LaMeuse atSedan, sub-préfecture and second city of Ardennes.
Rethel, sub-préfecture of Ardennes and third city of the department.
Vouziers, the smallest sub-préfecture of the Ardennes department.
The economy of the department, after previously resting on agriculture (forestry and livestock – crops are poor), has been based for over a century now on industry (now in a difficult position) and the services sector, although the proportion of the Ardennes labour force working in this sector is lower than the national average. At the beginning of the 19th century, the region was the largest in France for metal working usingcharcoal. There was nocoal found in the department (onlyslate fromFumay was usable) but themetallurgical industry developed there (bolts,screws,nails). The railway with many branches (Compagnie des chemins de fer des Ardennes from the Sellière family which merged with theCompagnie de l'Est) accelerated the industrialization at the end of the 19th century in Charleville, Sedan (which had itstrams), and Revin. The newspaperL'Usine ardennaise (The Ardennes Factory) becameL'Usine nouvelle (The New Factory). The crisis in the 1970s precipitated the decline of metallurgical activity in the department (theblast furnace and small workshops closed one after the other:Blagny,Vireux-Molhain,Murtin-et-Bogny, etc.). Today there are still manysubcontractors for the railway industry (TGV for example) and the car industry (GMC,PSA Peugeot Citroën,Mercedes-Benz, among others),Hermès has recently installed themselves atMurtin-et-Bogny, PSA Peugeot Citroën is installed atLes Ayvelles. There is also a nuclear site – theChooz Nuclear Power Plant with several reactors including the firstpressurized water reactor (REP) in France. Agriculture has grown considerably using industrial techniques (wheat,maize,sugar beet).
There are direct TGV trains from theGare de l'Est in Paris toCharleville-Mézières (1h 35 m), Sedan, and several TGV trains to Reims with a change for Charleville-Mézières.[14]
A "Y" road has also been set up with the A4 Reims-Paris, the A34 (freeway), and the links toLille andBrussels which need to take the N5 to join the motorway ring ofCharleroi. Similarly, the junction with the highway leading toLuxembourg andCologne needs to use a portion of highway in France.[14] Improved means of land communication (TGV and A34 motorway) provides the benefit of relative proximity to Paris,Reims,Metz and Belgian cities such asLiège,Charleroi andBrussels.
Every year in September, the Sedan fair is a big shopping event (2nd in the region) which attracts about 250,000 people each year.
In the department there are iconic landmarks that attract many visitors each year, such as theChâteau de Sedan (the busiest paying attraction in the Ardennes, with an average of 60,000 admissions per year), the fortified site of Charlemont atGivet, the fort atLes Ayvelles, and the fortress ofRocroi. There are also many fortified churches and medieval sites in the department.[N 2] There is the Ardennes forest, the "Green Way" (a bicycle path connecting Montcy-Notre Dame nearCharleville-Mézières to Givet along the Meuse valley) promoting weekend tourism and tourist routes (green tourism).
Cultural tourism is booming with many music festivals (Le Cabaret Vert, the Douzy'k festival, the Aymon Folk Festival) not to mention museums (such as the Museum of the Ardennes) and castles and the growing interest in industrial heritage.
Finally, the creation of the Natural Regional Park of Ardennes (Regional Natural Park of Ardennes) on 21 December 2011 should continue to increase this type of tourism.
Home purchases by Belgians and Dutch people are common in the region because the prices are much lower than in their countries of residence. However, as of 2020, 3.5% of available housing in the department are second homes which is rather low.[15]
Medieval Festival in 2011Medieval Festival in 2011
For more than 40 years (the first time in 1961 at the initiative of Jacques Félix) there has been in Charleville-Mézières theWorld Festival of Puppet Theatre (now every three years). At the last festival in 2009 more than 200,000 people were present. In the same city there is also a school: the International Institute of Puppetry. TheRock Festival and Territory Le Cabaret Vert had more than 50,000 festival-goers at the seventh festival in 2011 and this takes place every year in Charleville-Mézières making it the 7th largest festival in France by attendance. The festivalThe Poetic Otherworld organizes events in October in some Ardennes communes.
At Sedan the medieval festival is held every year around theCastle of Sedan, the largest castle in Europe. This is an event that brings together more than 30,000 spectators.
AtRethel there are the famous festivals ofSaint Anne which have been held for over 200 years.
AtBogny-sur-Meuse there is theAymon Folk Festival which brings together nearly 10,000 people.
The Ardennes also has other well-known festivals such as theFestimeuse which attracts 10,000 people, the festival ofCassine with 7,000 people at the 3rd festival in 2010.
The metal festival of Vouziers attracts about 2000 people. The Rock festival in El Mont at Aiglemont hosted more than 2,000 people in 2010. Lastly there is atDouzy every July and every second year the Douzy'k Festival which brings between 5,000 and 7,000 people each time.
TheArgonne does not have only two musical events. For 14 years, the village of Louvergny has staged a lyrical festival calledEncounters of Louvergny in early August as the heart of the Argonne campaign, with singers from different countries. More recentlyNotes of Argonne propose to cross the Argonne mountains with concerts of classical music with regional and national performers. The May 2008 festival includedPatrice Fontanarosa and his wifeMarielle Nordmann. Both events had an immediate success in the region and the public has not stopped coming since.
For a long time the region was a land of legends with its rocks, rivers, lakes, and thick dark forests: for exampleThe Four Sons of Aymon, knights on their horse calledBayard helped by the enchanter Maugis who gave his name to village ofNoyers-Pont-Maugis at the time ofCharlemagne.[16]
The play by William Shakespeare, "As you Like It" (1599), is set in the Forest of Arden, an imagined hybrid of the Ardennes and the Arden woods near his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon, England.[17]
The novel by Yves Gibeau,Les gros sous (The big money) (1953) takes place in the south-west of the department.
The region serves as a backdrop for the Ardennes writerAndré Dhôtel (1900–1991), especially inLe Pays où l'on n’arrive jamais (The country where one never arrives).
The department has a varied natural environment (the Meuse valley, the border between Belgium and France, the Ardennes plateau, forests, etc.) which attracts filmmakers and television which first began in the late 1960s and in the 1970s.
Maigret chez les Flamands (Maigret and the Flemes) (1976), a novel byGeorges Simenon who knew the area nearby (Liège). Since then he travelled a lot and located the action atGivet (the TV movie withJean Richard was shot here).
In 2006,Les Enfants du Pays (The children of the country) by Pierre Javaux withMichel Serrault was located in a small village lost in the Ardennes Forest in May 1940 when fiveSenegalese Tirailleurs are isolated from their regiment and lost, meet an old man and his two small children left alone after the exodus of the population.
In 2007, Marcel Trillat madeSilence dans la vallée (Silence in the valley), a documentary about the liquidation of the ironworks atNouzonville, theAteliers Thomé-Génot (workshops Thomé-Génot) by American buyers who empty the cash for themselves. Cellatex suffered the same fate atGivet in 2000.
Hippolyte Taine (1828–1893), philosopher and historian, member of theAcadémie française, was born inVouziers and contributed to the progress of positivism particularly in the field of history
Regional newspapers are:L'Ardennais (fromCharleville-Mézières) andL'Union. They now have shared writing – only the first page differs. Since 2009, a weekly newspaper has been published in the Ardennes:La Semaine des Ardennes. Printed in Charleville-Mézières, over 2000 copies are printed.
^This toponym is present 5 times inCharentes; notably in the name of the village ofSaint-Grégoire-d'Ardennes inCharente-Maritime); principal source: Jacques Duguet,Place names of Charentes, éditions Bonneton, 1995, p. 9 and 10(in French)
^The Franco-German War and the occupation of Argonne (1870–1873)Archived 18 October 2011 at theWayback Machine, Daniel Hochedez, Concerning the movement of troops preceding the Battle of Sedan and generally on the war of 1870 in Argonne, Ardennes, and the German occupation, RevueHorizons d'Argonne, publication of the Centre for Argonne studies, Number 87, June 2010(in French)
