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Montmédy | |
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 Place de l’Hôtel de Ville: the fountain and Saint-Martin's church | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Montmédy | |
  Montmédy  Montmédy | |
| Coordinates:49°31′13″N5°22′00″E / 49.5203°N 5.3667°E /49.5203; 5.3667 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Meuse |
| Arrondissement | Verdun |
| Canton | Montmédy |
| Intercommunality | Pays de Montmédy |
Area 1 | 23.49 km2 (9.07 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[1] | 2,018 |
| • Density | 85.91/km2 (222.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 55351 /55600 |
| Elevation | 177–336 m (581–1,102 ft) (avg. 294 m or 965 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Montmédy (French pronunciation:[mɔ̃.me.di],German:Mittelberg) is acommune in theMeusedepartment inGrand Est in north-easternFrance.
In 1221 the first castle of Montmédy was built on top of a hill by theCount of Chiny. Montmédy soon became the capital of his territory – later it belonged toLuxembourg, Burgundy, Austria and Spain. The original castle was replaced with a fortress byCharles V in the 16th century.
AfterMarville andStenay had been occupied by the French, 30,000 soldiers, including KingLouis XIV, attacked Montmédy, whilst 756 were defending it in 1657. They held it for 57 days and surrendered only after the death of the governor Jean V of Allamont. The military engineerVauban advanced the outer fortifications, the moats and the walls after the siege of 1657.
During theFrench Revolution in 1791, the fortress was the anticipated destination of KingLouis XVI and his family in their unsuccessfulattempt to escape from the growing radical republicanism ofParis. The area at that time was overwhelmingly pro-monarchy. The royal party never arrived, however, because they were discovered en route atVarennes and escorted back to the capital city. The King had hoped to establish a counter-revolutionary military base of operations in the citadel from which he could reclaim the country. The citadel has also been used as a fortress during both World Wars.
Buildings, including a church dating back to the 17th century, can be found inside the citadel itself; it still is used as a place to live. Most of the buildings are derelict or already collapsed; some of them are still in use as tenements. AnOffice de Tourisme (Tourist Office) can be found in the citadel.
The riverOthain joins theChiers in the eastern part of the commune. The village lies on the right bank of the Chiers.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 2,196 | — |
| 1975 | 2,250 | +0.35% |
| 1982 | 2,024 | −1.50% |
| 1990 | 1,943 | −0.51% |
| 1999 | 2,260 | +1.69% |
| 2007 | 2,263 | +0.02% |
| 2012 | 2,311 | +0.42% |
| 2017 | 2,136 | −1.56% |
| Source: INSEE[2] | ||
A museum is devoted to the painterJules Bastien-Lepage. The eccentric harpist and composerNicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789–1856) was born in Montmédy, where his father Karl Bochsa was anoboist belonging to the Army. Future PresidentFrançois Mitterrand was stationed as a soldier at Montmédy in 1939.
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