Varennes-en-Argonne | |
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 Tower Louis XVI and the riverAire | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Varennes-en-Argonne | |
  Varennes-en-Argonne  Varennes-en-Argonne | |
| Coordinates:49°13′37″N5°02′06″E / 49.2269°N 5.035°E /49.2269; 5.035 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Meuse |
| Arrondissement | Verdun |
| Canton | Clermont-en-Argonne |
| Intercommunality | Argonne-Meuse |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Philippe Fosseprez[1] |
Area 1 | 11.81 km2 (4.56 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 629 |
| • Density | 53.3/km2 (138/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 55527 /55270 |
| Elevation | 144–264 m (472–866 ft) (avg. 195 m or 640 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Varennes-en-Argonne (French pronunciation:[vaʁɛnɑ̃.n‿aʁɡɔn], literallyVarennes inArgonne) or simplyVarennes (German:Wöringen) is acommune in theMeusedepartment in theGrand Estregion in NortheasternFrance. In 2019, it had a population of 639.
Varennes-en-Argonne lies on the riverAire to the northeast ofSainte-Menehould, nearVerdun.
Varennes is most notable as it was the ending point of theFlight to Varennes. In June 1791,Louis XVI and his immediate family made a dash for the nearest friendly border, that of theAustrian Netherlands in modernBelgium (QueenMarie Antoinette being a sister toLeopold II,Archduke of Austria andHoly Roman Emperor). In Varennes, Louis and his family were arrested byJean-Baptiste Drouet, the local postmaster, who had been alerted by a message received from nearbySainte-Menehould. It is said that at Sainte-Menehould, where the escaping party had spent the previous night, a merchant alerted the town authorities of their presence after recognizing the King's face on anAssignat as Louis tried to buy something from a shop. The royal family was returned to theTuileries in humiliating captivity, and Louis and Marie-Antoinette were subsequentlyguillotined in 1793.
Located in theZone rouge, Varennes was completely destroyed during theFirst World War but was reconstructed afterwards. ThePennsylvania Memorial, a monument for volunteers from 28th DivisionPennsylvania in the First World War, was erected in Varennes during theInterwar period.
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