Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne.
The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition attributes it to Theuderic IV, the penultimate Merovingian king, who was imprisoned by Charles Martel, without a reliable source. Château-Thierry is the birthplace of Jean de La Fontaine and was the location of the First Battle of the Marne and Second Battle of the Marne. The arrondissement of Château-Thierry is called the country of Omois. Château-Thierry is one of 64 French towns to have received the Legion of Honour.
History
In the late years of the western Roman empire, a small town called Otmus was settled on a site where the Soissons-Troyes road crossed the Marne river. During the 8th century, Charles Martel kept king Theuderic IV prisoner in the castle of Otmus. At this time, the town took the name of Castrum Theodorici, later transformed in Château-Thierry.In 946, the castle of Château-Thierry was the home of Herbert le-Vieux, Count of Omois of the House of Vermandois and Soissons.
Formerly the capital of the district of Brie Pouilleuse, Château-Thierry was captured by the English in 1421; by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1544; and by the duke of Mayenne in 1591.
Château-Thierry was the site of two important battles: the Battle of Château-Thierry (1814) in the Napoleonic Wars between France and Prussia, and the Battle of Château-Thierry (1918) in World War I between the United States and Germany.
In 1918, a mounting for the Paris Gun was found near the castle, though the cannon itself had apparently been moved prior to the emplacement's discovery.
Geography
Château-Thierry is situated in the Marne Valley. In this area, urban development extends throughout the valley, from the riverbed to the top of the flower-covered hillsides. Château-Thierry is culturally part of the Champagne area. The town lies at the crossroads of three administrative regions: Hauts-de-France, to which it belongs, towards the north; Île-de-France towards the west; and Grand Est, towards the east. The town's landscape is typical of a Champagne town, with its hillsides and vineyards. Its location in the Marne Valley, along with its transport network, make Château-Thierry a town in eastern France, in the greater Paris area. Here are some distances to neighboring cities:Paris: 85 km or 52 miles;
Reims: 51 km or 31 miles;
Troyes: 107 km or 66 miles;
Meaux: 45 km or 27 miles;
Soissons, 40 km or 24 miles;
and Épernay: 45 km or 27 miles.
The town is at the heart of the Omois local region, which roughly corresponds to the arrondissement of Château-Thierry.
Neighboring Municipalities
The neighbouring municipalities are: Bézu-Saint-Germain, Bouresches, Brasles, Chierry, Épaux-Bézu, Essômes-sur-Marne, Étampes-sur-Marne, Étrépilly, Nogentel and Verdilly.Transport
Château-Thierry station is the terminus station of a regional railway line starting from the Gare de l'Est in Paris. Furthermore, it has rail connections to Châlons-en-Champagne, Nancy and Strasbourg. It is also one of the exits of the A4 autoroute that links Paris with the east part of France. Transval operates the local bus routes.Personalities
Château-Thierry was the birthplace of:- Walter of Château-Thierry a French theologian and scholastic philosopher.
- Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise 13th-century rabbi.
- Jean de La Fontaine, a fabulist and poet, known best for his Fables.
- Jean-Baptiste Dumangin, French physician who performed the autopsy of Louis XVII.
- , army general of the French First Republic and the First French Empire.
- Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a French Creole virtuoso violinist and composer
- , army general of the French First Republic and the First French Empire, born in Lyon and died in Château-Thierry.
- , cavalry colonel of the armies of the French First Republic and the First French Empire.
- Jean Macé, an educator, journalist, active freemason and politician.
- Maurice Holleaux, 19th– to 20th-century French historian, archaeologist and epigrapher.
- , parasitologist and medical historian, was born in the city.
- , sculptor.
- François Aman-Jean physician, surgeon, writer and playwright
- Teddy Roosevelt's son Quentin was shot down while flying a French Nieuport 28 C.1 plane during WWI.
- , glassworker.
- Ba Jin, a Chinese writer and intellectual, stayed here in 1927 and 1928.
- Auguste Jordan, Austrian professional footballer who played on the French national team.
- Léon Hess, creator of the "Le Castel" gâteau du voyageur, who won a gold medal at the 1912 Exposition Culinaire Internationale in Paris.
- Nadia Tagrine, pianist.
- Manu Dibango a Cameroonian musician and songwriter
- Yves Bot, magistrate.
- Pierre Bensusan a French-Algerian acoustic guitarist.
- The novel The Greengage Summer of Rumer Godden is set in Château-Thierry.
- , actor and stuntman, died in Château-Thierry.
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Sights
- Castle walls
- Saint-Crépin church
- Balhan tower
- Marne River
- World War I Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial
- Chateau-Thierry American Monument
- Champagne vineyards
- Several churches
Twin towns – sister cities
Château-Thierry is twinned with:- Cisnădie, Romania
- Grybów (rural gmina), Poland
- Mosbach, Germany
- Pößneck, Germany