| Main | Births etc |
|---|
| Vincennes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
|
| Coordinates: Coordinates: | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Val-de-Marne |
| Arrondissement | Nogent-sur-Marne |
| Canton | 2 cantons |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Laurent Lafon (NC) |
| Area1 | 1.91 km2 (0.74 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)2 | 47,845 |
| • Density | 25,000/km2 (65,000/sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 94080 / 94300 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Vincennes (French pronunciation: [vɛ̃sɛn]) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.
History[]
The Marquis de Sade was imprisoned in Vincennes fortress in 1777, where he remained (mainly: he escaped for a little over a month in 1778), until February 1784, when Vincennes fortress was closed and de Sade was transferred to the Bastille. In 1929, the commune of Vincennes lost about half of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes, a large part of which belonged to the commune of Vincennes.
In 1849, a test was conducted on Claude-Étienne Minié's invention the Minié ball which would prove successful and years later be adopted by the French army. 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.
Sights[]
The city is famous for its castle, the Château de Vincennes, and its park, the Bois de Vincennes hosting the only zoo in Paris, Zoo de Vincennes (though these two are now within the limits of the City of Paris). It also features a large military fort, now housing various army services. This fort and an adjoining plain known as the "Polygon" has historically been an important proving ground for French armaments.
Transport[]
Vincennes is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 1: Bérault and Château de Vincennes.
Vincennes is also served by Vincennes station on Paris RER line A.
Porcelain[]
In the old royal château, a porcelain manufactory was established in 1740, specializing in imitations of Meissen porcelain and naturalistic flowers, which were incorporated into bouquets under the direction of Parisian marchands-merciers. The Vincennes porcelain factory continued until 1756, when the production was transferred to new buildings at Sèvres, initiating the career of world-famous Sèvres porcelain.
Sister cities[]
Vincennes is twinned with:
Castrop-Rauxel, Germany[1]
Vincennes University[]
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 as Vincennes) admitted students without the usual entrance requirement of the baccalaureat 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 amongst 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.[2]
Notable residents[]
- Alphonse Halimi, boxer
Images gallery[]
See also[]
- Vélodrome de Vincennes
- Communes of the Val-de-Marne department
References[]
- INSEE
- Mayors of Essonne Association (French)
- Notes
- ^ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District". © 2009 Twins2010.com. http://www.twins2010.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pic/Dokumente/List_of_Twin_Towns_01.pdf?PHPSESSID=2edd34819db21e450d3bb625549ce4fd. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
- ^ Time Magazine March 31, 1980
External links[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Vincennes. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |