Varennes
| Varennes-en-Argonne | |
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Tower Louis XVI and the river Aire
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 Varennes-en-Argonne
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Location within Grand Est region
Varennes-en-Argonne
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| Coordinates: 49°13′37″N 5°02′06″E / 49.2269°N 5.035°ECoordinates: 49°13′37″N 5°02′06″E / 49.2269°N 5.035°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Meuse |
| Arrondissement | Verdun |
| Canton | Varennes-en-Argonne |
| Intercommunality | Montfaucon - Varennes en Argonne |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Jean-Marie Lambert |
| Area1 | 11.81 km2 (4.56 sq mi) |
| Population (2012)2 | 656 |
| • Density | 56/km2 (140/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 55527 /55270 |
| Elevation | 144–264 m (472–866 ft) (avg. 195 m or 640 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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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 or simply Varennes is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Varennes-en-Argonne lies on the river Aire to the northeast of Sainte-Menehould, near Verdun.
It was the scene of the Flight to Varennes: In June 1791 Louis XVI, with his immediate family, made a dash for the nearest friendly border, that of the Austrian Netherlands in modern Belgium (Queen Marie-Antoinette being a sister to the Austrian emperor, Leopold II). But in Varennes Louis and his family were arrested, by Citizen Drouet, the local postmaster, who had been alerted by a message received from nearby Sainte-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 an Assignat, as Louis tried to buy something from a shop. Once more France's king, queen, and dauphin (crown prince) returned to the Tuileries in humiliating captivity, and Louis and Marie-Antoinette were subsequently executed on the guillotine.
Located in the Zone rouge, Varennes was completely destroyed during the First World War but was reconstructed afterwards. The Pennsylvania Memorial, a monument for volunteers from 28th Division Pennsylvania in the First World War, was erected in Varennes during the Interwar period.
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