Villers-Cotterêts
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Main square with a statue of Alexandre Dumas and church
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 Villers-Cotterêts
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Location within Hauts-de-France region
Villers-Cotterêts
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| Coordinates: 49°15′36″N 3°05′26″E / 49.26°N 3.0906°ECoordinates: 49°15′36″N 3°05′26″E / 49.26°N 3.0906°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Hauts-de-France | |
| Department | Aisne | |
| Arrondissement | Soissons | |
| Canton | Villers-Cotterêts | |
| Intercommunality | Villers-Cotterêts–Forêt de Retz | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2014–2020) | Franck Briffaut (FN) | |
| Area1 | 41.71 km2 (16.10 sq mi) | |
| Population (2012)2 | 10,669 | |
| • Density | 260/km2 (660/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 02810 / 02600 | |
| Elevation | 65–226 m (213–741 ft) (avg. 120 m or 390 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.
Villers-Cotterêts (pronounced: [vi.lɛʁ kɔ.tə.ʁɛ] or [vi.le kɔ.tə.ʁɛ]) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
It is located 80 km (50 mi) NE of Paris via the RN2 facing Laon. Its nickname Petite villa sur la côte de Retz means Little villa by the coast of Retz, as the town is situated next to the Forest of Retz, which covers 130 km2 (50 sq mi) of land.
Villers-Cotterêts is famous because of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts of 1539 signed by king Francis I of France ('François Ier'), which made French the official language in the kingdom instead of regional languages like Occitan or the elite European lingua franca of the time, Latin.
In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought a rearguard action here during the Retreat from Mons. On 1 September, the British 4th (Guards) Brigade who were covering the withdrawal of 2nd Division, came into contact with the leading units of the German III Corps on the edge of woodland near Villers-Cotterêts. The brigade lost more than 300 men in the encounter, but were able to break away and continue the withdrawal. Many are buried at Guards' Grave, a military cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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Wikipedia