Vitry-le-François | ||
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Coordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E / 48.7256°N 4.5853°ECoordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E / 48.7256°N 4.5853°E | ||
Country | France | |
Region | Grand Est | |
Department | Marne | |
Arrondissement | Vitry-le-François | |
Canton | Vitry-le-François-Est and Vitry-le-François-Ouest | |
Intercommunality | Vitry-le-François | |
Government | ||
• Mayor (2008–) | Jean-Pierre Bouquet | |
Area1 | 6.45 km2 (2.49 sq mi) | |
Population (2006)2 | 15,641 | |
• Density | 2,400/km2 (6,300/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 51649 / 51300 | |
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. |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Vitry-le-François (French pronunciation: [vitʁi lə frɑ̃swa]) is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It is located on the Marne River and is the western terminus of the Marne-Rhine Canal.
In 1142, Louis VII invaded Champagne and seized Vitry-le-François. Over a thousand residents were killed when the town's church was set ablaze.
The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site, Vitry-en-Perthois, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's Italian War of 1542–46. The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by . The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name.
Vitry-le-François is twinned with: