Soissons

Geography

Soissons is crossed by the Aisne. The surrounding area is called the Soissonnais.

History

The city of the Suessiones

Soissons owes its name in Suessions (in lat. Suessiones ), people belgo- Gallic mentioned by César in the War of Gaules. The original Gallic city of Noviodunum was famous Augusta Suessionum under the emperor Auguste.

The Middle Ages

At the time mérovingienne, the city becomes the first capital of the kingdom of the Francs after the victory (in 486 after J.C.) of Clovis over the Roman general Syagrius. It is the time of the famous episode of the Vase of Soissons.

Soissons became again capital of the Neustrie under the reign of Clotaire Ier and its area was the theater of the confrontations opposing the Neustrie to the Austrasie. In 752, Pépin the Brief there was proclaimed king and crowned by saint Boniface. In 768, to died of Pip the Brief, Carloman goes up on the throne of the Franc kingdom divided with his/her Charles brother (future Charlemagne) who is, as for him, proclaimed with Noyon.

The city knows prosperity with 12th and 13th centuries, which left many Gothic buildings.

Martyrdom city of the First World War

Soissons is one of the martyrdoms cities of the First World War. Initially taken at the end of August 1914 by the German army, it is recovered by the French in September at the conclusion of the Bataille of the Marne. The General Louis de Grandmaison, dies there of a glare of shell in the head. The face is stabilized in the north of the city, which is amply bombarded until in 1917. Henri Barbusse written there Fire . During the Mutinies of 1917, the city sees ravelling soldiers refusing to go up to the face after the disastrous offensive of the Chemin of the Ladies. Soissons is taken once again in spring 1918 at the time of the German offensive , before being definitively released during the summer.

Second world war

Deportations

During the Occupation during the Second world war, the Jewish community of Soissons is off-set at the time of two great raids: the first, the July 17th 1942, is operated by the police force soissonnaise, at the same time as the Rafle of Vél d' Hiv, while Gestapo carries out the second the January 4th 1944.

Resistance to Soissons

After the Call of June 18th of the General de Gaulle, resistance networks are reflected in place with Soissons, from June to August 1940. They were resistant " first heure". The network " Française" truth; was affiliated with that of Paris (itself attached to the network " Museum of Homme" or " Boris Vildé").

Structures to help and hide the escaped prisoners were installation (false paper, false ration cards, dies for London etc).

But the resistant ones were betrayed. An young man, Belgian eighteen year old, Jacques D. contacted Daniel Douay. He said himself tracked and continued (actually, he worked for the Gestapo). To put itself at the shelter, he became secretary of the Count de Launoy, with Paris (network chapeautant that of Soissons). There, it succeeds in finding all the information desired.

The November 25th 1941, the Gestapo organized raids with Paris, Blois and Soissons. The resistant ones are imprisoned to Fresnes. Tortured, they will not speak. The April 15th 1942 opens the first lawsuit of a resistance network. The verdict falls: death sentence! The October 23rd 1942, ordering it Coqueugniot, the Count de Launay, Pierre Stumm of Paris, Daniel Douay, Jean Vogel, Emile Louys are shot with the Balard barracks. The December 5th 1942, in the fortress of Brandebourg, the Descamps captain is decapitated like Maurice Moreau in 1943. Other Soissonnais will perish in concentration camp: Aime Dufour, Gilbert Jordana, Eugene Delhaye, Andre Meurghe, Ludovic Pluche and Louis Leseigneur. The town of Soissons wanted to honor this network by giving its name to a street.

August 1944: release of Soissons

The August 23rd 1944, about midnight, of the men of the maquis of the " group; Aurèle" ordered by Lucien Berger are guided by Mrs Delhaye and Mrs Douay (of which husbands, resistant of the " Network Française" Truth; ) worms of the masks of weapons were shot. An arsenal of rifles, machine-guns, grenades, a mortar and a tank dismounted (what to equip thousand men) were put in sure place as of July 1940 by the resistant ones of the " first heure" (inter alia, the Descamps captain, Sirs Meurghe, Moreau, Vogel all stopped in 1941 and carried out) in the Zieckel factory where Mr. Delhaye was engineer, with the cemetery of the city, in careers, etc… The weapons are charged on tipcarts covered with manure. Two farmers of the area undertake to insert them in the city to lead them to Pasly. Arrived place of the Republic, they are challenged by a German patrol. Fortunately, after checking of the identity papers, they let them pass. A few days afterwards, Soissons will be released.

Release, resistance plays a great part and " Roberte" (name of resistance of Raymonde Fiolet) is mayor of Soissons during a few months.

Heraldic

Blasonnement of the traditional weapons of the town of Soissons:

“Of azure, with a flower of money lily,” with for currency: “Fidelis aduror amore. ” (Faithful, I burn love)
as brought back by Malta-Brown, in illustrated France (1882).

Economy

Industry has been, especially for these last years, in lose speed. The services are prevalent there. Industrial parks try to be installed there, as well as a policy of desfiscalisation (the companies of less than one year of existence do not pay local taxes), but these measurements do not seem to gain awaited success.

The economy is directed also enough towards agriculture (the sugar beet mainly).

Following work of the Committee of Economic development of Soissonnais, CIADT of the May 18th 2000 validates the creation and the financing of a center of resource Free software in Soissons. Association Soissons Informatique Free is created in January 2001 to carry the project. The Soissonnais Country, created in May 2005, registered to him also the Free software like identity of the territory. Soissons is also the city of the Trophies of Free and soon of the Festival of the Free one. The AFUL (French-speaking Association of the Users of Linux) domiciled in Soissons.

Soissons has a Consular Center of the Chamber of commerce and industry of Aisne with 2, rue Quinette.

Administration

Former mayors

Demographic trends

Graph of the evolution of the population 1794-1999

Famous characters

Holy List of the counts de Soissons
Radegonde (520 - 587), girl of the king of Thuringe whose father was assassinated by the uncle and this last by Clotaire, king de Soissons. Clotaire subjugated by the beauty of Radegonde held it captive in the area. It had decided to marry it. She flees and was taken again and led to Soissons where she had to marry Clotaire, widower of the Ingonde queen. Despaired, Radegonde was devoted to the poor of Soissons. It was the bishop Saint Medard, who, in 555, succeeds in convincing his barbarian of husband to let it embrace the diaconate. Radegonde founded the abbey of Holy-Cross located close to Poitiers. She lived there as a simple nun, admired the her similar ones. The gate of the church of Missy-on-Aisne tells with its manner the legend of holy Radegonde.
Gauthier de Coincy, born with Coincy in 1178, died in Soissons in 1236. One of the very first and the largest poets of the French language (" Miracles of Our-Dame")
Quinquet (1708 - 1770), pharmacist. Inventor of the lamp " with double current of air" , known as lamp in Quinquet.
Alexandre Gonsse de Rougeville (1761 - 1814), known as the knight of House-Red, there Maria and resided some time at it.
Nicolas Quinette (1762 - 1821), notary, deputy with the legislative Parliament then with the Convention where he voted the death of Louis XVI; member of the the Council of the Five hundred; Minister of Interior Department (1799); to advise State and member of the provisional government (1815). The Restauration exiled it like regicide.
Amédée Piette (1808 - 1883), writer
Jean Dours (1809 - 1877), bishop of Soissons
Jean Charles Maurice Grémion (1817 - 1883), officer
Dawn Clement (1945 -), actress

Tourist monuments and places

Soissons is classified town of art and history.

the Abbey of Saint-Jean-of-Vines
the cathedral Saint-Gervais-and-Saint-Protais
CEPMR - Center of study of the Roman murals (CNRS)
the abbey Saint-Leger
the old abbey Saint M3edard's Day
the public garden Saint-Pierre
the Arsenal: exposures of contemporary art
the Town hall
the cynodrome (race of greyhounds)

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