Haute-Marne

Haute-Marne (French pronunciation: [ot maʁn] (listen); English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.[3]

Haute-Marne
Department of France
Prefecture building in Chaumont
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Haute-Marne in France
Coordinates: 48°05′N 05°15′E
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
PrefectureChaumont
SubprefecturesLangres
Saint-Dizier
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilNicolas Lacroix[1] (LR)
Area
1
 • Total6,211 km2 (2,398 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2019)[2]
 • Total172,512
 • Rank94th
 • Density28/km2 (72/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number52
Arrondissements3
Cantons17
Communes426
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km².

History

Haute-Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Champagne, Burgundy, Lorraine and Franche-Comté.[4]

In March 1814 the departmental prefecture, Chaumont, was the unwitting witness to the end of the First Empire. On 1 March, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom and Austria signed an accord forbidding any individual peace deal with Napoleon I, and to fight until his final defeat.

During World War II, Haute-Marne was partitioned under German occupation. The canal which runs from the Marne to the Saône served as a border, dividing the department into east and west. The east was a "reserved zone", intended for the creation of a new German (Ripuarian) state, whereas to the west would be the traditional "occupied zone". Haute-Marne was finally liberated by the Allies, in the form of the division of General Leclerc, between August and September 1944.

Geography

Haute-Marne is part of the region of Grand Est and is surrounded by the departments of Meuse, Vosges, Haute-Saône, Côte-d'Or, Aube, and Marne.

The highest mountain is Haut-du-Sac, in the Langres Plateau, in the southwest of the department, which rises to a height of 516 m (1,693 feet). The lowest points at 117m are found on the plains of Perthois and Der.[4]

The department is named after the river Marne, whose source is near Langres. This river covers 120 kilometres within the department. The department is to the east of the Parisian basin, and is characterised by a concentric sequence of cliff faces of varying geological origin, oriented northeast–southwest.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Saint-Dizier; the prefecture Chaumont is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:[3]

Commune Population (2019)
Saint-Dizier 22,928
Chaumont 21,847
Langres 7,668
Nogent 3,591
Joinville 3,015

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801226,655—    
1821268,208+0.85%
1851268,208+0.00%
1861258,311−0.38%
1872251,026−0.26%
1881254,722+0.16%
1891243,322−0.46%
1901226,367−0.72%
1911214,621−0.53%
1921198,777−0.76%
1931189,726−0.46%
1936188,429−0.14%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1946181,792−0.36%
1954197,153+1.02%
1962208,447+0.70%
1968214,304+0.46%
1975212,304−0.13%
1982210,670−0.11%
1990204,067−0.40%
1999194,873−0.51%
2006186,652−0.61%
2011182,375−0.46%
2016178,084−0.48%
source:[5][6]

Tourism

The Haute-Marne department is not a famous department but this peaceful territory has numerous interesting places to present. Indeed, the department was one of the most powerful in French history thanks to metallurgy economy and was a land of confrontations along history.

Thus, among other examples, the French Wars of Religion (from 1562 to 1598) began with the Massacre of Vassy in the north of the Haute-Marne department. Following this event, open military conflicts across France Kingdom began. The Edict of Nantes is the consequence of this period.

The fortified town of Langres, famous for Denis Diderot author of the Encyclopédie, the Renaissance castle of Joinville, the Lake Der-Chantecoq (one of the biggest artificial lake in Europe), the Chateau de Cirey where Voltaire lived for a while in with Émilie du Châtelet and the village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises where Charles De Gaulle lived until his death are all major attractions.

Haute-Marne is also well known for some famous French great men and women as:

  • Louise Michel
  • Camille Flammarion and his brother Ernest Flammarion
  • Goncourt brothers most famous all around the world with the Prix Goncourt, literature prize given by the académie Goncourt for "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"
  • Albin Michel
  • View from the walls of Langres
  • Charles de Gaulle's private residence in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
  • Frankish sword discovered in Saint-Dizier
  • Joinville
  • Château of Cirey-sur-Blaise

Politics

Charles de Gaulle was a longtime resident of the department, in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, and died there on 9 November 1970, at the age of 79.

The president of the Departmental Council is Nicolas Lacroix, elected in 2017.

Presidential elections 2nd round
ElectionWinning CandidateParty%2nd Place CandidateParty%
2022 Emmanuel Macron LREM 43.04 Marine Le Pen RN 56.96
2017[7] Emmanuel Macron LREM 50.48 Marine Le Pen FN 49.52
2012 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 54.43 François Hollande PS 45.57
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 59.14 Ségolène Royal PS 40.86
2002[7] Jacques Chirac RPR 76.17 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 23.83
1995[8] Jacques Chirac RPR 52.17 Lionel Jospin PS 47.83

Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMember[9]Party
Haute-Marne's 1st constituency Sylvain Templier La République En Marche!
Haute-Marne's 2nd constituency François Cornut-Gentille The Republicans

See also
  • Arrondissements of the Haute-Marne department
  • Cantons of the Haute-Marne department
  • Communes of the Haute-Marne department

References
  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
  3. Populations légales 2019: 52 Haute-Marne, INSEE
  4. Haute-Marne, Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia. Research Machines plc. September 8, 2005. accessed on October 19, 2006.
  5. "Historique de la Haute-Marne". Le SPLAF.
  6. "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
  7. l'Intérieur, Ministère de. "Présidentielles". interieur.gouv.fr.
  8. "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle de 1995 par département - Politiquemania".
  9. Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
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