Troyes

French commune


caption = "Rue Champeaux" in Troyes.


image_flag_size = 85px
image_coat_of_arms = Blason Troyes.pngimage_coat_of_arms_size = 120px
flag_

Coat_of_arms_

nomcommune=Troyes
région=Champagne-Ardenne
département=Aube
("préfecture")
arrondissement=Troyes
canton=Chief town of 7 cantons
insee=10387
cp=10000
maire=François Baroin
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Troyes
longitude=4.07917
latitude=48.2997
alt moy=118 m
alt mini=
alt maxi=
hectares=1,320
km²=13.20
sans=60,958
date-sans=1999
dens=4,618
date-dens=1999

Troyes (IPA2|tʁwa) is a "commune", the "préfecture" (capital) of the northeastern Aube "département" in France and is located on the Seine river. It is around 150 km south-east of Paris.

History

:"For the ecclesiastical history, see bishopric of Troyes"Troyes has been in existence since the Roman era, as Augustobona Tricassium, which stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa which led north to Reims and south to Langres and eventually to Milan; [Traces of the Roman paving lie 3 m. below the rue de la Ciré.( [http://vieuxtroyes.free.fr/t/balada.htm "Balades dans l'histoire du vieux Troyes"] )] other Roman routes from Troyes led to Poitiers, Autun and Orléans. [ [http://icarus.umkc.edu/sandbox/perseus/pecs/page.516.a.php "Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites"] ] It was the "civitas" of the Tricasses, [Ptolemy, "Geography" 8.13, mentions the Tricasses and their city Augustobona.] who had been separated by Augustus from the Senones. Of the Gallo-Roman city of the early Empire, some scattered remains have been found, but no public monuments, other than traces of an aqueduct. By the Late Empire the settlement was reduced in extent, and referred to as Tricassium or Tricassae, the origin of French Troyes ("three").

The city was the seat of a bishop from the fourth century — the legend of its bishop Lupus (Loup)), who saved the city from Attila by offering himself as hostage is hagiographic rather than historical [Attwater, Donald. "The Penguin Dictionary of Saints", (1945) Reprint: 1981, p. 223.] — though it was several centuries before it gained importance as a medieval centre of commerce.

In the early cathedral on the present site, Louis the Stammerer in 878 received at Troyes the imperial crown from the hands of Pope John VIII. At the end of the ninth century, following depredations to the city by Normans, the counts of Champagne chose Troyes as their capital; it remained the capital of the Province of Champagne until the Revolution. The Abbey of Saint-Loup developed a renowned library and scriptorium. During the Middle Ages, it was an important trading town, and gave its name to troy weight. The Champagne cloth fairs and the revival of long-distance trade and new extension of coinage and credit were the real engines that drove the medieval economy of Troyes.

In 1285, when Philip the Fair united Champagne to the royal domain, the town kept a number of its traditional privileges. John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and ally of the English, aimed in 1417 at making Troyes the capital of France, and he came to an understanding with Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles VI of France, that a court, council, and parlement with comptroller's offices should be established at Troyes. It was at Troyes, then in the hands of the Burgundians, that on 21 May, 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed by which Henry V of England was betrothed to Catherine, daughter of Charles VI, and by terms of which he was to succeed Charles, to the detriment of the Dauphin. The high watermark of Plantagenet hegemony in France was reversed when the Dauphin, afterwards Charles VII, and Joan of Arc recovered the town of Troyes in 1429. The great fire of 1524 destroyed much of the medieval city, in spite of the city's numerous canals.

Economy

Troyes is home to the Lacoste company production headquarters, one of the most popular brands of shoes in the Western World.

Main sights

The Hôtel de Ville, Place Alexandre Israël, is an urbane example of the "style Louis XIII". On the central "corps de logis" which contains the main reception rooms, its cornice is rhythmically broken forward over paired Corinthian columns which are supported below by strong clustered pilasters. Above the entrance door the statue of Louis XIV was pulled out of its niche and smashed in 1793, during the Reign of Terror at the height of the French Revolution; it was replaced in the nineteenth century with the present "Helmeted Minerva" and the device in its original form, now rare to see "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, ou la Mort"In the "Salle du Conseil" (Council Chamber] a marble medallion of Louis XIV (1690) by François Girardon, born at Troyes, survived unscathed.

Miscellaneous

Troyes is the home of association football club Troyes AC, or ESTAC. ESTAC operated in the highest division of French football, the Ligue 1 during the 2006-2007 season but were relegated to Ligue 2.

The city center of Troyes is arranged in the shape of a champagne cork.

Troyes is also the home of the world-champion chocolate maker, Pascal Caffet. His creations have won a series of awards, which can be found on his website, http://www.pascal-caffet.com/. Unfortunately , this website is currently only in French.

Births

Troyes was the birthplace of:
* Patroclus of Troyes (3rd century), martyr
* Rashi (1040-1105), biblical and Talmudic commentator
* Hughes de Payens (1070-1136), Knight of the First Crusade and founder of the Knights Templar
* Chrétien de Troyes, 12th-century trouvère
* Jacques Pantaléon, (c. 1195-1264), Pope Urban IV
* Pierre Pithou (1539-1596), Calvinist jurisconsult and scholar, co-editor of the "Satire Ménippée",
* Pierre Mignard (1610-1695), painter,
* François Girardon (1628-1715), sculptor
* Nicolas Siret (1663 – 1754), french composer
* Émile Coué (1857–1926) pharmacist, hypnotist, and creator of "La méthode Coué" ("Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better').
* Édouard Herriot (1872-1957), Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister of France.
* Maurice Marinot (1882-1960), Glass Artist. Painter
* Jean-Marie Bigard, French stand-up comedian, writer and director.
* Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, (1620)-(1700} a founder of Montreal, Canada

Twinning

*flagicon|Netherlands Alkmaar, Netherlands
*flagicon|United Kingdom Chesterfield, United Kingdom
*flagicon|Germany Darmstadt, Germany
*flagicon|Poland Zielona Góra, Poland

ee also

* Count of Troyes
* University of Technology of Troyes

References

External links

*Catholic
* [http://www.ville-troyes.fr/premiere.htm Troyes city council website]
* Pictures of Troyes Cathedral: [http://www.ville-troyes.fr/DECOUVRIR/liblocal/images/240/cathedrale-240x362.jpg] , [http://www.carnets-voyage.com/routes-gourmandes-aube-troyes066-cathedrale-pf.jpg] , [http://alb.thomas.free.fr/orgue/icono/Orgue/Cartes%20postales/troyes.jpg]
* [http://62.161.242.250/view/index.shtml Webcam] of a square in Troyes