Aisne


Aisne is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne.

Geography

The department of Aisne is surrounded by the French departments of Nord, Somme, Oise, Ardennes, and Seine-et-Marne and borders Belgium to the northeast. The Aisne River crosses the area from east to west, where it joins the Oise River. The Marne forms part of the southern boundary of the department with the department of Seine-et-Marne. The southern part of the department is the geographical region known as la Brie poilleuse, a drier plateau known for its dairy products and Brie cheese.
According to the 2003 census, the forested area of the department was 123,392 hectares, or 16.6% for an average metropolitan area of 27.4%.
The landscape is dominated by masses of rock which often have steep flanks. These rocks appear all over the region, but the most impressive examples are at Laon and the Chemin des Dames ridge.
The principal cities in Aisne are:
See also: List of the communes of the Aisne department and Brie.

Hydrography

The Scheldt, the Aisne, the Marne, the Ourcq, the Vesle, the Somme, the Oise, and the Serre. In the south of the department, there is the Surmelin, the Verdonnelle, and the Dhuys.
The department is also crossed by numerous canals.

Railways

The county is crossed by three railway lines from Paris: the first two from the Gare du Nord and the third from the Gare de l'Est:
In 1873, the department of Aisne had 10 railway companies with a total length of 382 km.

Climate

There is an average of 500 to 750 mm precipitation annually.
Weather Data for Saint Quentin – Roupy

History

Aisne developed from the ancient settlement of Acinum, from which its name derives. The Battle of the Axona was fought nearby in 57 BC.
Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardy, and Champagne.
Most of the old growth forests in the area were destroyed during battles in World War I. The French offensive against the Chemin des Dames in spring 1917 is sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of the Aisne.

Heraldry

Economy

Agriculture dominates the economy, especially cereal crops. Beet sugar is one of the most important industrial crops of the area. Silk, cotton, and wool weaving flourish in Saint-Quentin and other towns. Saint-Gobain is known for its production of mirrors, which started in the 17th century. Guise is the agricultural centre of the northern area of Aisne.

Politics

The department is a mixture of rural areas and working-class towns. As a place of residence for some families working in Paris or Île-de-France, Aisne was for many years a department rather oriented to the left, with a majority on the General Council on the left since 1998, and the same for the majority of parliamentary seats representing the department in the National Assembly.
The smaller cities of the northern department such as Guise, Hirson, Vervins and the railway city of Tergnier are sources of support for left-wing parties.
Four political groups are represented in the General Council, all of them are composed of multiple political parties. The President of the General Council is the Liberal Nicolas Fricoteaux.
In the second round of the French presidential elections of 2017 Aisne was one of only two departments in which the candidate of the Front National, Marine Le Pen, received a majority of the votes cast: 52.91%.

Representatives in the National Assembly

Administration

Aisne is divided into five arrondissements and 21 cantons. The department has 804 communes and five parliamentary constituencies.

Demography

The department of Aisne includes one medium-sized city and three small cities to which may be added the conglomeration formed by Chauny and Tergnier. There are many other agglomerations of an urban character because Aisne has been densely populated since before the 19th century. The villages are numerous and rather small.
Aisne lost some of its population in the second half of the 19th century, due to the rural exodus but this was limited by the industrial development in the north of the department.
Greatly affected by the First World War, the department has seen its population grow slightly to the same level as in 1900. For thirty years, the industrial decline has caused stagnation of the population. Only the south-west of the department, close to the Paris conurbation, has seen much population growth.
Population development since 1791:

Tourism

The boat tours relates in part to the Canal de Saint-Quentin with its electric towage and two tunnels.
In 2007, a large infrastructure for tourist accommodation, the Center Parcs, was built on the Lake of Ailette, close to many tourist attractions such as the Cathedral of Laon, the Chemin des Dames and the Château de Coucy.
Among the many places to explore are:
; Monuments
; Cathedrals
; Churches and abbeys
; War memorials of the First World War
; Musées
During World War I a number of significant architectural monuments were destroyed. Of the buildings that survived, the medieval churches in Laon, Braine, and Urcel are the most significant. The ruined castle of La Ferté-Milon escaped further damage during the war. Of the castles that survived, some were used as prisons, such as the Castle of Vadancourt, near Saint-Quentin.
It is thought that the Aisne River was the birthplace of the trench warfare seen in the First World War. The British Expeditionary Force had initial early successes driving the Germans back to the Aisne River; the German troops dug in and managed to hold out against both British and French attacks. This German entrenchment was to mould the entire face of World War One as both sides began digging in and fortifying their positions. Thus began the stalemate that became a significant feature of the First World War.

Languages

This linguistic variance probably explains the difficulty for residents south of Aisne to identify themselves as belonging to the Picardy region.

Gastronomy

In 2008, the department had 4.1% of second homes. This table shows the main communes of Aisne that have second homes which occasionally exceed 10% of total housing.
TownMunicipal PopulationNumber of LodgingsSecondary Lodgings%age Secondary Lodgings
Chamouille''''
Neuville-sur-Ailette''''
Berny-Rivière''''
Ressons-le-Long''''