La Ferté-sous-Jouarre

La Ferté-sous-Jouarre
Town hall
Coat of arms
La Ferté-sous-Jouarre
Location within Île-de-France region La Ferté-sous-Jouarre
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Seine-et-Marne
Arrondissement	Meaux
Canton	La Ferté-sous-Jouarre
Intercommunality	Pays Fertois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Marie Richard
Area1	10.06 km2 (3.88 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	9,055
• Density	900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	77183 / 77260
Elevation	50–181 m (164–594 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

La Ferté-sous-Jouarre is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne département in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.

It is located at a crossing point over the River Marne between Meaux and Château-Thierry.

History

This area of France has frequently been a site of warfare. In 1819, British naval officer Norwich Duff (1792–1862), Edinburgh born, recorded a note on La Ferté. The Bourbon Restoration had apparently reduced the Napoleonic road building boom, as evidenced by unused mile stones. Construction projects had rebuilt some facilities destroyed in the war with Britain.

...left Meaux a little before seven and after passing through a fine country for five leagues, arrived at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, a neat little town on the banks of the [Rivers] Marne and Morin, where we breakfasted. This town supplies the greatest part of France with mile stones, which are considered the finest in Europe. The banks of the river and each side of the road were covered with them as we passed...The road from La Ferté to Chateau Thiéry (seven leagues) is very hilly but the scenery very fine. [We] passed three bridges over the Marne now rebuilt that were blown up on the advance of the Allies in 1813.

The artist Émile Bayard was born in this town (1837).

The area was invaded and occupied by the Germans from the beginning of the Great War, which led to considerable damage and casualties. After the war, on 14 August 1921, the town of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre was awarded the War Cross with the following citation:

"Occupée dès le début de la guerre, La Ferté a vu sa population gravement molestée par les Allemands. La Ferté a été l'objet, en 1914 et en 1918, de violents bombardements qui ont détruit nombre de ses maisons. Malgré ses deuils, La Ferté a donné un bel exemple de sang-froid et d'endurance." (English: "La Ferté was occupied from the very beginning of World War I and its population was severely manhandled by the Germans. La Ferté was submitted in 1914 and 1918 to violent shellings that destroyed several houses. In spite of its bereavements, La Ferté gave a good example of bravery and endurance.")

On the south-western edge of the town, on the south bank of the River Marne, is the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial, commemorating more than 3000 British soldiers with no known grave. They died in fighting in the area against the Germans.

Demographics

Inhabitants of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre are called Fertois.

Notable residents

• Antoine of Navarre (1518–1562), King of Navarre, Father Henri IV
• Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), French Cardinal
• Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), member of the French court
• Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon (1818–1881), French sculptor & photography pioneer
• Henri Pouctal (1860–1922), early French silent film director
• Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), Irish avant-garde writer, dramatist, and poet

Twin towns

• Zuffenhausen-Stuttgart, Germany

See also

• Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department

References

• INSEE

External links

• 1999 Land Use, from IAURIF (Institute for Urban Planning and Development of the Paris-Île-de-France région) (English)
• French Ministry of Culture list for La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (French)
• Map of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre on Michelin (English)