Chaumont, Haute-Marne

Chaumont
Prefecture and commune
The Chaumont viaduct
Coat of arms
Location of Chaumont
Chaumont Chaumont
Coordinates: 48°06′42″N 5°08′20″E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Haute-Marne
Arrondissement	Chaumont
Canton	Chaumont-1, 2 and 3
Intercommunality	CA Chaumont
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christine Guillemy
Area 1	55.26 km2 (21.34 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	21,699
• Density	390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	52121 /52000
Elevation	247–416 m (810–1,365 ft) (avg. 314 m or 1,030 ft)
Website	ville-chaumont.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Chaumont, also known Chaumont-en-Bassigny (French pronunciation: [ʃomɔ̃ ɑ̃ basiɲi]), is a commune of France, and the prefecture of the Haute-Marne department. As of 2019, it has a population of 21,847.

The city stands on the river Marne and is situated on the Paris-Est–Mulhouse-Ville railway, which runs over a 52 m (171 ft) tall and 600 m (2,000 ft) long viaduct built in 1856. Chaumont station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Dijon, Mulhouse and regional destinations.

History

Town hall

Historically, Chaumont was the seat of the Counts of Bassigny and later of Champagne, receiving a charter in 1190. Much later, it was the venue of an offensive treaty against Napoleon I signed by the United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia, and Russia in 1814, by which they agreed to continue war until France returned to its 1792 boundaries.

Chaumont was bombed in 1940 and 1944 during World War II. From 1951 to 1967, the United States Air Force under NATO operated the Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base on the outskirts of the city.

Notable buildings

• The basilica church of St-Jean-Baptiste dates from the 13th century, the choir and lateral chapels belonging to the 15th and 16th. In the interior the sculptured triforium (15th century), the spiral staircase in the transept and a Holy Sepulchre are of interest.
• The Tour Hautefeuille (a keep of the 11th century) is the principal relic of a château of the counts of Champagne
• In the Square Philippe-Lebon stands a statue of the engineer Philippe Lebon (1767–1804), born in Haute-Marne. The bronze statue was melted down during the second world war and replaced by a stone copy.
• Château du Val des Écoliers, former monastery that served as the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force in 1917–1918

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 5,253 —     1800 6,188 +2.37% 1806 6,102 −0.23% 1821 5,487 −0.71% 1831 5,965 +0.84% 1836 6,318 +1.16% 1841 6,347 +0.09% 1846 6,243 −0.33% 1851 6,374 +0.42% 1856 9,263 +7.76% 1861 7,673 −3.70% 1866 8,285 +1.55% 1872 8,500 +0.43% 1876 9,226 +2.07% 1881 12,160 +5.68% 1886 12,852 +1.11% 1891 13,280 +0.66% 1896 13,428 +0.22%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 14,622 +1.72% 1906 14,872 +0.34% 1911 14,870 −0.00% 1921 16,210 +0.87% 1926 15,178 −1.31% 1931 15,941 +0.99% 1936 18,069 +2.54% 1946 16,851 −0.70% 1954 19,346 +1.74% 1962 21,717 +1.46% 1968 25,779 +2.90% 1975 27,226 +0.78% 1982 27,554 +0.17% 1990 27,041 −0.23% 1999 25,996 −0.44% 2007 24,321 −0.83% 2012 22,678 −1.39% 2017 21,945 −0.65%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Notable people

• Edmé Bouchardon (1698–1762), sculptor
• Luc Chatel (born 1964), politician
• Lucie Décosse (born 1981), judo player
• Denis Decrès (1761–1820), Minister of the French Navy
• André Godard (1881–1965), architect and archaeologist
• Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey (1837–1916), archaeologist, topographer and orientalist
• Jean Masson (1907–1964), politician
• Louise Michel (1830–1905), anarchist
• Christian Pineau (1904–1995), politician
• Nicole Rieu (born 1949), singer and director
• Christian J. Robin (born 1943), orientalist and scholar

Sport

The Chaumont Volley-Ball 52, is a volleyball club playing in Pro A (volleyball), created in 1996. The club became champion of France in Ligue A during the 2016–2017 season. She twice finished second in 2017-2018 and 2018–2019 seasons. On 2 April 2017, for the first time in its history, the CVB52 became a finalist in the 2016–17 CEV Challenge Cup. On 7 October 2017 in Mulhouse, the CVB52HM won a second title by becoming champion of the French Supercup. The club also participated in the CEV Champions League and CEV Cup.

The Chaumont FC, is a football club, created in 1957. Which spent 16 seasons in the second division (Ligue 2) under the name of E.C.A.C. She finished second in the 1971 season.

ECAC Rugby Chaumont, created in 1968. Playing in the 1st Grand-Est Series for the 2018–2019 season. The club finished second in the Burgundy Championship 2nd series 2018 and second in the Grand-Est Championship 2nd series 2019.

The Chaumont Handball 52 or ECAC Chaumont Handball, created in 1963. Playing in the National 2 women's season since 2018–2019.

ECAC Basket Chaumont, created in 1946. Playing in Regional Championship 2.

The Phénix de Chaumont, is an American football club playing in the Grand-Est Regional Challenge, finalist of the 2018 Grand-Est Regional Challenge championship.

La Chaumontaise Gymnastique, is a gymnastics club founded in 1883 under the name of "Gymnastics and Shooting Society"; it is also the oldest association in the town of Chaumont.

The Tomb Raiders of Chaumont, is a Roller in-line hockey and hockey club.

The Vélo Club Chaumontais is a cycling club created in 1923. The association is one of the oldest in the city.

Twin towns – sister cities

Chaumont (Haute-Marne) vieille ville

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Chaumont is twinned with:

• Ashton-under-Lyne, England, United Kingdom (1956)
• Ivrea, Italy (1983)
• Bad Nauheim, Germany (1992)
• Owasso, United States (2017)

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Marne department

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Picture of Chaumont Basilica