Ardennes (department)

Ardennes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Mézières as is capital. It was formed with the former province of Champagne, the principalities of Sedan and Argonne and other territories.^[4]

It was divided in six districts: Charleville, Grandpré, Rethel, Rocroi, Sedan and Vouziers.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into five arrondissements: Mézières, Rethel, Rocroi, Sedan and Vouziers.^[4]

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissements of Rocroi and Sedan were eliminated but in 1942 Sedan was made again an arrondissement.^[4]

The communes of Charleville and Mézières are joined to form the new commune of Charleville-Mézières; it was named the capital of the department.

Ardennes is part of the Grand Est region. It has an area of 5,229.4 km² (2,019 sq mi).^[2]

The department borders with Belgium (Namur and Luxembourg provinces) and 3 other departments in 2 regions:

• Hauts-de-France region
  • Aisne (west)
• Grand Est region
  • Marne (south)
  • Meuse (east)

The highest point of the department is Croix-Scaille (46°16′22″N 04°50′31″E / 46.27278°N 4.84194°E / 46.27278; 4.84194 (La Croix-Scaille)) with an altitude of 500–505 m (1,640–1,657 ft) high.;^[5] it is found between the French commune of Hautes-Rivières and the Belgian commune of Gedinne.

The lowest point is on the Aisne river in Brienne-sur-Aisne, 57 m (187 ft) high.

Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Meuse, in the north, and the Aisne, in the south.

Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Charleville-Mézières is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".^[6]

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Charleville-Mézières is 703.6 mm (27.7 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is November with 86.4 mm (3.4 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is June with an average of 38.1 mm (1.5 in).

The average temperature for the year in Charleville-Mézières is 9.9 °C (49.8 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 18.1 °C (64.6 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 2.3 °C (36.1 °F).

Ardennes is managed by the Departmental Council of Ardennes in Charleville-Mézières. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

Administrative divisions

There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 19 cantons and 452 communes (municipalities) in Ardennes.^[7]

The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Ardennes department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:^[10]

The inhabitants of the Ardennes department are known, in French, as Ardennais (women: Ardennaises),^[11]

Ardennes had a population, in 2014, of 279,715,^[3] for a population density of 53.5 inhabitants/km². The arrondissement of Charleville-Mézières, with 160,939 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.^[8]

Evolution of the population in the Ardennes

The main communes in the department are:^[8]

• 
  Charleville-Mézières on the Meuse.
• 
  Sedan, the second largest urban area of Ardennes.
• 
  Rethel, the third largest city of Ardennes.
• 
  Saint-Maurille church, Vouziers

• Arrondissements of the Ardennes department
• Communes of the Ardennes department

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ardennes (department).

• General Council website (in French)
• Prefecture website (in French)
• Voie verte Trans-Ardennes