1. History

2. Main sights
    Museums  Churches 

3. Climate

4. Population

5. Economy

6. Transport

7. Sport

8. In popular culture

9. Notable people

10. Twin towns

11. See also

12. References

13. Bibliography

14. External links

Troyes ({{IPA-fr|tʁwa}}) is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to the Orient Forest Regional Natural Park. Many half-timbered houses (mainly of the 16th century) survive in the old town. Troyes has been in existence since the Roman era, as Augustobona Tricassium, which stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa.

History

For the ecclesiastical history, see bishopric of Troyes

The geographical location of Celtic grave-mounts around Troyes and the finding of Celtic artifacts in the City grounds suggest that Troyes as a settlement may originate from the Celts as early as 600 BC.^[1]

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;^[2] other Roman routes from Troyes led to Poitiers, Autun and Orléans.^[3] It was the civitas of the Tricasses,^[4] 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.

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^[5] – though it was several centuries before it gained importance as a medieval centre of commerce.

The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains also called The Battle of Troyes was fought nearby in 451 AD, between the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I against Attila.

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-water mark of Plantagenet hegemony in France was reversed when the Dauphin, afterwards Charles VII, and Joan of Arc recovered the town of Troyes in 1429.

In medieval times Troyes was an important international trade centre, centreing on the Troyes Fair. The name troy weight for gold derives from the standard of measurement that evolved there.^[6]

The great fire of 1524 destroyed much of the medieval city, in spite of the city's numerous canals.

Main sights

• Many half-timbered houses (mainly of the 16th century) survive in the old town
• Hôtels Particuliers (palaces) of the old town
• 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.

Museums

• Museum of Modern Art (Musée d'Art Moderne)
• Maison de l'outil et de la pensée ouvrière
• Vauluisant Museum :
  • Historical museum of Troyes and Champagne-Ardenne
  • Museum of hosiery
• Hôtel-Dieu-Lecomte apothecary
• Saint-Loup Museum (Museum of fine arts)
• Di Marco Museum (Open from 1 April to 1 October, each year)

Churches

Not having suffered from the last wars, Troyes has a high density of old religious buildings grouped close to the city centre. They include:

• Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral
• Saint-Nizier Church, in Gothic and Renaissance style, with remarkable sculptures. Classified Monument Historique ( French equivalence) in 1840.
• the Gothic Saint-Urbain Basilica (thirteenth century), with a roofing covered by polished tiles. Proclaimed basilica in 1964, it was built by Jacques Pantaléon, elected pope in 1261, under the name of Urbain IV, on grounds where the workshop of his father was. Classified Monument Historique in 1840.
• Sainte-Madeleine Church. Very early Gothic, with east end rebuilt around 1500. Remarkably elaborate stone rood screen of 1508-17 in Flamboyant Gothic style, sculpted by Jean Gailde, with a statue of Saint Martha. Fine Renaissance stained glass. Saint Jean district. Classified Monument historique in 1840.
• the Saint-Jean Church, with a Renaissance chancel, tabernacle of the high altar by Giraudon. On the portal, coat of arms of Charles IX. Classified Monument Historique in 1840.
• the Gothic Saint-Nicolas Church, dating to the beginning of the sixteenth century, with a calvary chapel shaped rostrum is reached by a monumental staircase. On the south portal, two sculptures by François Gentil: David and Isaiah.
• Saint-Pantaléon Church, with numerous statuary from the sixteenth century.
• Saint Remy Church. It includes a crooked spire, from a height of {{convert|60|m|2|abbr=on}}, its external clock with only one hand, a sundial with the Latin lettering sicut umbra dies nostri super terram ("our days on earth pass like the shade").
• church of Saint-Martin-ès-Vignes. It has stained glass windows of the seventeenth century by the local master-verrier Linard Gontier.

Several Troyes churches have sculpture by The Maitre de Chaource.

Climate

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are called Troyens.

Economy

Troyes is home to the Lacoste company production headquarters, a popular clothing brand. It is also home of prize-winning chocolatier Pascal Caffet.^[10]

Transport

The train station Gare de Troyes offers connections to Paris, Dijon, Mulhouse and several regional destinations. Troyes is at the junction of the motorways A5 (Paris – Troyes – Langres) and A26 (Calais – Reims – Troyes). Troyes – Barberey Airport is a small regional airport.

Sport

Troyes is the home of association football club Troyes AC, or ESTAC. ESTAC now plays in Domino's Ligue 2.

In popular culture

• Troyes (2010) is a board game named after the city, published by Pearl Games, UPlay.it edizioni, and Z-Man Games.^[11][12]
• Chapter 28 of James Rollins' sixth Sigma Force novel, The Doomsday Key (2009), is named after Troyes, France, as the city plays an important role in the plot.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Notable people

• Jean-Marie Bigard, French stand-up comedian, writer, and director
• Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, (1620–1700) a founder of Montreal
• Gilles Buck (1935–2010) French sailor who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
• Émile Coué (1857–1926) pharmacist, hypnotist, and creator of La méthode Coué ("Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better")
• Hughes de Payens (1070–1136), Knight of the First Crusade and founder of the Knights Templar
• Chrétien de Troyes, 12th-century trouvère
• François Girardon (1628–1715), sculptor
• Linard Gonthier (1565–after 1642), glass painter
• François-Pierre Goy (born 1960), musicologist
• Édouard Herriot (1872–1957), Radical politician of the Third Republic, three-time Prime Minister of France
• Charles Ladmiral (born 1970), film editor
• André Lefèvre (1717–1768), contributor to the Encyclopédie
• Maurice Marinot (1882–1960), glass artist, painter
• Pierre Mignard (1610–1695), painter
• Jacques Pantaléon, (c. 1195–1264), Pope Urban IV
• Patroclus of Troyes (3rd century), martyr
• Pierre Pithou (1539–1596), Calvinist jurisconsult and scholar, co-editor of the Satire Ménippée
• Rashi (1040–1105), biblical and Talmudic commentator
• Rabbeinu Tam (1100-1171), rabbi and Rashi's grandson
• Béatrice Saubin (1959–2007), first foreign national to be sentenced to death for drug smuggling in Malaysia
• Djibril Sidibé, footballer
• Nicolas Siret (1663–1754), composer
• Abdou Sissoko footballer
• Jean Tirole, Nobel Award in Economics
• Aldebrandin of Siena physician

Twin towns

Troyes is twinned with:

• Alkmaar, Netherlands
• Chesterfield, England^[13][14]
• Tournai, Belgium
• Darmstadt, Germany, since 1958^[15]
• Zielona Góra, Poland, since 1970^[16]
• Brescia, Italy, since 2016

See also

• Communes of the Aube department
• Count of Troyes
• Order of the Knights Templar
• Troy weight#Etymology
• University of Technology of Troyes

References

Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of the history of Troyes

External links

• {{Catholic|wstitle=Troyes}}
• {{Fr icon}}Troyes city council website

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