Verdun

Verdun, town in north-eastern France, in Meuse Department, on the River Meuse, in Lorraine. Products manufactured here include confectionery, hardware, leather goods, printed materials, furniture, and liqueurs. An 11th-century cathedral is here. The town was known in Roman times as Verodunum, and in 843 the three sons of Louis I, Holy Roman emperor, divided Charlemagne's empire by the Treaty of Verdun. Henry II seized the town for France in 1552, and it was strongly fortified in the 17th century. Verdun became an important defence post facing Germany, but was captured by the Prussians in 1792, and again in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1916, during World War I, the long and extremely bloody Battle of Verdun, between French and German troops, was fought in and around the town. Verdun was also badly damaged in 1944 during World War II by German bombing. Population 19,624 (1999).