Compiègne

Compiègne, town in Oise department, France. Compiègne is an elegant town on the River Oise, settled since Roman times and centred around a royal château (now an art gallery). It was the country seat of kings from the Merovingian rulers until Napoleon III because of its proximity to the excellent hunting of the Forest of Compiègne. It was here in 1430 that Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians.

Just north of Compiègne in 1918, at a site now known as the Clairière de l'Armistice, Marshal Ferdinand Foch signed the armistice that brought World War I to an end. The same venue was used by Hitler on June 22, 1940, for the signing of the humiliating French surrender, after the town had been heavily bombed by the Germans throughout June 1940. Later in World War II, between 1941 and 1944, Royallieu was used as a detention camp for over 40,000 deportees. Notable buildings in Compiègne include the Abbey of St Corneille, the 13th-century church of St Antoine and the church of St Jacques. Population 41,700 (2005 estimate).