Aisne: Department of France

Aisne is a department in the north of France, in the Hauts-de-France region.

It is named after the Aisne river, a tributary of the Oise. Its prefecture is Laon.

Aisne
City hall of Laon, Aisne
Town hall of Laon, Aisne
Flag of Aisne
Coat of arms of Aisne
Location of Aisne in France
Location of Aisne in France
Coordinates: 49°30′N 3°30′E / 49.500°N 3.500°E / 49.500; 3.500
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
Département4 March 1790
PrefectureLaon
SubprefecturesChâteau-Thierry, Saint-Quentin, Soissons, Vervins
Government
 • PresidentNicolas Fricoteaux
Area
 • Total7,369.1 km2 (2,845.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)
 • Total539,783
 • Density73/km2 (190/sq mi)
DemonymAxonais
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-02
Arrondissements5
Cantons21
Communes804
Websitehttp://www.aisne.com

History

Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Laon as its capital. It was formed from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France (Laon, Soissons, Noyon,and Valois), Picardy (Thiérache Vermandois), and Champagne (Brie and Omois).

It was divided into six districts: Château-Thierry, Chauny, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into five arrondissements: Château-Thierry, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Château-Thierry was eliminated but in 1942 it was again made an arrondissement.

Geography

Aisne is part of the Hauts-de-France region. It has an area of 7,369.1 km2 (2,845 sq mi).

The department borders with Belgium and 6 other departments in 3 regions:

The territory of the Aisne department is formed by low plateaus and small hills. The highest point in the department, and in the Hauts-de-France region, is Le Chêne Nain (49°56′59″N 04°13′50″E / 49.94972°N 4.23056°E / 49.94972; 4.23056 (Le Chêne Nain)) in the Ardennes forest on the border with the Ardennes department and near the border with Belgium; it is 295–300 m (968–984 ft) high.

The southern part of the department is the geographical region known as la Brie poilleuse, a drier plateau known for its dairy products and Brie cheese.

Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Scheldt/Escaut, the Aisne, the Marne, the Ourcq, the Vesle, the Somme, the Oise, and the Serre.

Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Laon is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Laon is 571.5 mm (22.5 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is July with 61 mm (2.4 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is March with an average of 30.5 mm (1.2 in).

In Laon, there is an average of 17.8 cm (7.0 in) of snow. The month with the most snow is February, with 6.9 cm (2.7 in) of snow.

The average temperature for the year in Laon is 9.4 °C (48.9 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 17.2 °C (63.0 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 1.7 °C (35.1 °F).

Climate data for Laon, France
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 4
(39)
5
(41)
11
(52)
14
(57)
17
(63)
21
(70)
22
(72)
22
(72)
20
(68)
15
(59)
8
(46)
6
(43)
14
(57)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1
(34)
2
(36)
6
(43)
9
(48)
12
(54)
15
(59)
17
(63)
17
(63)
15
(59)
10
(50)
5
(41)
3
(37)
9
(49)
Average low °C (°F) −1
(30)
−1
(30)
1
(34)
4
(39)
7
(45)
10
(50)
12
(54)
12
(54)
10
(50)
6
(43)
2
(36)
1
(34)
5
(42)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 40
(1.6)
50
(2.0)
20
(0.8)
30
(1.2)
40
(1.6)
30
(1.2)
50
(2.0)
50
(2.0)
50
(2.0)
50
(2.0)
40
(1.6)
50
(2.0)
500
(20)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

Administration

Aisne is managed by the Departmental Council of Aisne in Laon. The department is part of the Hauts-de-France region.

Administrative divisions

There are 5 arrondissements (districts), 21 cantons and 804 communes (municipalities) in Aisne.

Arrondissements of the Aisne department
INSEE
code
Arrondissement Capital Population
(2014)
Area
(km²)
Density
(Inh./km²)
Communes
021 Château-Thierry Château-Thierry 73,188 1,193.2 61.3 108
022 Laon Laon 165,489 2,461.3 67.2 244
023 Saint-Quentin Saint-Quentin 130,918 1,071.2 122.2 126
024 Soissons Soissons 103,840 1,242.8 83.6 166
025 Vervins Vervins 66,348 1,400.6 47.4 160

The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Aisne department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

  1. Bohain-en-Vermandois (0201)
  2. Château-Thierry (0202)
  3. Chauny (0203)
  4. Essômes-sur-Marne (0204)
  5. Fère-en-Tardenois (0205)
  6. Guignicourt (0206)
  7. Guise (0207)
  8. Hirson (0208)
  9. Laon-1 (0209)
  10. Laon-2 (0210)
  11. Marle (0211)
  12. Ribemont (0212)
  13. Saint-Quentin-1 (0213)
  14. Saint-Quentin-2 (0214)
  15. Saint-Quentin-3 (0215)
  16. Soissons-1 (0216)
  17. Soissons-2 (0217)
  18. Tergnier (0218)
  19. Vervins (0219)
  20. Vic-sur-Aisne (0220)
  21. Villers-Cotterêts (0221)

Demographics

The inhabitants of Aisne are known, in French, as Axonais (women: Axonaises), from the Celtic name of the Aisne river, Axona.

Aisne had a population, in 2014, of 539,783, for a population density of 73.2 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Laon, with 165,489 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with the most inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Aisne

Aisne: History, Geography, Administration

The 10 communes in the department with more inhabitants are:

City Population
(2014)
Arrondissement
Saint-Quentin 55,878 Saint-Quentin
Soissons 28,290 Soissons
Laon 25,282 Laon
Château-Thierry 14,546 Château-Thierry
Tergnier 13,742 Laon
Chauny 11,897 Laon
Villers-Cotterêts 10,892 Soissons
Hirson 9,336 Vervins
Bohain-en-Vermandois 5,659 Saint-Quentin
Gauchy 5,343 Saint-Quentin

References

Other websites

Tags:

Aisne HistoryAisne GeographyAisne AdministrationAisne DemographicsAisne GalleryAisne Related pagesAisne Other websitesAisneAisne (river)Departments of FranceFranceHauts-de-FranceLaonPrefectures in FranceRegions of FranceRiverTributary

🔥 Trending searches on Wiki Simple English:

List of cities in IllinoisWikipediaPresident of the United StatesMetric tonShep RoseCare BearsJapanKGBList of U.S. states and territories by time zoneP-type semiconductorDemocratic Party (United States)2007LiechtensteinVirat KohliDenmarkOmegaList of popes by length of reignKendra LustList of cities in the United Arab EmiratesCattleApricot (color)Oral sexJay ShahEd LauterJishnu RaghavanReligionNude photographyAmazon (company)Charles SobhrajHanu-ManEven numberDrake BellList of last surviving World War I veterans by countryArtificial intelligenceHyphenNelson MandelaDeaths in 2024Peace be upon him (Islam)IShowSpeedTeenagerSingh19 Kids and CountingFlag of MexicoTildeYouTubeJean-Claude Van DammeList of European countriesDattatreyaJayne MansfieldJorge González (wrestler)Bob DylanKathryn BernardoMurder of SelenaList of U.S. state mottosRandy OrtonBalaam BarugaharaSimple English WikipediaHubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr.KazakhstanSasha BanksChessFlag of GreeceAnna HazareList of Formula One World Drivers' ChampionsSeasonR. Budd DwyerList of people who have walked on the Moon2024PictureCricketBicycleList of UEFA European Championship finalsNorth IndiaNList of European stadiums by capacity🡆 More