Charleville-Mézières
Charleville-Mézières is a small French town, located about 15 km from the Belgian border, on the banks of the river Meuse. It is the capital of the Ardennes department and lies about 230 km northeast of Paris.
Charleville-Mézières is curious in several ways. For example, the town’s most famous son, the poet Arthur Rimbaud, detested Charleville-Mézières. Nevertheless, there is an entire museum dedicated to him, called the Maison des Ailleurs (House of Elsewhere).
And after spending some 25 years of my life living in France, I do not know one French person who has been to Charleville-Mézières. Although the French fought at least three wars with Germany to hang onto the eastern side of their country, very few French people show an interest in this region. One restaurant owner said to me that “we are more Belgian than French”.
This is a pity. The architecture of Charleville-Mézières is stunningly beautiful, especially la Place Ducal, the big square at the centre of the town. The Place was inspired by the Place des Vosges in Paris.
Charleville has a grand history. It was founded in 1606 by an Italian prince, Charles de Gonzague, and was designed purely in the Italian baroque style. It was strategically situated at the centre of the bustling trade routes between France and the countries of Northern Europe.
It has suffered a turbulent history. Its fortifications were dismantled under Louis XIV in 1687 and it passed into French hands in 1708. It was plundered by the Prussians in 1815. It was occupied by the German Empire in the First World War and by Nazi Germany in World War II.
Today, it is a city of art and history that, every two years, hosts the Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes (The International Festival of Puppetry), and is also home to one of only a handful of the puppetry schools in the world.
Dear reader, there are two remaining questions regarding Charleville-Mézières. First, how did such a small town acquire a double-name. Charleville and Mézières were originally separate communities on opposite banks of the Meuse river, about 1.2 km from one another. By the mid-19th century, the two towns were linked by a suspension bridge. And on the 1st October 1966 Charleville and Mézières merged.
Second, are there any vineyards in Charleville-Mézières? At the railway station cafe, I was told “this is beer country, not wine”! But global warming is in fact inspiring some locals to plant grape vines. And there could well be some potential. Just across the border in Belgium winemakers are becoming active, planting grape vines and making wine.