Editing Laon

{{short description|Prefecture and commune in Hauts-de-France, France}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Laos}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Laon
|commune status     = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Laon (Aisne).svg
|image              = La cathédrale de Laon DSC 0707.jpg
|caption            = Laon and [[Laon Cathedral|its cathedral]] from the southwest
|arrondissement     = Laon
|canton             = [[Canton of Laon-1|Laon-1]], [[Canton of Laon-2|Laon-2]]
|INSEE              = 02408
|postal code        = 02000
|mayor              = Éric Delhaye<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=13 September 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
|term               = 2020&ndash;2026
|intercommunality   = [[Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Laon|CA Pays de Laon]]
|coordinates        = {{coord|49.5639|3.6244|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m        = 83
|elevation min m    = 63
|elevation max m    = 183
|area km2           = 42
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|website            = {{official website|http://www.laon.fr}}
}}

'''Laon''' ({{IPA|fr|lɑ̃|lang}}) is a city in the [[Aisne]] [[Departments of France|department]] in [[Hauts-de-France]] in northern [[France]].

==History==

===Early history===
The [[Ancient Diocese of Laon]], which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat [[Picardy]] plain,<ref>
{{cite web
|url= http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_Regions/Picardie/picardie_town_information_ii.htm
|title= Picardy Town Information
|access-date= 11 December 2009
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100103224830/http://french-at-a-touch.com/French_Regions/Picardie/picardie_town_information_ii.htm
|archive-date= 3 January 2010
|url-status= dead
}}
</ref> has always held strategic importance. In the time of [[Julius Caesar]] there was a Gallic village named Bibrax where the [[Remi]]s (inhabitants of the country round [[Rheims|Reims]]) had to meet the onset of the confederated [[Belgae]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Goldsworthy|first=Adrian|title=Caesar: The Life of a Colossus|year=2007|page=290}}.</ref> Whatever may have been the precise locality of that battlefield, Laon was fortified by the Romans, and successively checked the invasions of the [[Franks]], [[Burgundians]], [[Vandals]], [[Alans]] and [[Huns]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}} At that time it was known as ''Alaudanum'' or ''Lugdunum Clavatum''.

Archbishop [[Saint Remigius|Remigius]] of [[Archbishopric of Reims|Reims]], who baptised [[Clovis I|Clovis]], was born in the Laonnais, and it was he who, at the end of the fifth century, instituted the [[Ancient Diocese of Laon|bishopric of Laon]]. Thenceforward Laon was one of the principal towns of the kingdom of the Franks, and the possession of it was often disputed. [[Charles the Bald]] had enriched its church with the gift of very numerous domains.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}} In about 847 the Irish philosopher [[John Scotus Eriugena]] appeared at the court of Charles the Bald, and was appointed head of the palace school. Eriugena spent the rest of his days in France, probably at Paris and Laon.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05519a.htm "John Scotus Eriugena"] in [[New Advent]].</ref>

Laon was the principal city of the late Carolingian kings of France, beginning with [[Louis IV of France|Louis IV]].  After the fall of the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingians]], Laon took the part of [[Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine|Charles of Lorraine]], their heir, and [[Hugh Capet]] only succeeded in making himself master of the town by the connivance of the bishop, who, in return for this service, was made second ecclesiastical peer of the kingdom.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}}

Early in the twelfth century the [[communes of France]] set about emancipating themselves, and the history of the commune of Laon is one of the richest and most varied. [[Anselm of Laon]]'s school for theology and exegesis rapidly became the most famous in Europe. The citizens had profited by a temporary absence of [[Waldric|Bishop Gaudry]] to secure from his representatives a communal charter, but he, on his return, purchased from the [[List of French monarchs|king of France]] the revocation of this document, and recommenced his oppressions. The consequence was a revolt, in which the episcopal palace was burnt and the bishop and several of his partisans were [[Capital punishment|put to death]] on 25 April 1112. The fire spread to [[Laon Cathedral]], and reduced it to ashes. Uneasy at the result of their victory, the rioters went into hiding outside the town, which was anew pillaged by the people of the neighbourhood, eager to avenge the death of their bishop.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}}

Thereafter, French monarchs intervened as needed to settle disputes between the bishop and the townspeople until 1331, when the commune was abolished. In the latter stages of the 1337–1453 [[Hundred Years' War]], Laon was captured by [[Philip the Good|Philip, Duke of Burgundy]]; he relinquished control to his English allies, who held it until 1429 when it fell to [[Charles VII of France]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barker |first1=Juliet |title=Conquest: The English Kingdom of France 1417–1450 |date=2010 |publisher=Abacus |isbn=978-0349122021 |page=[https://archive.org/details/conquestenglishk0000bark/page/127 127] |url=https://archive.org/details/conquestenglishk0000bark/page/127 }}</ref> The [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]] used the town as a base during the [[French Wars of Religion]]; it was retaken by the former [[Huguenot]] [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] in August 1594.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sutherland |first1=Nicola Mary |title=Henry IV of France and the Politics of Religion: 1572–1596 Volume II |date=1982 |publisher=Elm Bank |isbn=978-1841508467 |page=535 |edition=2002}}</ref>

===Modern history===
At the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] (1789) Laon permanently lost its rank as a bishopric. During the campaign of 1814, [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] tried in vain to dislodge [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]] and [[Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow|Bülow]] from it in the [[Battle of Laon]].<ref name=cne>{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Laon}}</ref>

In 1870, during the [[Franco-Prussian War]], an engineer blew up the powder magazine of the citadel at the moment when the German troops were entering the town. Many people died; and the cathedral and the old episcopal palace were damaged.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}} It surrendered to a German force on 9 September 1870.<ref name=cne/>

In the fall of 1914, during [[World War I]], German forces captured the town and held it until the Allied offensive in the summer of 1918.<ref name=cne/>

==Geography==
Located in the middle of Aisne, Laon borders (from the north, clockwise) with the municipalities of [[Aulnois-sous-Laon]], [[Barenton-Bugny]], [[Chambry, Aisne|Chambry]], [[Athies-sous-Laon]], [[Bruyères-et-Montbérault]], [[Vorges]], [[Presles-et-Thierny]], [[Chivy-lès-Étouvelles]], [[Clacy-et-Thierret]], [[Molinchart]], [[Cerny-lès-Bucy]], and [[Besny-et-Loizy]].<ref>{{OSM|r|74127|Laon}}</ref> It is {{convert|55|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Reims]], {{convert|131|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Amiens]], and {{convert|138|km|mi|abbr=on}}  from [[Paris]].

==Population==

{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|18722|Laon}}</ref> and INSEE (1968-2017)<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-02408#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
| graph-pos = bottom
|1793 |7500
|1800 |6691
|1806 |6976
|1821 |6837
|1831 |8400
|1836 |8230
|1841 |9406
|1846 |9809
|1851 |10098
|1856 |8199
|1861 |10090
|1866 |10268
|1872 |10365
|1876 |12139
|1881 |12623
|1886 |13677
|1891 |14129
|1896 |14625
|1901 |15434
|1906 |15288
|1911 |16262
|1921 |18904
|1926 |19402
|1931 |19125
|1936 |20254
|1946 |17401
|1954 |21931
|1962 |25078
|1968 |26316
|1975 |27914
|1982 |26682
|1990 |26490
|1999 |26265
|2007 |26463
|2012 |25317
|2014 |24710
|2017 |24876
}}

==Sights==
[[File:Laon Cathedral.JPG|220px|thumb|Cathedral of [[Laon Cathedral|Notre-Dame of Laon]]]]
[[File:Gate of Bouvelle Court, Laon, France.jpg|thumb|Gate of Bouvelle Court, Rue Serurier, Laon (France)]]
[[File:Rue Châtelaine Laon.JPG|220px|thumb|Rue Châtelaine]]
[[File:Picardie Laon1 tango7174.jpg|thumb|right|The former funicular, view from the upper town.]]

The city contains numerous [[Middle Ages|medieval]] buildings, including the [[cathedral]] [[Laon Cathedral|Notre-Dame of Laon]], dating mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. The [[Chapter house|chapter-house]] and the [[cloister]] contain specimens of early 13th-century architecture. The old episcopal [[palace]], contiguous to the cathedral, is now used as a court-house. The front, flanked by turrets, is pierced by large pointed windows. There is also a Gothic cloister and an old chapel of two storeys, of a date earlier than the cathedral.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}}

The [[Abbey of St. Martin, Laon|church of St Martin]] dates from the middle of the 12th century. The old [[Abbey of St. Martin, Laon|abbey]] buildings of the same foundation are now used as the hospital. The museum of Laon had collections of sculpture and painting. In its garden there is a chapel of the [[Knights Templar|Templars]] belonging to the 12th century.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=190}}

One of the oldest churches in the city is St John the Baptist, in the nearby neighbourhood of Vaux-sous-Laon, which dates from the 11th through 13th centuries and is built in a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic styles.

==Transportation==
[[File:Gare de Laon - hauteur.JPG|thumb|right|[[Laon station]] from the upper town]]

[[Laon station|Laon railway station]] offers connections to Reims, Soissons and Paris.

Until August 2016, the town had the only fully automated municipal [[Cable car (railway)|cable car]] system in the world, called the [[Poma 2000]]. It linked the upper town (the historical centre, located on a plateau) with the lower town, had three stations and ran on rubber tyres. In contrast, the [[San Francisco cable car system]] is manually operated, and most other automated cable car systems have restricted operations within airports and hospitals, though another automated cable car called the [[Minimetrò]] may be found in the city of [[Perugia]] in Italy.

The town's transport company TUL (Transports Urbains Laonnois)<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.tul-laon.net/ TUL official website]</ref> operates the local bus routes.<ref>[http://www.cita.asso.fr/Plan_reseaux_et_lignes/plantul2009.pdf TUL transport map of Laon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720204716/http://www.cita.asso.fr/Plan_reseaux_et_lignes/plantul2009.pdf |date=20 July 2011 }}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}
Laon is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* {{flagicon|DE}} [[Soltau]], Germany (since 1972)
* {{flagicon|UK}} [[Winchester]], United Kingdom<ref name="Archant twinning">{{cite web|url=http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |title=British towns twinned with French towns |access-date=2013-07-11 |work=Archant Community Media Ltd |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705094933/http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |archive-date= 5 July 2013 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.ville-laon.fr City council website]</ref>

==Personalities==
Laon was the birthplace of:
* [[Bertrada of Laon]] (690–721 CE), mother of [[Charlemagne]]
* [[Anselm of Laon]] (d. 1117), [[theology|theologian]]
* [[Father Jacques Marquette]], (1636–1675), [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[missionary]], Namesake of [[Marquette University]] along with scores of other institutions and locales in the United States
*   Antoine (ca. 1598–1648), Louis (ca. 1600/1605-1648) and Mathieu (1607–1677) [[Le Nain]], painters
* [[Pierre Méchain]] (1744–1804), astronomer
* [[Auguste Bottée de Toulmon]] (1764–1816), general inspector of powders and saltpeter.
* Jules François Felix Fleury-Husson (1820–1889) Author and art and literary critic (Known as Champfleury)
* [[Edgar Raoul-Duval]] (1832–1887), magistrate and politician
* [[Florent Raimy]] (b. 1986), footballer

==Gallery==
{|
|
[[File:2-Cathédrale de Laon.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8| The cathedral, western front]]
|
[[File:Nef cathédrale Laon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0| The cathedral, interior]]
|
[[File:Cathédrale de Laon 14 09 2008 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0| View from the lower city, with the cathedral in the background and St John the Baptist de Vaux in the foreground]] 
|
|}
{|
|
[[File:Porte d'Ardon et remparts Laon.JPG|thumb|upright=1.0| Porte d’Ardon and city walls]]
|
[[File:Sint-Martinuskerk2 Laon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0| [[Abbey of St. Martin, Laon|St Martin's church]]]]
|
[[File:Chapelle de la commanderie des Templiers de Laon DSC0242.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0| Templars chapel]]
|
|}

{|
|
[[File:Old Abbey Church in Laon, France.jpg|thumb|[[Abbey of St. Martin, Laon|St Martin's church]]]]
|
[[File:Town square, Laon, France.jpg|thumb|Town square, Laon, France]]
|
[[File:Gate of Bouvelle Court, Rue Serurier, Laon (France, XV).jpg|thumb|Porte De La Cour De La Bouvelle (Medieval Architecture, XV)]]
|
|}
{|
|
[[File:Centre Hospitalier de Laon, France.jpg|thumb|Centre Hospitalier de Laon, France]]
|
[[File:Maison des Arts et Loisirs, Laon, France.jpg|thumb|Maison des Arts et Loisirs, Laon, France]]
|
|}

==In the media==
Laon is featured in the book ''Pursuit of Passy'' by [[David Moore Crook]].
Laon is also featured in the book "A Pilgrimage to Eternity" by [[Timothy Egan]].

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  Laon ([[Aulnois-sous-Laon]]) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1988–present)
|Jan record high C = 16.3
|Feb record high C = 19.9
|Mar record high C = 25.6
|Apr record high C = 28.0
|May record high C = 31.2
|Jun record high C = 35.7
|Jul record high C = 40.8
|Aug record high C = 38.9
|Sep record high C = 34.4
|Oct record high C = 27.2
|Nov record high C = 20.0
|Dec record high C = 16.8
|Jan record low C = -17.0
|Feb record low C = -16.1
|Mar record low C = -13.5
|Apr record low C = -6.0
|May record low C = -1.0
|Jun record low C = 1.5
|Jul record low C = 4.1
|Aug record low C = 2.2
|Sep record low C = -0.8
|Oct record low C = -6.0
|Nov record low C = -10.2
|Dec record low C = -15.5
|Jan high C = 6.3
|Feb high C = 7.5
|Mar high C = 11.8
|Apr high C = 15.6
|May high C = 19.1
|Jun high C = 22.2
|Jul high C = 25.0
|Aug high C = 24.8
|Sep high C = 20.7
|Oct high C = 15.6
|Nov high C = 10.0
|Dec high C = 6.8
| year high C = 15.5
|Jan mean C = 3.8
|Feb mean C = 4.4
|Mar mean C = 7.4
|Apr mean C = 10.1
|May mean C = 13.7
|Jun mean C = 16.6
|Jul mean C = 19.0
|Aug mean C = 18.8
|Sep mean C = 15.4
|Oct mean C = 11.6
|Nov mean C = 7.2
|Dec mean C = 4.4
| year mean C = 11.0
|Jan low C = 1.3
|Feb low C = 1.2
|Mar low C = 2.9
|Apr low C = 4.6
|May low C = 8.2
|Jun low C = 10.9
|Jul low C = 12.9
|Aug low C = 12.8
|Sep low C = 10.1
|Oct low C = 7.6
|Nov low C = 4.3
|Dec low C = 2.1
| year low C = 6.6
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 60.2
|Feb precipitation mm = 51.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 50.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 44.2
|May precipitation mm = 58.7
|Jun precipitation mm = 61.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 62.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 62.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 47.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 56.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 56.0
|Dec precipitation mm = 75.2
|year precipitation mm = 685.6
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 11.4
| Feb precipitation days = 10.5
| Mar precipitation days = 9.6
| Apr precipitation days = 9.1
| May precipitation days = 9.8
| Jun precipitation days = 9.2
| Jul precipitation days = 9.1
| Aug precipitation days = 8.8
| Sep precipitation days = 8.8
| Oct precipitation days = 10.1
| Nov precipitation days = 10.8
| Dec precipitation days = 12.5
| year precipitation days =119.6
|source 1 = Meteociel<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=2037002
|title=Normales et records pour Aulnois-sous-Laon (02)
|publisher=Meteociel
|access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Marcel Gaumont]], Sculptor of war memorial

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Laon |volume=16 |pages=189–190}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Laon}}
* {{in lang|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070319172352/http://www.laon-ville.net/accueilEN.html Unofficial site]
* [http://www.ville-laon.fr Official site]
* [http://www.filmportal.de/en/node/649897/video/1220327 Historical footage of Loan, shot from an airplane in 1918], filmportal.de
* [http://www.tourisme-paysdelaon.com/Loisirs-Activites/Eglise-Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Vaux St John the Baptist de Vaux]
* [http://www.tourisme-paysdelaon.com/Loisirs-Activites/Chapelle-des-Templiers Templar Chapel]

{{Préfectures of départements of France}}
{{Aisne communes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Laon| ]]
[[Category:Communes of Aisne]]
[[Category:Prefectures in France]]