Soissons

Soissons is a commune in Picardy in northern France. Soissons is a municipality of 1232 hectares and of 29,453 inhabitants (1999 census). The river Aisne flows through the commune.
Soissons is one of the oldest cities in France. Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico already mentions a Celtic settlement on this site under the name Noviodunum. This was the capital of the Suessiones, a Gallic tribe. Eventually, the population surrendered to Caesar, after which the city became Roman. In 486, the city fell into the hands of the Frankish king Clovis, who defeated the Roman general Syagrius at the Battle of Soissons.

At the same time, an incident took place here that has gone down in history as the Vase of Soissons.

After Clovis' death in 511, Soissons became the capital of one of the four Frankish kingdoms. Chlotarius, one of the four sons of Clovis, had his seat here. Through a combination of diplomacy, warfare, and even the extermination of his relatives, Chlotarius succeeded in becoming king of the entire Frankish empire in 555. As a result, Soissons was for a short time the capital of what was then France. After Chlotarius' death in 561, the empire was divided among his three sons. It was not until 613 that the Frankish Empire was reunited under Chlotarius II. In 751, Pepin the Short, charlemagne's father, was anointed King of the Franks in Soissons.

During the First World War, the city was almost completely destroyed. In the meantime, the cathedral has been almost completely restored. An old Romanesque church (Saint-Pierre) belonging to the former Abbey of Our Lady has also been preserved. Remains of the medieval abbey St.Jean des Vignes, which was partly demolished in the 19th century, have been preserved, including the imposing façade with its two impressive towers.

Wim Hak