# Saint-Dizier

Saint-Dizier (French pronunciation:) is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.
It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Haute-Marne, the préfecture (capital) resides in the somewhat smaller commune of Chaumont.

## Geography

Located approximately 120 miles (193 km) east of Paris, halfway to Strasbourg, it is five miles from Western Europe's largest man-made lake, Lake Der-Chantecoq.

### Climate

The climate in Saint-Dizier is oceanic according to the Köppen climate classification (Cfb code). However, far from any ocean or sea, Saint-Dizier experiences continental climate characteristics resulting in cold winters with freezing nights and cool days with temperatures staying in the single digits and warm to hot summers with frequent thunderstorms.
Climate data for Saint-Dizier (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1921–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.7 (63.9) | 22.6 (72.7) | 27.1 (80.8) | 29.4 (84.9) | 33.1 (91.6) | 38.1 (100.6) | 41.4 (106.5) | 40.4 (104.7) | 35.5 (95.9) | 30.3 (86.5) | 23.4 (74.1) | 18.6 (65.5) | 41.4 (106.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) | 8.0 (46.4) | 12.3 (54.1) | 16.4 (61.5) | 20.2 (68.4) | 23.6 (74.5) | 26.0 (78.8) | 25.7 (78.3) | 21.3 (70.3) | 16.2 (61.2) | 10.4 (50.7) | 7.1 (44.8) | 16.1 (61.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.7 (38.7) | 4.4 (39.9) | 7.6 (45.7) | 10.8 (51.4) | 14.7 (58.5) | 18.1 (64.6) | 20.2 (68.4) | 19.9 (67.8) | 16.0 (60.8) | 12.1 (53.8) | 7.3 (45.1) | 4.4 (39.9) | 11.6 (52.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.8 (33.4) | 0.8 (33.4) | 2.9 (37.2) | 5.3 (41.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 12.5 (54.5) | 14.5 (58.1) | 14.2 (57.6) | 10.7 (51.3) | 7.9 (46.2) | 4.1 (39.4) | 1.7 (35.1) | 7.1 (44.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.5 (−4.9) | −22.5 (−8.5) | −13.6 (7.5) | −6.0 (21.2) | −3.0 (26.6) | 2.2 (36.0) | 3.2 (37.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | −0.2 (31.6) | −5.1 (22.8) | −11.7 (10.9) | −17.3 (0.9) | −22.5 (−8.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 63.2 (2.49) | 61.2 (2.41) | 59.6 (2.35) | 54.6 (2.15) | 68.3 (2.69) | 57.5 (2.26) | 69.6 (2.74) | 65.1 (2.56) | 70.9 (2.79) | 75.4 (2.97) | 70.6 (2.78) | 78.5 (3.09) | 794.5 (31.28) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 11.1 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 9.5 | 10.4 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 11.4 | 12.1 | 13.1 | 125.2 |
| Average snowy days | 6.3 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 23.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 86 | 81 | 78 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 74 | 77 | 81 | 85 | 87 | 86 | 79.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 61.4 | 81.4 | 143.0 | 183.2 | 216.4 | 227.8 | 234.9 | 224.2 | 173.0 | 115.8 | 62.5 | 52.6 | 1,776.2 |
| Source 1: Meteociel ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity and snowy days, 1961–1990) ||||||||||||||

## History

Named after an unknown saint (possibly Desiderius of Fontenelle), the town originated as a fortified settlement around a thirteenth-century château, eventually becoming a royal fortress to guard the French kingdom's eastern approaches. The town was besieged and captured by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in the summer of 1544. A fire in 1775 destroyed two-thirds of the town center. The château was owned by the Orléans family until the French Revolution, was a base for German troops during World War II, and currently houses the Municipal Museum.

## Population

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1793 | 5,500 | — |
| 1800 | 5,824 | +0.82% |
| 1806 | 5,614 | −0.61% |
| 1821 | 5,817 | +0.24% |
| 1831 | 6,163 | +0.58% |
| 1836 | 6,366 | +0.65% |
| 1841 | 5,705 | −2.17% |
| 1846 | 7,136 | +4.58% |
| 1851 | 7,429 | +0.81% |
| 1856 | 7,642 | +0.57% |
| 1861 | 8,077 | +1.11% |
| 1866 | 10,170 | +4.72% |
| 1872 | 11,229 | +1.66% |
| 1876 | 12,754 | +3.23% |
| 1881 | 12,773 | +0.03% |
| 1886 | 13,458 | +1.05% |
| 1891 | 13,372 | −0.13% |
| 1896 | 13,947 | +0.85% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1901 | 14,601 | +0.92% |
| 1906 | 14,661 | +0.08% |
| 1911 | 16,019 | +1.79% |
| 1921 | 17,576 | +0.93% |
| 1926 | 19,019 | +1.59% |
| 1931 | 18,292 | −0.78% |
| 1936 | 19,149 | +0.92% |
| 1946 | 19,532 | +0.20% |
| 1954 | 25,515 | +3.40% |
| 1962 | 34,407 | +3.81% |
| 1968 | 36,616 | +1.04% |
| 1975 | 37,266 | +0.25% |
| 1982 | 35,189 | −0.82% |
| 1990 | 33,552 | −0.59% |
| 1999 | 30,900 | −0.91% |
| 2007 | 26,962 | −1.69% |
| 2012 | 25,280 | −1.28% |
| 2017 | 24,012 | −1.02% |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. :
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017) :

## Notable people

Saint-Dizier is the birthplace of
* Baroque-era musicologist André Pirro
* Organist André Isoir
* Conductor Jean-Paul Penin
* Physicist and materials scientist Christian Janot
* Former world middleweight boxing champion Marcel Thil. A street is named in his honor
* French YouTuber Mastu, formerly Masturbatman.