Ardennes (department)

**Ardennes**  is a department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France named after the Ardennes forest. Its prefecture is the city of Charleville-Mézières.

## History

Ardennes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Mézières as is capital. It was formed with the former province of Champagne, the principalities of Sedan and Argonne and other territories.

It was divided in six districts: Charleville, Grandpré, Rethel, Rocroi, Sedan and Vouziers.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the six districts were changed into five _arrondissements_: Mézières, Rethel, Rocroi, Sedan  and Vouziers.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissements_ of Rocroi and Sedan were eliminated but in 1942 Sedan was made again an _arrondissement_.

The _communes_ of Charleville and Mézières are joined to form the new _commune_ of Charleville-Mézières; it was named the capital of the department.

## Geography

Ardennes is part of the Grand Est region. It has an area of .

The department borders with Belgium (Namur and Luxembourg provinces) and 3 other departments in 2 regions:
- Hauts-de-France region
    - Aisne (west)
- Grand Est region
    - Marne (south)
    - Meuse (east)

The highest point of the department is _Croix-Scaille_ () with an altitude of  high.; it is found between the French _commune_ of Hautes-Rivières and the Belgian _commune_ of Gedinne.

The lowest point is on the Aisne river in Brienne-sur-Aisne,  high.

Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Meuse, in the north, and the Aisne, in the south.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Charleville-Mézières 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 Charleville-Mézières is . The month with the most precipitation on average is November with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is June with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Charleville-Mézières is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

## Administration

Ardennes is managed by the _Departmental Council of Ardennes_ in Charleville-Mézières. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 4 _arrondissements_ (districts), 19 _cantons_ and 452 _communes_ (municipalities) in Ardennes.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|081|Charleville-Mézières|Charleville-Mézières|160,939|1,825.3||160|
|082|Rethel|Rethel|37,142|1,199.7||101|
|083|Sedan|Sedan|59,584|792.2||73|
|084|Vouziers|Vouziers|22,050|1,412.2||118|

The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the **Ardennes** department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Attigny <small>(0801)</small>
1. Bogny-sur-Meuse <small>(0802)</small>
1. Carignan <small>(0803)</small>
1. Charleville-Mézières-1 <small>(0804)</small>
1. Charleville-Mézières-2 <small>(0805)</small>
1. Charleville-Mézières-3 <small>(0806)</small>
1. Charleville-Mézières-4 <small>(0807)</small>
1. Château-Porcien <small>(0808)</small>
1. Givet <small>(0809)</small>
1. Nouvion-sur-Meuse <small>(0810)</small>
1. Rethel <small>(0811)</small>
1. Revin <small>(0812)</small>
1. Rocroi <small>(0813)</small>
1. Sedan-1 <small>(0814)</small>
1. Sedan-2 <small>(0815)</small>
1. Sedan-3 <small>(0816)</small>
1. Signy-l'Abbaye <small>(0817)</small>
1. Villers-Semeuse <small>(0818)</small>
1. Vouziers <small>(0819)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of the Ardennes department are known, in French, as _Ardennais_ (women: _Ardennaises_),

Ardennes had a population, in 2014, of 279,715, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Charleville-Mézières, with 160,939 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in the Ardennes**

The main _communes_ in the department are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Charleville-Mézières|48,615|Charleville-Mézières|
|Sedan|17,829|Sedan|
|Rethel|7,778|Rethel|
|Givet|6,659|Charleville-Mézières|
|Revin|6,586|Charleville-Mézières|
|Nouzonville|6,107|Charleville-Mézières|
|Bogny-sur-Meuse|5,222|Charleville-Mézières|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Ardennes department
- Communes of the Ardennes department

## Other websites

- General Council website
- Prefecture website
- Voie verte Trans-Ardennes

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Ardennes
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: FR-08-Charleville6.JPG
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Ardennes department, in Charleville-Mézières
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Ardennes department, in Charleville-Mézières
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Ardennes.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Ardennes.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Ardennes-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Ardennes in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Grand Est
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Charleville-Mézières
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Rethel
- **p2**: Sedan, Ardennes, Sedan
- **p3**: Vouziers
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Benoît Huré
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 5229.4
- **population total**: 279715
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: _Ardennais_
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 4
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 19
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 452
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-08
- **website**: [http://www.cd08.fr/ www.cd08.fr]