Aisne

**Aisne** is a department in the north of France, in the Hauts-de-France region. It is named after the Aisne river, a tributary of the Oise. Its prefecture is Laon.

## History

Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Laon as its capital. It was formed from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France (Laon, Soissons, Noyon,and Valois), Picardy (Thiérache Vermandois), and Champagne (Brie and Omois).

It was divided into six districts: Château-Thierry, Chauny, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the six districts were changed into five _arrondissements_: Château-Thierry, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissement_ of Château-Thierry was eliminated but in 1942 it was again made an _arrondissement_.

## Geography

Aisne is part of the Hauts-de-France region. It has an area of .

The department borders with Belgium and 6 other departments in 3 regions:
- Hauts-de-France region
    - Nord (north)
    - Somme (northwest)
    - Oise (west)
- Grand Est region
    - Ardennes (east)
    - Marne (southeast)
- Île-de-France region
    - Seine-et-Marne (south)

The territory of the Aisne department is formed by low plateaus and small hills. The highest point in the department, and in the Hauts-de-France region, is _Le Chêne Nain_ () in the Ardennes forest on the border with the Ardennes department and near the border with Belgium; it is  high.

The southern part of the department is the geographical region known as _la Brie poilleuse_, a drier plateau known for its dairy products and Brie cheese.

Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Scheldt/Escaut, the Aisne, the Marne, the Ourcq, the Vesle, the Somme, the Oise, and the Serre.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Laon 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 Laon is . The month with the most precipitation on average is July with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is March with an average of .

In Laon, there is an average of  of snow. The month with the most snow is February, with  of snow.

The average temperature for the year in Laon 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

Aisne is managed by the _Departmental Council of Aisne_ in Laon. The department is part of the Hauts-de-France region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 5 _arrondissements_ (districts), 21 _cantons_ and 804 _communes_ (municipalities) in Aisne.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|021|Château-Thierry|Château-Thierry|73,188|1,193.2||108|
|022|Laon|Laon|165,489|2,461.3||244|
|023|Saint-Quentin|Saint-Quentin|130,918|1,071.2||126|
|024|Soissons|Soissons|103,840|1,242.8||166|
|025|Vervins|Vervins|66,348|1,400.6||160|

The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the **Aisne** department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Bohain-en-Vermandois <small>(0201)</small>
1. Château-Thierry <small>(0202)</small>
1. Chauny <small>(0203)</small>
1. Essômes-sur-Marne <small>(0204)</small>
1. Fère-en-Tardenois <small>(0205)</small>
1. Guignicourt <small>(0206)</small>
1. Guise <small>(0207)</small>
1. Hirson <small>(0208)</small>
1. Laon-1 <small>(0209)</small>
1. Laon-2 <small>(0210)</small>
1. Marle <small>(0211)</small>
1. Ribemont <small>(0212)</small>
1. Saint-Quentin-1 <small>(0213)</small>
1. Saint-Quentin-2 <small>(0214)</small>
1. Saint-Quentin-3 <small>(0215)</small>
1. Soissons-1 <small>(0216)</small>
1. Soissons-2 <small>(0217)</small>
1. Tergnier <small>(0218)</small>
1. Vervins <small>(0219)</small>
1. Vic-sur-Aisne <small>(0220)</small>
1. Villers-Cotterêts <small>(0221)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Aisne are known, in French, as _Axonais_ (women: _Axonaises_), from the Celtic name of the Aisne river, _Axona_.

Aisne had a population, in 2014, of 539,783, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Laon, with 165,489 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with the most inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Aisne**

The 10 _communes_ in the department with more inhabitants are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Saint-Quentin|55,878|Saint-Quentin|
|Soissons|28,290|Soissons|
|Laon|25,282|Laon|
|Château-Thierry|14,546|Château-Thierry|
|Tergnier|13,742|Laon|
|Chauny|11,897|Laon|
|Villers-Cotterêts|10,892|Soissons|
|Hirson|9,336|Vervins|
|Bohain-en-Vermandois|5,659|Saint-Quentin|
|Gauchy|5,343|Saint-Quentin|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Aisne department
- Communes of the Aisne department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Aisne
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Laon mairie.JPG
- **image alt**: City hall of Laon, Aisne
- **image caption**: City and town halls, Town hall of Laon, Aisne
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Aisne.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Aisne.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Aisne-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Aisne in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Hauts-de-France
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Laon
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Château-Thierry
- **p2**: Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Saint-Quentin
- **p3**: Soissons
- **p4**: Vervins
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Nicolas Fricoteaux
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 7369.1
- **population total**: 539783
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Axonais
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 5
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 21
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 804
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-02
- **website**: [http://aisne.com/ http://www.aisne.com]