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.

+ Arrondissements of the Aisne department INSEEcode  Arrondissement  Capital  Population(2014)  Area(km²)  Density(Inh./km²)  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:

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

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/km2. 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(2014) 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

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissements of the Aisne department
 Communes of the Aisne department

References

Other websites

 Departmental Council website 
 Prefecture website