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Troyes developed as early as the Roman era, when it was known as Augustobona Tricassium. It stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa. The city has a rich historical past, from the Tricasses tribe to the liberation of the city on 25 August 1944 during the Second World War, including the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, the Council of Troyes, the marriage of Henry V and Catherine of France, and the Champagne fairs to which merchants came from all over Christendom. The city has a rich architectural and urban heritage: many buildings are protected as historical monuments, including the half-timbered houses (mainly of the 16th century) that survived in the old town. They have contributed to Troyes being designated as a City of Art and History.
Manufacturing of textiles, developed from the 18th century onwards, was a chief part of Troyes' economy until the 1960s. Today, Troyes is the European capital of factory outlets and trading, and has three brand centers.
Prehistoric evidence found in the Troyes area suggests that the settlement may have developed as early as 600 BC. Celtic grave-mounds have been found near the city, and Celtic artifacts have been excavated within the city grounds.[3]
In the Roman era, Troyes was known as Augustobona Tricassium. Numerous highways intersected here, primarily the Via Agrippa, which led north to Reims and south to Langres, and eventually to Milan.[4] Other Roman routes from Troyes led to Poitiers, Autun and Orléans.[5]
It was the civitas of the Tricasses people,[6] whom Augustus separated from the Senones. Of the Gallo-Roman city of the early Roman Empire, some scattered remains have been found, but no public monuments, other than traces of an aqueduct. By the late Empire the settlement had reduced in extent. It was referred to as Tricassium or Tricassae, the origin of French Troyes.
From the fourth century AD, the people had become Christian and the Church made the city the seat of a bishop. The legend of its bishop Lupus (Loup), who allegedly saved the city from Attila in 451 by offering himself as hostage, is hagiographic rather than historical.[7] A disciple of Saint Lupus, Aventinus (Saint Aventin of Troyes, died 537) founded a monastery at Troyes.[8] It was several centuries before Troyes gained importance as a medieval centre of commerce.
During the Middle Ages, Troyes functioned as an important international trading town. It was the namesake of troy weight for gold - a standard of measurement developed here.[9] The Champagne cloth fairs and the revival of long-distance trade, together with new extension of coinage and credit, were the drivers of the medieval economy of Troyes.
In 1040, Shlomo Yitzchaki, better known as Rashi, was born in Troyes. The rabbi and philosopher, a prominent commentator on the Bible and the Talmud, established an influential school of Jewish thought in the city.
On 21 May 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed in this city, still under control of the Burgundians, by which King Henry V of England was betrothed to Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. Under the terms of the treaty, Henry V, rather than the Dauphin, was to succeed Charles as King of France. The high-water mark of Plantagenet hegemony in France was reversed in 1429 when the Dauphin (afterwards King Charles VII) and Joan of Arc re-established French control of the town of Troyes by armed conflict (Siege of Troyes).
The great fire of 1524 destroyed much of the medieval city, although the city had numerous canals separating sections.
The Hôtel de Ville on Place Alexandre Israël, is an urbane example of the style Louis XIII. On the central corps de logis, which contains the main reception rooms, its cornice is rhythmically broken forward over paired Corinthian columns; these are supported below by strong clustered pilasters. Above the entrance door the statue of Louis XIV was pulled out of its niche and smashed in 1793, during the Reign of Terror at the height of the French Revolution; it was replaced in the nineteenth century with the present Helmeted Minerva and the device in its original form. It is now rare to see "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, ou la Mort". In the Salle du Conseil (Council Chamber) a marble medallion of Louis XIV (1690) by François Girardon, born at Troyes, survived the destruction unscathed.[10]
Museums
Museum of Modern Art (Musée d'Art Moderne)
Maison de l'outil et de la pensée ouvrière
Vauluisant Museum :
Historical museum of Troyes and Champagne-Ardenne
Museum of hosiery
Hôtel-Dieu-Lecomte apothecary
Saint-Loup Museum (museum of fine arts)
Di Marco Museum (Open from 1 April to 1 October, each year)
Churches and synagogues
Not having suffered from the last wars, Troyes has a high density of old religious buildings grouped close to the city centre. They include:
Saint-Nizier Church, in Gothic and Renaissance style, with remarkable sculptures. Classified as a Monument Historique (French equivalence) in 1840.
The Gothic Saint-Urbain Basilica (thirteenth century), with a roofing covered by polished tiles. It was built by Jacques Pantaléon, who was elected pope in 1261, under the name of Urbain IV, on grounds where his father had a workshop. Classified Monument Historique in 1840. It was proclaimed a basilica in 1964.
Sainte-Madeleine Church. Very early Gothic, with east end rebuilt around 1500. Remarkably elaborate stone rood screen of 1508–17 in Flamboyant Gothic style, sculpted by Jean Gailde, with a statue of Saint Martha. Fine Renaissance stained glass. Saint Jean district. Classified Monument historique in 1840.
Gothic Saint-Nicolas Church, dating to the beginning of the sixteenth century, with a calvary chapel -shaped rostrum reached by a monumental staircase. On the south portal, two sculptures by François Gentil of David and Isaiah.
Saint-Pantaléon Church, with extensive statuary from the sixteenth century.
Saint Remy Church, with a 14th-century spire rising to a height of 60 m (196.85 ft). A 17th-century sundial on its south side bears the Latin inscription sicut umbra dies nostri super terram ("our days on earth pass like a shadow").
Church of Saint-Martin-ès-Vignes. It has stained glass windows of the seventeenth century by the local master verrier Linard Gonthier.
Jewish worship is conducted in the Rashi Synagogue of Troyes, named in honor of Rabbi Salomon Ben Isaac, known as Rashi, the famous commentator of the Talmud. The current building was constructed on the site of an old abbey from the 16th century and replaced the synagogue destroyed during World War II[11]· .[12] The building is in Renaissance style and was restored in the 20th century. It consists of a half-timbered house from the 16th century and another house dating from the 18th century (Louis XV style).[13] A cultural center has also been established.[14]
Recent renovations were undertaken to restore the synagogue to reflect the spirit of Rashi of Troyes' time. The inauguration took place on 4 September 2016, in the presence of Haim Korsia, the Chief Rabbi of France.[15]
The inhabitants of the commune are called Troyens.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1793
26,751
—
1800
24,061
−1.50%
1806
27,196
+2.06%
1821
25,078
−0.54%
1831
23,740
−0.55%
1836
25,563
+1.49%
1841
25,469
−0.07%
1846
25,702
+0.18%
1851
27,376
+1.27%
1856
33,071
+3.85%
1861
34,613
+0.92%
1866
35,678
+0.61%
1872
38,113
+1.11%
1876
41,275
+2.01%
1881
46,067
+2.22%
1886
46,972
+0.39%
1891
50,330
+1.39%
1896
52,998
+1.04%
1901
53,146
+0.06%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1906
53,447
+0.11%
1911
55,486
+0.75%
1921
55,215
−0.05%
1926
58,321
+1.10%
1931
58,804
+0.17%
1936
57,961
−0.29%
1946
58,805
+0.14%
1954
58,819
+0.00%
1962
67,406
+1.72%
1968
74,898
+1.77%
1975
72,165
−0.53%
1982
63,579
−1.79%
1990
59,255
−0.88%
1999
60,958
+0.32%
2007
61,823
+0.18%
2012
60,009
−0.59%
2017
61,652
+0.54%
2021
62,782
+0.46%
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The train station Gare de Troyes offers connections to Paris, Dijon, Mulhouse and several regional destinations. Troyes is at the junction of motorways A5 (Paris – Troyes – Langres) and A26 (Calais – Reims – Troyes). Troyes – Barberey Airport is a small regional airport.
Sport
Troyes is the home of association football club Troyes AC, or ESTAC. In the 2020–21 Ligue 2 season, Troyes were promoted back to Ligue 1 as champions of the division.
Chapter 28 of James Rollins' sixth Sigma Force novel, The Doomsday Key (2009), is named "Troyes, France," as the city plays an important role in the plot.[citation needed]
^Ptolemy, Geography 8.13, mentions the Tricasses and their city Augustobona.
^Attwater, Donald. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, (1945) Reprint: 1981, p. 223.
^
Baudoin, Jacques (2006). Grand livre des saints: culte et iconographie en Occident (in French). Nonette: EDITIONS CREER. p. 112. ISBN9782848190419. Retrieved 12 November 2023. Saint Aventin de Troyes (Aventinus, 4 février) Ermite natif de Bourges, attiré en Champagne par la réputation de saint Loup de Troyes († 479). Il avait installé à Troyes une communauté monastique. En 525, il racheta de l'esclavage Fidole (saint Phal), à qui il confia son monastère, et il se retira en ermite a l'Isle-au-Mont, ou il mourut en 537.
^Lloyd, John; Mitchison, John (2010). The Second Book of General Ignorance (First ed.). London: Faber and Faber Ltd. p. 71. ISBN978-0-571-26965-5.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Troyes". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.