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Aisne
Department
City hall of Laon, Aisne
Town hall of Laon, Aisne
Flag of Aisne
Flag
 Coat of arms of Aisne
Coat of arms
Location of Aisne in France
Location of Aisne in France
Country France
Region Hauts-de-France
Département 4 March 1790
Prefecture Laon
Subprefectures Château-Thierry, Saint-Quentin, Soissons, Vervins
Area
 • Total 7,369.1 km2 (2,845.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)
 • Total 539,783
 • Density 73.2495/km2 (189.7154/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Axonais
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code FR-02
Arrondissements 5
Cantons 21
Communes 804
Website http://www.aisne.com
For other uses, see Aisne (disambiguation).

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 is 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 in 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 made again an arrondissement.

Geography

Aisne is part of the Hauts-de-France region. It has an area of 7,369.1 km2 (2,845 sq mi).

The department borders with Belgium and 6 other departments in 3 regions:

Somme Nord Belgium
Oise Ardennes
   Aisne    
Seine-et-Marne Marne

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 (49°56′59″N 04°13′50″E / 49.94972°N 4.23056°E / 49.94972; 4.23056 (Le Chêne Nain)) in the Ardennes forest on the border with the Ardennes department and near the border with Belgium; it is 295–300 m (968–984 ft) high.

The southern part of the department is the geographical region known as la Brie poilleuse, a more dry 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 571.5 mm (22.5 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is July with 61 mm (2.4 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is March with an average of 30.5 mm (1.2 in).

In Laon, there is an average of 17.8 cm (7.0 in) of snow. The month with the most snow is February, with 6.9 cm (2.7 in) of snow.

The average temperature for the year in Laon is 9.4 °C (48.9 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 17.2 °C (63.0 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 1.7 °C (35.1 °F).

Climate data for Laon, France
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4
(39)		 5
(41)		 11
(52)		 14
(57)		 17
(63)		 21
(70)		 22
(72)		 22
(72)		 20
(68)		 15
(59)		 8
(46)		 6
(43)		 14
(57)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1
(34)		 2
(36)		 6
(43)		 9
(48)		 12
(54)		 15
(59)		 17
(63)		 17
(63)		 15
(59)		 10
(50)		 5
(41)		 3
(37)		 9
(49)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1
(30)		 −1
(30)		 1
(34)		 4
(39)		 7
(45)		 10
(50)		 12
(54)		 12
(54)		 10
(50)		 6
(43)		 2
(36)		 1
(34)		 5
(42)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 40
(1.6)		 50
(2.0)		 20
(0.8)		 30
(1.2)		 40
(1.6)		 30
(1.2)		 50
(2.0)		 50
(2.0)		 50
(2.0)		 50
(2.0)		 40
(1.6)		 50
(2.0)		 500
(20)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

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
INSEE
code		 Arrondissement Capital Population
(2014)		 Area
(km²)		 Density
(Inh./km²)		 Communes
021 Château-Thierry Château-Thierry 73,188 1,193.2 61.3 108
022 Laon Laon 165,489 2,461.3 67.2 244
023 Saint-Quentin Saint-Quentin 130,918 1,071.2 122.2 126
024 Soissons Soissons 103,840 1,242.8 83.6 166
025 Vervins Vervins 66,348 1,400.6 47.4 160

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 (0201)
  2. Château-Thierry (0202)
  3. Chauny (0203)
  4. Essômes-sur-Marne (0204)
  5. Fère-en-Tardenois (0205)
  6. Guignicourt (0206)
  7. Guise (0207)
  8. Hirson (0208)
  9. Laon-1 (0209)
  10. Laon-2 (0210)
  11. Marle (0211)
  12. Ribemont (0212)
  13. Saint-Quentin-1 (0213)
  14. Saint-Quentin-2 (0214)
  15. Saint-Quentin-3 (0215)
  16. Soissons-1 (0216)
  17. Soissons-2 (0217)
  18. Tergnier (0218)
  19. Vervins (0219)
  20. Vic-sur-Aisne (0220)
  21. 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 73.2 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Laon, with 165,489 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more 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

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