Varennes-in-Argonne

History

The village was made famous at the time of the episode of the arrest of Louis XVI and its family, the June 21st 1791 at the evening, at the time of a attempt at escape which failed. Their project was to join troops remained faithful to monarchy with Montmédy. The king and his family were stopped thanks to Jean-Baptiste Drouet, postmaster of Holy-Menehould, which had recognized them at the time of their passage in his city, and which succeeds in preceding the royal cars in Varennes to alert the local authorities.

At the time of the First World War, then occupied by the German troops, Varennes was almost completely destroyed by 4 years of French bombardments. Contrary to certain villages meusiens which never found the life, Varennes was entirely rebuilt.

Its museum recalls the past of the village and its area, since the Gallo-Roman time until the XXe century, while passing of course by the arrest of Louis XVI and the dark years of the First World War.

One can also admire, beside this museum, the memorial of Pennsylvania, built in 1927 by the Americans, with the glory of the regiments which released Varennes; this superb and majestic work, of neo-classic style, dominates the borough and one can discover top of his terrace a splendid panorama on the surrounding countryside.

Geography

Today, Varennes is a chief place of alive canton, approximately 700 inhabitants, in edge of the splendid forest of Argonne. As much communes of the area, it is twinned with common allemande, Petershausen (in the suburbs of Munich).

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