Ardennes

Ardennes is a department in the northeast part of France named after the Ardennes area. The department is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was named after the Ardennes hills, which are located in northeast France, southern Belgium and Luxembourg. It is constituted of parts of the former provinces of Champagne and Argonne (Celtic: "Ar Gonn", meaning "deep forest"), and the principality of... more

Ardennes is a department in the northeast part of France named after the Ardennes area. The department is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was named after the Ardennes hills, which are located in northeast France, southern Belgium and Luxembourg. It is constituted of parts of the former provinces of Champagne and Argonne (Celtic: "Ar Gonn", meaning "deep forest"), and the principality of Sedan. Origins: The name of "Ardennes" ("Ar Denn", from Celtic : "the forest") was first mentioned by Julius Caesar who talked in his "War of Gaules" about a celtic female god, who was named "Arduinna" (warrior god usually painted as riding a wild boar). The area has been the location of much fighting, both in World War I and World War II, such as the Battle of the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge. The department is surrounded by the French departments of Meuse, Marne, and Aisne and by Belgium on the north. Situated in the Ardennes... less