Sedan, Ardennes

Sedan (French pronunciation: [sədɑ̃] ⓘ) is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France.

In the 1840s, American composer-pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk got his start in Europe with a successful concert in Sedan, including the original piece "Souvenir des Ardennes.

"[3] During the Franco-Prussian War, on 2 September 1870, French emperor Napoleon III was taken prisoner with 100,000 of his soldiers at the First Battle of Sedan.

Due to this victory, which made the unification of Germany possible, 2 September was declared Sedan Day (Sedantag) and a national German holiday in 1871.

From May 12 to 15, 1940, during World War II, German troops invaded neutral Belgium and crossed the river Meuse by winning the Second Battle of Sedan.

A centre of cloth production, begun under the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin, supported the town until the late nineteenth century.