Saint-Dizier

Sister cities

• Parchim

History

Named after an unknown saint (possibly Desiderius of Fontenelle), the town originated as a fortified settlement around a thirteenth-century château, eventually becoming a royal fortress to guard the French kingdom's eastern approaches. The town was besieged and captured by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in the summer of 1544. A fire in 1775 destroyed two-thirds of the town center. The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1827. The château was owned by the Orléans family until the French Revolution, was a base for German troops during World War II, and currently houses the Municipal Museum.

Geography

Located approximately east of Paris, halfway to Strasbourg, it is five miles from Western Europe's largest man-made lake, Lake Der-Chantecoq. The climate in Saint-Dizier is oceanic according to the Köppen climate classification (Cfb code). However, far from any ocean or sea, Saint-Dizier experiences continental climate characteristics resulting in cold winters with freezing nights and cool days with temperatures staying in the single digits and warm to hot summers with frequent thunderstorms.