Vitry-le-François

Sister cities

• Tauberbischofsheim

History

The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site, Vitry-en-Perthois, which, in 1544, had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's Italian War of 1542–46. The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by Girolamo Marini. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name. At the beginning of World War I in August 1914, Joseph Joffre established the Grand Quartier Général at the Place Royer-Collard. In 1961, a terrorist attack took place on a train going between Strasbourg and Paris.

Most-observed species

• Common Pipistrelle

  Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreber, 1774) · Mammalia
  18,849
• Noctule Bat

  Nyctalus noctula (Schreber, 1774) · Mammalia
  4,223
• Common Crane

  Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,712
• Lesser noctule

  Nyctalus leisleri (Kuhl, 1817) · Mammalia
  984
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  883
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  849
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  827
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  727

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2005-07-22
  France
• M 2.5 — 2005-06-28
  6 km SSE of Liffol-le-Grand, France
• M 2.5 — 2002-07-23
  7 km S of Neufchâteau, France
• M 2.5 — 2002-06-28
  6 km S of Neufchâteau, France
• M 2.5 — 2002-04-02
  11 km SW of Colombey-les-Belles, France