Villers-Cotterêts is a commune of the Aisne département in the Picardie (Picardy) région in northern France. It is located 80 km NE of Paris via the RN2 facing Laon. The town is situated next to the Retz forest covering 130 km² of land.

• Population: 10,123
• Density: 242.7/km²
• Postal code : 02600
• Name of inhabitants: Cotterezien sing, -s pl.
• Nickname: Petite villa sur la côte de Retz meaning Little villa by the coast of Retz

History

Villers-Cotterêts is famous because of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts 1539 signed by François Ier which made French the official language in the kingdom instead of Latin.

Geography

• Area: 41.71 km²
• Altitude: 120 m

Miscellaneous

It was the birthplace of Alexandre Dumas, père (1802-1870), novelist.

Château François Ier, Chateau de Noüe (built in the 16th century)

External link

• Tourist office website (in French)
• Historic society of Villers-Cotterêts (in French)