Aisne Details Information Number 02 Region Picardie Prefecture Laon Subprefectures Château-Thierry Saint-Quentin Soissons Vervins Population  -Total (1999)  -Density Ranked 46th 535,489 73/km² Area 7369 km² Arrondissements 5 Cantons 42 Communes 816 President of the General Council Yves Daudigny Location Aisne is a département in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River. Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Climate 4 Economy 5 Culture 6 External links History Aisne was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardy, and Champagne. Most of the old-growth forests in the area were destroyed during battles in World War I. The German offensive against the Chemin des Dames in 1918 is sometimes referred to as the Battle of the Aisne. Geography Aisne borders the Ardennes Forest and Belgium to the northeast. The Aisne River crosses the area from east to west, where it joins the Oise River. The landscape is dominated by masses of rock which often have steep flanks. These rocks appear all over the region, but the most impressive examples are at Laon and the Chemin des Dames ridge. The principal cities in Aisne are Laon, pop. 26,000 (capital) Saint-Quentin, pop. 60,000 Soissons, pop. 30,000 Château-Thierry Tergnier, pop. 15,000 See also: List of the communes of the Aisne département. Climate There is an average of 500 to 750 mm precipitation annually. Economy Agriculture dominates the economy, especially cereal crops. Beet sugar is one of the most important industrial crops of the area. Silk, cotton, and wool weaving flourish in Saint-Quentin and other towns. Saint-Gobain is known for its production of mirrors, which started in the 17th century. Guise is the agricultural centre of the northern area of Aisne. Culture During World War I a number of significant architectural monuments were destroyed. Of the buildings that survived, the medieval churches in Laon, Braine, and Urcel are the most significant. The ruined castle of La Ferté-Milon escaped further damage during the war. External links [http:aisne.pref.gouv.fr/ Prefecture website] (in French) [http:cg2.fr/ Conseil Général website] (in French) http://www.sudaisne.com/Departement/aisne.html (in French) Départements of France 01 Ain | 02 Aisne | 03 Allier | 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 05 Hautes-Alpes | 06 Alpes-Maritimes | 07 Ardèche | 08 Ardennes | 09 Ariège | 10 Aube | 11 Aude | 12 Aveyron | 13 Bouches-du-Rhône | 14 Calvados | 15 Cantal | 16 Charente | 17 Charente-Maritime | 18 Cher | 19 Corrèze | 2A Corse-du-Sud | 2B Haute-Corse | 21 Côte-d'Or | 22 Côtes-d'Armor | 23 Creuse | 24 Dordogne | 25 Doubs | 26 Drôme | 27 Eure | 28 Eure-et-Loir | 29 Finistère | 30 Gard | 31 Haute-Garonne | 32 Gers | 33 Gironde | 34 Hérault | 35 Ille-et-Vilaine | 36 Indre | 37 Indre-et-Loire | 38 Isère | 39 Jura | 40 Landes | 41 Loir-et-Cher | 42 Loire | 43 Haute-Loire | 44 Loire-Atlantique | 45 Loiret | 46 Lot | 47 Lot-et-Garonne | 48 Lozère | 49 Maine-et-Loire | 50 Manche | 51 Marne | 52 Haute-Marne | 53 Mayenne | 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle | 55 Meuse | 56 Morbihan | 57 Moselle | 58 Nièvre | 59 Nord | 60 Oise | 61 Orne | 62 Pas-de-Calais | 63 Puy-de-Dôme | 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 65 Hautes-Pyrénées | 66 Pyrénées-Orientales | 67 Bas-Rhin | 68 Haut-Rhin | 69 Rhône | 70 Haute-Saône | 71 Saône-et-Loire | 72 Sarthe | 73 Savoie | 74 Haute-Savoie | 75 Paris | 76 Seine-Maritime | 77 Seine-et-Marne | 78 Yvelines | 79 Deux-Sèvres | 80 Somme | 81 Tarn | 82 Tarn-et-Garonne | 83 Var | 84 Vaucluse | 85 Vendée | 86 Vienne | 87 Haute-Vienne | 88 Vosges | 89 Yonne | 90 Territoire de Belfort | 91 Essonne | 92 Hauts-de-Seine | 93 Seine-Saint-Denis | 94 Val-de-Marne | 95 Val-d'Oise | 971 Guadeloupe | 972 Martinique | 973 French Guiana | 974 Réunion Administrative divisions of France: Régions - Départements - Arrondissements - Cantons - Communes da:Aisne (departement) de:Aisne (Département) eo:Aisne fr:Aisne (département) it:Aisne nl:Aisne (departement) nds:Aisne ja:エーヌ県 nn:Aisne pl:Aisne pt:Aisne (departamento) sk:Aisne (departement) sl:Aisne sv:Aisne zh:埃纳省 Search Term: "Aisne" Categories: Départements of France | Aisne