Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France.

The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, shut in by wooded or vine-clad hills, and is traversed by the Ornain, which is crossed by several bridges. It is bordered on the north-east by the Marne–Rhine Canal and on the south-west by a small arm of the Ornain called the Canal des Usines, on the left bank of which the upper town (Ville Haute) is situated.

The highly rarefied Bar-le-duc jelly, also known as Lorraine jelly, is a spreadable preparation of white currant or red currant fruit preserves. First mentioned in the historical record in 1344, it is also colloquially referred to as "Bar caviar".

History

thumb|left|Bar-le-Duc in 1617

Bar-le-Duc was at one time the seat of the county, from 1354 the Duchy of Bar.

Though probably of ancient origin, the town was unimportant until the 10th century when it was fortified by Frederick I of Upper Lorraine. and INSEE (1968-2023)

|graph-pos = bottom

|1793 |9111

|1800 |8961

|1806 |9970

|1821 |11432

|1831 |12496

|1836 |12383

|1841 |12526

|1846 |13191

|1851 |14816

|1856 |13835

|1861 |14922

|1866 |15334

|1872 |15175

|1876 |16728

|1881 |17485

|1886 |18860

|1891 |18761

|1896 |18249

|1901 |17693

|1906 |17307

|1911 |17068

|1921 |16261

|1926 |16365

|1931 |16550

|1936 |16697

|1946 |15460

|1954 |16609

|1962 |18346

|1968 |19159

|1975 |19288

|1982 |18471

|1990 |17545

|1999 |16944

|2007 |16002

|2012 |15759

|2017 |14985

|2023 |14607

Notable residents

Bar-le-Duc was the birthplace of:

  • Jean de Lorraine (1498–1550), Cardinal de Lorraine, Bishop of Metz, Archbishop of Narbonne
  • Mary of Guise (1515–1560), queen consort of Scotland and mother of Mary, Queen of Scots
  • Francis, Duke of Guise (1519–1563), soldier and politician
  • Louis Joblot (1645–1723), mathematician and microscopist
  • Nicolas Oudinot (1767–1847), marshal of France
  • Jean-Joseph Regnault-Warin (1773–1844), writer, pamphleteer
  • Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans (1775–1852), marshal of France
  • Pierre Michaux (1813–1883), inventor
  • Edmond Laguerre (1834–1886), mathematician
  • Albert Cim (1845–1924), novelist, literary critic and bibliographer
  • Henri Poincaré (1854–1912), mathematician and physicist
  • Job (1858–1931), illustrator
  • Raymond Poincaré (1860–1934), statesman
  • Pierre de Bréville (1861–1944), composer
  • Lucien Poincaré (1862–1920), physicist
  • Pierre Camonin (1903–2003), canon and organist
  • Jean Dries (1905–1973), painter
  • Michel Bernard (born 1958), writer and senior official
  • Anaïs Delva (born 1986), singer and actress
  • Benjamin Compaoré (born 1987), athlete

Other notable residents were:

  • Jean-François Jacqueminot (1787–1865), who established a great silk factory
  • Ernest Bradfer (1833–1882), who established a major iron works in the town.

<gallery>

Bar-le-Duc Place Saint-Pierre.jpg| Saint-Étienne Church and the court house (right) on Saint-Pierre Square in Bar-le-Duc

Pont Notre-Dame, Bar-le-Duc 01 09.jpg| Notre-Dame Bridge over the Ornain

Statue d'Ernest Bradfer.JPG| Statue of Ernest Bradfer (1833–1882)

</gallery>

Twin cities

As of 2023 Bar-le-Duc is twinned with:

  • Griesheim (Germany) since 1978
  • Wilkau-Haßlau (Germany) since 1994
  • Gyönk (Hungary) since 1995

Cultural exchanges are made throughout the year and the twinning committee also offers German lessons.

See also

  • Battle of Bar-le-Duc (1037)
  • Communes of the Meuse department
  • Parc naturel régional de Lorraine
  • Raymond Couvègnes

References

  • Official Bar-le-Duc website
  • Bar-le-Duc Tourism Office website
  • Barleduc55.net: photos of Bar-le-Duc