Montmédy

Montmédy, a town and fortress in the French department of Meuse, 25 miles N. of Verdun and 31 miles by rail SE. of Sedan, consists of two portions, the citadel and upper town overlooking the lower town, which lies in the valley of the Chiers, a tributary of the Meuse. Built and fortified in 1235, it was taken by the French in 1542, 1555, 1596, and 1657; they, after it was definitely assigned to them by the peace of the Pyrenees (1659), had it reconstructed and re-fortified by Vauban. It was, however, captured by the Germans in 1815 and again in 1870. Pop. 2740.