Vouziers 4.57

Vouziers is a commune of the Ardennes department in northern France.Vouziers is the burial place of the pioneer First World War fighter pilot Roland Garros, after whom the Stade Roland Garros in Paris (the location of the French Open tennis tournament) is named. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (the first president of Czechoslovakia) fought at Vouziers with the Czechoslovak Legion in France; there is a monument to the legion, and the president's name given to the city lycee (high school).The town was on the path of totality for the Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999. It hosted a major observation event. Because of its proximity to the Belgian border, it was gridlocked by visiting Belgian cars on the morning of the eclipse.GeographyThe river Aisne flows through Vouziers, doubled by a branch of the "canal des Ardennes".The town lies between the Forest of Argonne, the pre-Ardennes, and Champagne, and near the Ardennes Massif (dense woodland). It is not far from Charleville-Mézières, Sedan (the largest medieval castle in Europe), Rocroi, Reims (where the kings of France were crowned), Châlons-en-Champagne, and Varennes-en-Argonne (where Louis XVI was arrested during the French Revolution). On 1 June 2016, the former communes Terron-sur-Aisne and Vrizy were merged into Vouziers.