Varennes-en-Argonne
Commune
Tower Louis XVI and the river Aire
Coat of arms
Location of Varennes-en-Argonne
Varennes-en-Argonne Show map of France Varennes-en-Argonne Show map of Grand Est
Coordinates: 49°13′37″N 5°02′06″E / 49.2269°N 5.035°E / 49.2269; 5.035
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Meuse
Arrondissement	Verdun
Canton	Clermont-en-Argonne
Intercommunality	Argonne-Meuse
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Philippe Fosseprez^[1]
Area ¹	11.81 km² (4.56 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2020)^[2]	635
• Density	54/km² (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	55527 /55270
Elevation	144–264 m (472–866 ft) (avg. 195 m or 640 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Varennes-en-Argonne (French pronunciation: [vaʁɛn ɑ̃.n‿aʁɡɔn], literally Varennes in Argonne) or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639.

Geography

Varennes-en-Argonne lies on the river Aire to the northeast of Sainte-Menehould, near Verdun.

History

Varennes is most notable as was the ending point of the Flight to Varennes. In June 1791, Louis XVI and his immediate family made a dash for the nearest friendly border, that of the Austrian Netherlands in modern Belgium (Queen Marie Antoinette being a sister to Leopold II, Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor). In Varennes, Louis and his family were arrested by Jean-Baptiste Drouet, the local postmaster, who had been alerted by a message received from nearby Sainte-Menehould. It is said that at Sainte-Menehould, where the escaping party had spent the previous night, a merchant alerted the town authorities of their presence after recognizing the King's face on an Assignat as Louis tried to buy something from a shop. The royal family was returned to the Tuileries in humiliating captivity, and Louis and Marie-Antoinette were subsequently guillotined in 1793.

Located in the Zone rouge, Varennes was completely destroyed during the First World War but was reconstructed afterwards. The Pennsylvania Memorial, a monument for volunteers from 28th Division Pennsylvania in the First World War, was erected in Varennes during the Interwar period.