THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING - MEZIERES

1748 th century curiosity, Mézières hosted the first School of Engineering, ancestor of the Ecole Polytechnique, in, on the proposal of the Earl of Argenson, Secretary of State for War and Nicolas de Chastillon, commander of the Citadelle-Mézières Citadel. It is located in the old palace of the Tournelles, residence of the Duke of Rethel. 542 military engineers were trained there - among the most famous: Mullet of L'Isle, Lazare Carnot, Coulomb and mathematician Gaspard Monge was a teacher. In October 1791, the engineers met in Mézières, General La Fayette. The school was transferred to Metz in 1793, before being abolished in 1794 and became the prestigious Polytechnic School. The General Council of the new Ardennes department settled in the West Wing in 1790. The prefecture settled there in 1800. The school's premises are still occupied by the Hotel's Hotel (formerly the Ardennes Prefecture).