Compiègne, town in north central France, in Oise Department, on the Oise River, at the northwestern edge of the Compiègne Forest, in Île-de-France. It is a tourist and manufacturing center; products include metal and rubber goods and textiles. Among the points of interest in Compiègne are a Gothic town hall (16th century), the Church of Saint Antoine (13th-16th century), and a château (now a museum) built by Louis XV.
The town was known as Compendium in Roman times. It later was frequented by royalty, and in 833Louis I was deposed here. Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians in Compiègne in 1430. The town served as the headquarters of the invading German army during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). On November 11, 1918, the armistice ending World War I was signed in a railroad car in the nearby forest. Compiègne was occupied by the Germans early in World War II, and Hitler forced the French to sign the Franco-German armistice of June 22, 1940, in the same railroad car, at the same location. Population (1999) 41,254.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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