Villers-Cotterêts City Map Poster

About Villers-Cotterêts

Villers-Cotterêts is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is located in the northern part of Aisne, on the N2 road from Laon to Soissons and Paris. The town has a population of about 11,000 inhabitants (2014), and lies at an altitude between 140 m (460 ft) and 150 m (490 ft). History [ edit ] The name Villers comes from Medieval Latin villa curtis ("manor farm"), meaning "estate associated with a court", while Cotterêts derives from coterii or cotarii, which was used by some Roman authors to refer to Celtic tribes living in Gaul.[1] The city's coat of arms features two crossed arrows symbolizing its allegiance to Louis IX who granted it municipal rights.[2] In 1539 Henry II signed here his ordonnance sur la langue française making French alone official language within France.