‘Concordance des temps’ in Laon

Famous German writer - author of Jardins et routes - pages de journal 1939-1940, Orages d'acier and Héliopolis - who saved the Laon library from looting in 1940.

Born in Angers in 1530, he moved to Laon in 1584, where he died in 1596. An innovative economist, philosopher and political theorist, his economic theories influenced the intellectual history of Europe. At a time when the Wars of Religion were devastating France, he championed religious tolerance.

A politician of the French Revolution with a remarkable eloquence, he was elected deputy for Aisne in 1792. He stood out for his uncompromising principles of equality and virtue, and for the effectiveness of his missions. A staunch supporter of Robespierre, he was guillotined at the age of 26.

Born in Laon on 16 August 1744. An astronomer, he was one of those who discovered the most deep-sky objects, including seven comets.

In June 1940, Captain Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - the future author of The Little Prince - was assigned to the 2/33 Air Reconnaissance Group, and as such carried out high-altitude photographic reconnaissance missions over the Laonnais area...

Resistance fighter in the Second World War and ardent campaigner against racism. A deputy mayor of Laon in 1935, he became the youngest Front populaire deputy in 1936. He was also President of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) from 1968 to 1993...

She arrived in Laon in 1935 and became a teacher at the Semilly district school in 1942. A committed woman during the war, she was arrested in 1943 and deported to the Ravensbrück and Holleischen camps. Very weakened, she died in 1946 in Laon as a result of her deportation...

A Christian philosopher, dialectician and theologian, in 1113 he studied at Laon with Anselm (a philosopher and teacher at the School of Laon).Both in Paris and in Laon, Abelard stood out for the originality of his thought and his uncomfortable character, which often got him into trouble...He is remembered for his famous correspondence entitled Lettres d'Abélard et d'Héloïse.

A poet, writer and politician, the town inspired him to write in his book En voyage (Tome II) this famous comment ‘Everything is beautiful in Laon, the churches, the houses, the surroundings, everything...’. (except for one inn, which didn't leave him with a fond memory!)

Born in 1878 in Laon. A doctor of medicine, she specialised in cosmetic surgery and the repair of ‘Gueules cassées’, becoming a pioneer in this field. She also founded the first club of the international Soroptimist association, which defended women in the conquest of their rights...

Born in Paris in 1927, Pierre Paulin spent his entire childhood in Laon, before becoming one of the most prominent designers (having worked for presidents Georges Pompidou and François Mitterrand, among others). Was it the daily sight of the medieval town's landmark monument that inspired one of his most famous creations, the “cathedral table”, in 1980?

The two statues represent martyred saints, the soldier Saint-Théodore and the clergyman Saint-Laurent. Produced in the 1880s by the workshop of the sculptor Geoffroy-Dechaume, they were installed under the west porch in place of statues that had disappeared during the revolutionary period.

Built around 1140 in the Romanesque style, the Templar chapel has a distinctive silhouette with its original octagonal plan, apse, porch topped by a gallery and bell tower wall. Designed for funerary purposes, it was surrounded by a cemetery for the burial of the Order's dignitaries and knights, the local servants and their families. The building was listed as a historic monument in 1846 and will reopen to the public in spring 2025, after more than two years of restoration work...

Born in 1742 in Laon. Under Bonaparte's orders, he distinguished himself at the battle of Mondovi and successfully laid siege to Mantua during the first Italian campaign. He was nicknamed ‘the Virgin of Italy’ for his moral virtues and his reluctance to take part in pillaging...