Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Charleville

CHARLEVILLE, a handsome and well-built town of France, on the left bank of the Meuse, in the department of Ardennes, about one mile north of Mézieres, with which it is connected by a suspension bridge. Since the end of the 17th century it has become a thriving place, with manufactures of nails, hardware, and firearms, and an active export trade in wine, spirits, coal, iron, and slates. It has tribunals of primary instance and commerce, a commodious port, a theatre, a large public library, and a cabinet of natural history. The royal manufactory of arms formerly established here was transferred to Tulle and Chatellerault. Charleville was founded by Charles of Gonzagua, eighth duke of Mantua, in 1606, and continued in the possession of his family till 1708. Its fortifications were dismantled in 1687; and in 1815 it was plundered by the Prussians. Louis Dufour, the abbé of Longuerue, was born in the town. Population in 1872, 12,059.