CHAUMONT

also called Chaumont-en-bassigny, town, capital of Haute-Marne dpartement, Champagne-Ardenne rgion, eastern France, southeast of Paris. Situated on the edge of a plateau at the confluence of the Marne and the Suize rivers in the upper Marne valley, it was originally called Calvus Mons (Bald Mountain) and was built around a 10th-century castle. At first a stronghold of the counts of Bassigny, it was the residence of the counts of Champagne for a century until 1329, when it became attached to the crown. Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia concluded a treaty at Chaumont in 1814, binding themselves to prosecute the Napoleonic War until final victory. The Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste was built between the 13th and the 16th century. Chaumont is on the main road and railway from Paris to Basel (Switzerland). Its chief industries are glove making and the manufacture of footwear. Pop. (1982) 26,203.