Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris. It is located 41.1 km (25.5 mi) east-northeast from the center of Paris. With a population of 51,400 inhabitants, Meaux is the second most populated city in the Seine-et-Marne department after Chelles with 53,000 inhabitants.
Meaux is nowadays mainly known for Brie de Meaux (a variety of Brie cheese) and the local variety of mustard. Following the official administrative French AOC there are two designations of Brie de Meaux: Brie de Meaux fermier (“farm Brie de Meaux”, made out of the milk from the cows of a single unique producer) and Brie de Meaux laitier (laitier, that is from the French lait, “milk”, which designates here an agreement, a mixture of the milk of different producers). The Moutarde de Meaux (“Meaux Mustard”) recipe is since the 18th century a label commercially owned by the Pommery company and is nowadays derived not only in its traditional well known form but also in a variety of new different ingredient combinations: Honey Mustard, Green Pepper Mustard, Moutarde Royale (the latter including Cognac in its composition) etc.
There is only one cinema theatre in Meaux: The Majestic, a former stage theatre. In modern days there are three stage theatres in the city. One is the Théâtre Gérard Philippe, a private theatre, situated close to the covered market. Not far from the market, in the same area but in a bigger and more recent building, there is the official subsidised theatre of the city, the Théâtre Luxembourg, divided in two separated auditoriums in the same building: the Salle Luxembourg (601 seats) and the Salle du Manège (107 seats). In an eastern area of Meaux, the Beauval quarter, there is the third stage theatre of the town, the Salle Champagne (200 seats), located in the Espace Caravelle, a building dedicated to cultural activities. Private theatre companies and community arts associations play in all three theatres.
Two museums can be found in Meaux: the Musée Bossuet (located in the episcopal palace, this is the art and history museum of Meaux) and the Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux (the biggest World War I Museum in the world).
[caption id="attachment_207775" align="aligncenter" width="455"] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Johann Nepomuk della Croce[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, ...
