Amiens College

Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of Amiens was 135,429. A central landmark of the city is Amiens Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in France. Amiens also has one of the largest university hospitals in France, with a capacity of 1,200 beds. The author Jules Verne lived in Amiens from 1871 until his death in 1905, and served on the city council for 15 years. Incumbent French president Emmanuel Macron was born in Amiens.

The town was fought over during both World Wars, suffering significant damage, and was repeatedly occupied by both sides. The 1918 Battle of Amiens was the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive which directly led to the Armistice with Germany. The Royal Air Force heavily bombed the town during the Second World War. In the aftermath, the city was rebuilt according to Pierre Dufau's plans with wider streets to ease traffic congestion. These newer structures were primarily built of brick, concrete and white stone with slate roofs. The architect Auguste Perret designed the Gare d'Amiens train station and nearby Tour Perret.

Amiens has an important historical and cultural heritage, on which a significant amount of tourism is based. Apart from the cathedral, there is the , the , the Tour Perret, the Musée de Picardie, the , and the quarters of Saint-Leu and Saint-Maurice. A total of 60 monuments are listed in the inventory of monuments historiques, over 1600 places and monuments listed in the , and 187 objects listed in the inventory of monuments historiques. During December, the town hosts the largest Christmas market in northern France. It is known for a few local foods, including "macarons d'Amiens", almond paste biscuits; "tuiles amienoises", chocolate and orange curved biscuits; "pâté de canard d'Amiens", duck pâté in pastry; "la ficelle Picarde", an oven-baked cheese-topped crêpe; and "flamiche aux poireaux", a puff pastry tart made with leeks and cream.

History

The first known settlement at this location was Samarobriva ("Somme bridge"), the central settlement of the Ambiani tribe, one of the principal tribes of Gaul. The Romans named the town Ambianum, meaning settlement of the Ambiani people.
Amiens was part of Francia starting from the 5th century. The Normans sacked the city in 859 and again in 882.
In 1113, the city was recognized by King Louis VI of France, and in 1185 it was linked to the Crown of France. In 1597, Spanish soldiers held the city during the six-month Siege of Amiens, before Henry IV regained control. During the 18th and 19th century, the textile tradition of Amiens became famous for its velours. As a result of the French Revolution, the provinces of France were dismantled and the territory was organised into departments. Much of Picardy became the newly created department of Somme with Amiens as the departmental capital. During the industrial revolution, the city walls were demolished, opening up space for large boulevards around the town center. The Henriville neighborhood in the south of the city was developed around this time. In 1848, the first railway arrived in Amiens, linking the city to Boulogne-sur-Mer. During the 1870 Battle of Amiens, the city was occupied by invading Prussian forces.

The town was fought over during both the First and Second World Wars, suffering significant damage and being occupied several times by both sides. The 1918 Battle of Amiens was the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive which led directly to the Armistice with Germany that ended the war. It was heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The city was rebuilt according to Pierre Dufau's plans with a focus on widening the streets to ease traffic congestion. These newer structures were primarily built of brick, concrete and white stone with slate roofs. The architect Auguste Perret designed the Gare d'Amiens train station and nearby Tour Perret.

Geography

Location

Amiens, the regional prefecture of Picardy, also functions as the prefecture of the Somme department, one of the three departments (with Oise and Aisne) in the region. Located in the Paris Basin, the city benefits from a privileged geographical position, with close proximity to Paris, Lille, Rouen, London and Brussels. At the crossroads of major European routes of travel ( A1, A16 and A29), the city is also at the heart of a major rail star.

As the crow flies, the city is north of Paris, south-west of Lille, north-east of Rouen, east-north-east of Le Havre and north-west of Reims. At the regional level, Amiens is located north of Beauvais, west of Saint-Quentin, from Compiègne and from Laon.

In area, Amiens is the third-largest settlement in the Somme, after Crécy-en-Ponthieu and Hornoy-le-Bourg.

Geology and relief

The area of the commune is ; the altitude varies between .

Hydrography: Somme and canal, Avre and Selle

The main stem of the River Somme passes through Amiens and is generally benign, except during exceptional floods that can last up to several weeks (such as in spring 2001). It is also, on its southeastern outskirts, close to Camon and Longueau, the confluence with its main tributary on the left bank (to the south), and the Avre. The Selle enters from the northwest of Amiens, with two arms (including the Haute Selle) passing behind the Unicorn Stadium, the exhibition park, the megacity and horse racing track, then passing the end of the ''Promenade de la Hotoie'' and the zoo of Amiens, and to the right of the water treatment plant, in front of the island Sainte-Aragone, opposite the cemetery of La Madeleine in Amiens.

The city developed in a natural narrowing of the river at the level of the , due to the advance of the rim of the Picard plateau in Saint-Pierre ( ford crossing). The Amiens citadel is built on this limestone butte of the Picard plateau and ''Rue Saint-Pierre'' is a slightly inclined path to leave the city from the north. At this narrowing, a network of narrow canals led to the construction of bridges and buildings including textile mills in the Middle Ages.

The marshes of the old bed of the river Somme was used to dig peat. Farmers maintained rieux, canals and ditches by cleaning out the silt and used it to append to their vegetable garden plot, the hortillons. Beginning in the 20 th century the descendants of hortillons stopped maintaining the canals and the areas were gradually left to lie fallow or sold to private individuals who created pleasure gardens accessible by boat.

The hydrographic network has always been an important city-operated asset. The river helped shape the identity of the landscape, urban and economic territory. It is around the quarters of Saint-Leu, Saint-Maurice bordering the River Somme and most of the administrative and civil area of the current city center which the city has developed since antiquity.

The Canal de la Somme dates from the beginning of the 19th century and the bridge at the foot of the citadel was built after World War II.

Climate

Amiens has the typical oceanic climate of the north of France, with relatively mild winters, cool summers, and rainfall well distributed throughout the year.

Transport

Amiens is a hub between the Île de France and the rest of northern France; Normandy and Benelux; and France and Great Britain. Amiens is not directly on principal European road and rail arteries, such as the A1 motorway and the Paris-Lille TGV train line, at present.

However, due to its position halfway between the urban areas of Lille and Paris, Amiens has good conditions for service and accessibility, including motorways (at the junction of the A16 and A29).

Rail

Amiens station is served by regional train services to destinations that include Rouen, Calais, Lille, Reims, Compiègne and Paris-Nord. Saint-Roch (Somme) station in the western part of the city is served by local trains towards Rouen and Abbeville. A regular bus route with the TGV Haute-Picardie station also provides access to the Charles-de-Gaulle Airport station. On the horizon of 2025, the Roissy–Picardie Link will put Amiens 55 minutes from Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport and its TGV station.

By train, Amiens is located at:

Roads

Since antiquity, Amiens has been a crossroads of important routes. The contemporary city is served by the A16 and A29 autoroutes. The Jules Verne Viaduct, long, crosses the River Somme to the east of the city and allows circumvention of the city by motorway-type roads. The A16 and A29 autoroutes, the RN1 and the RN25 form a bypass-type motorway around the city that the population has called the ''Rocade d'Amiens'' ing road of Amiens Initially constituting national roads which are downgraded today, mostly as departmental roads, the greater urban area of Amiens is served by:

Amiens is served by several motorways:
* A16 to Calais via Abbeville and Boulogne-sur-Mer
* A16 to Paris via Beauvais
* A29 to Rouen and Le Havre via Neufchâtel-en-Bray
* A29 to Reims via Saint-Quentin and Laon
* The proposed A24 autoroute from Amiens to Lille via Doullens was cancelled in 2006.

Parking

According to the (PDU) approved 19 December 2013 for the period 2013–2023 parking supply is considered abundant in Amiens. Although important, demand for parking is less than what is available (capacity reserves are still 20% minimum: If the road is sometimes saturated, the occupancy rate of the underground parking remains globally less than 100%).

In 2013, the city counted approximately 70,000 public parking spaces, including 8,400 in the city center and in its immediate vicinity, where 70% of places are paid.
* 4,400 spaces on highways (1,950 in the inner city, including 1,600 paid)
* 4,000 spaces in underground parking (620 other new places are programmed in a project for the Gare La Vallée development zone).

The underground car parks in the city center are organised thus:

, a residential parking system has been deployed in Saint-Anne ward to cope with congestion in the streets caused by SNCF railway station users. During the campaign for the municipal election of 2008, parking was one of the important topics of debate. A year after the change of majority, the team launched a consultation with the population. From 2011, residential parking was extended to the Gare-La-Vallée and Riolan neighborhoods, then in 2012 to the Noyon neighborhood and the area east of the Riolan sector. In 2014, 2,600 parking spaces were affected by this system which allowed city residents more parking near their homes in order to promote a better rotation of vehicles in the streets and reduce permanent occupation of public space by the cars cluttering the highway.

Public transport

Amiens was originally served by two tram lines over , opened in 1887. They intersect at ''Place Gambetta'', one linking , the Church of Saint-Acheul, Cagnard bridge, ''Rue de Noyon'' and ''Rue Jules-Barni''; the other from the Church of Saint-Pierre at the racecourse, by the streets of Saint-Leu, Frédéric-Petit and Colbert. Electrified in 1899, the network grew to seven lines totaling in 1906. From 1932, Longueau was linked to Amiens by a bus service. German bombing in 1940 destroyed most of the city center and hit the Jules-Ferry Road tram , totally destroying the tram fleet. Only the Longueau bus survived. A few old Parisian buses were also used in an extremely reduced service. These buses as well as the surviving bus were then converted to city gas and equipped with tanks on the roof covered by a huge white dome. This service continued until approximately 1946. There were only two urban lines: An east–west line (Saint-Acheul – Montieres) and a northeast–southwest line (Beauville – road to Rouen). It was decided after the war to serve the city by a trolleybus with one route to Longueau. This was only in part realized, serving Saint-Acheul, Rouen, La Madeleine and Saint-Pierre. In 1964, trolleybuses were abandoned and the bus became ubiquitous in Amiens transportation.

The bus network is today managed by the Ametis , whose network covers Amiens Métropole, the agglomeration of Amiens. The establishment of dedicated bus lanes began in 2006. Former Mayor Gilles de Robien had envisioned the creation of a tram, but the choice of dedicated bus lanes had been preferred for reasons of cost and patronage. His successor, Mayor , had been considering the development of a in the metropolitan area. As a result of numerous studies and conferences, elected representatives voted for the creation of a tram at the municipal Council of 15 November 2012. The project had been endorsed by the Communauté d'agglomération Amiens Métropole, and by extension the new president of Amiens Métropole Alain Gest, decided to suspend the project at least during the time of their respective mandates, thus applying a campaign promise (the tram was at the heart of debate) and despite a project announcement of trams on tyres (of TVR type). Improvement of public transit would then be only by that of the bus network. Indeed, in December of the same year, the Community Council approved funding for a study (the sixth in 20 years) relating to the establishment of a rapid transit (BHNS), which should enter into service in March 2019, and whose vehicles could be electric.

LL 35 - AMIENS - La Place Gambetta (couleur, 2 trams dt le 30).jpg, The ''Place Gambetta'': An important hub of the former tram network of Amiens at the beginning of the 20th century
LL 65 - AMIENS - Le lycée de Jeunes Filles.JPG, The lycée de jeunes filles and tramway, ''Rue des Otages'', now Lycée Madeleine-Michelis
Mercedes Citaro O530GII n°331 AMETIS Gare du Nord.jpg, A bus of the network of

Cycle networks

Amiens has developed two bike services: ''Buscyclette'' and .
* ''Buscyclette'' is a service of rental bikes on demand, created in May 1999. In 2014, nearly 2,400 "green bikes" are available for rent, essentially city bikes but also electric bikes (VAE), folding bicycles and specific bikes (kids bikes, child trailers, mountain bikes, cargo bikes, tandems, etc.). The rental period varies from half a day to one year.
* is a bike sharing system (VLS) created on 16 February 2008, an adaptation of the system managed by JCDecaux, similar to Vélo'v in Lyon and Vélib' in Paris. offers 313 bikes distributed every 300 to 400 metres in the center of Amiens and 26 stations.

In 2012, Amiens Métropole had of routes for cyclists. Despite the development of a bicycle plan in 1997 which was planning the development of of equipped cycleways, the network of the territory in terms of paths is still incomplete.

The blueprint of the bicycle facilities of the agglomeration (SDAC) provides, over a period of 10 years (2014–2024), for of cycle routes and equips 490 sites for the parking of bikes. This plan also includes the deployment of parking facilities over the entire territory of the city, close to the facilities frequented by bikers, as well as at traffic lights or even the maintenance of existing facilities.

Railways

There are three railway stations:
* Two stations on the Paris-Boulogne and Amiens – Rouen lines:
*The Amiens station, main station, known as ''Gare du Nord'', in memory of the Compagnie du Nord who created it. Every day, 15,000 travelers use its seven lines.Benoit Delespierre, ''Longueau, l'autre gare d'Amiens'', '' Courrier picard'', 11 avril 2013.
*The station of Saint-Roch

Connections from these two stations include to Lille via Arras and Douai, to Boulogne via Abbeville, to Paris-Nord via Creil or Compiègne, to Reims via Tergnier, and to Rouen.
* A station located on the Paris – Lille line in Longueau serving south of Amiens and the communes of Longueau, Cagny, Boves, etc.
*Longueau station, a passenger station of the historic railway hub in Longueau. Every day, 2,500 travellers use its two lines.
* , station assigned to the freight traffic, it serves only the industrial zone of Amiens. This station is located on the former railway line of Doullens.

Many regional and extra regional links (Normandie, Grand Est and Île-de-France) pass through Amiens, especially by TER Hauts-de-France.

A station located from Amiens, the Haute-Picardie TGV station, allows access to the TGV network. It is served by buses from Amiens. Its isolated character earned it the name of ''gare des betteraves'', or ''gare betteraves'', at the time of its construction.

CARON 328 - AMIENS - La Gare du Nord.jpg , Gare du Nord (old postcard published by Caron No. 328, postmarked in 1909)
INCONNU_-_AMIENS_-_Intérieur_de_la_Gare_Saint-Roch.jpg , Inside Saint-Roch railway station (postcard postmarked in 1905)
Amiens_St_Roch_(extérieur).jpg , Gare Saint-Roch
Gare de Longueau - La Halle.JPG, Gare de Longueau

Air transport

In addition to Amiens – Glisy Aerodrome, bordering the town's eastern edge from the center, there are several airports nearby.
* Albert – Picardie Airport is located 20 minutes northeast of the city.
* Beauvais-Tillé Airport, the ninth largest French airport by usage, located 45 minutes by car south of the city, and served by a bus service from Amiens.
* Lille Airport, reachable by train or by road using the A29 and A1.
* Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, reachable by train or by road using the A29 and A1, or A16 and N104. The creation of a railway between Creil and Roissy will put Amiens 55 minutes from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport by 2020.

Waterways

The Somme canal runs through the town to the English Channel. This canal is linked to the Canal du Nord (Paris to Lille metropolitan area).

Urbanism

Urban morphology

Amiens comprises a number of neighbourhoods ("quartiers" in French) with their own characteristics, including Saint-Leu, St-Maurice, Henriville, and Saint-Acheul.

Saint-Leu quarter

St-Leu forms part of Amiens, north of the city center. It has many older wooden and brick houses and several canals. At the foot of the cathedral, traversed by canals, this picturesque area was largely rehabilitated during the 1990s. It extends to the Somme canal, located more to the north, at the foot of the Coteau Saint-Pierre on which the fortress of , called ''Citadelle'', was built. Historically, it was the poor quarter of the city, where butchers, tanners and dyers gathered.

Amiens University's Faculty of Sciences, present since the 1960s, has been renovated and expanded on occasion. The Faculty of Law and Economics has also been transferred since the mid-1990s from the campus (offset to the south of the city) to its new location at the foot of the cathedral.Work had also been delayed, because some people wanted to "preserve the cathedral", the situation was exceptional. The open-air parking it replaces was a "gap" in the landscape dating from World War II. Nonetheless, it allowed an unobstructed view of the cathedral. Most of the buildings have been renovated and transformed into housing much of which is for students, many of whom are in the quarter.

The area became the heart of the Amiens people's evenings, with many establishments (bars, restaurants, etc.) on ''Place du Don'' and ''Quai Bélu''.

The church is found at ''Rue Saint-Leu'', located just between the Faculty of Science and Law-Economy (UPJV).

Two theatres were established in the quarter, that of the Chés Cabotans (puppet shows in the Picard language) and the ''Maison du Théâtre'' at the foot of the Saint-Leu Church. There is also ''La Lune des Pirates'', a concert hall.

0 Amiens - Place du Don - Cathédrale (1).JPG, ''Place du Don'': The River Somme and cathedral
0_Amiens_-_Quartier_Saint-Leu_%281%29.JPG, Saint-Leu: ''Rue du Hocquet''
Saint Leu rue d'Engoulvent.jpg, Saint-Leu: ''Rue d'Engoulvent'' and ''Rue des Majots''
Saint Leu rue d'Engoulvent depuis Majot.jpg, Saint-Leu: ''Rue d'Engoulvent''
Place Aristide Briand Amiens.jpg, Saint-Leu: ''Place Aristide Briand''
Amiens quartier saint leu canaux 200503.jpg, Canal in the Saint-Leu quarter
Quai belu amiens.JPG, Quai Bélu on the banks of the Somme, near the old market on the waterside
Amiens Passerelle Samarobriva 190908.jpg, The Samarobriva footbridge towards the Saint-Pierre Park

Saint-Maurice quarter

Located to the west of the Citadelle, and east of the , this very old working-class quarter of Amiens acted as an industrial center in the 18th century. It is currently undergoing significant housing renovation and development.

Bordered by the Canal de la Somme, it offers a stopover for leisure boats, which must go through a lock.

The walls of the city's former dye factory are now those of the (ESAD) as well as those of the Faculty of Arts. The École supérieure d'ingénieurs en électronique et électrotechnique (ESIEE) is in the same quarter. As the Citadelle, it will be renovated by the architect Renzo Piano to accommodate the university departments (UFR) of: letters, history and geography, languages, the (ESPE), the House of Languages, the House of Research and the University Library in 2015.

The , known as the ''Jardin du Roy'' within the city, is also located in this quarter.

Henriville-quarter

The Henriville neighborhood was mostly built during the 19th century after the demolition of the city wall. It lies at the south of the town center. It has numerous bourgeois houses and townhouses, predominantly in brick, blending architectural styles of the period, including neoclassical, troubadour and neo-Gothic. There are also private mansions, such as the Acloque mansion and the house of Jules Verne.

Saint-Acheul quarter

The Saint-Acheul quarter () existed before Amiens' inception, as people have lived there since prehistoric times. This is where archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century discovered prehistoric tool sets typical of the "Acheulean" prehistorical era, named after this neighborhood (also spelled Acheulian, pronounced ). Civilians can freely visit the archaeological garden there.

Not to be confused with the commune of Saint-Acheul situated to the north, the quarter of Saint-Acheul is the site of a military cemetery from the First World War (1914–1918).

It also contains the Church of Saint-Acheul, and the former normal school of teachers which became the Lycée Robert-de-Luzarches. A number of famous people are buried in the former Saint-Acheul cemetery such as the creator of '' Bécassine'' J.P. Pinchon, and many resistance fighters. Part of the quarter includes a so-called "English neighborhood," with typical English style houses. At the feet of this area lie the , a marshy area criss-crossed by canals.

Other neighborhoods

Amiens, like other big cities, has its large HLM