Le Cateau-Cambrésis (, before 1977: ''Le Cateau'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Nord department in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref> The term Cambrésis indicates that it lies in the county of that name which fell to the

Prince-Bishop of Cambrai This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Arras. On the death of Saint Vedulphus (545–5 ...

Le Cateau station Le Cateau is a Train station, railway station serving the town Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Nord (French department), Nord department, northern France. It is situated on the Creil–Jeumont railway. It was used as a de-training point during the First Wor ...

has rail connections to Paris, Maubeuge and Saint-Quentin.

History

*The

Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

, ending the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

, was agreed there on 2–3 April 1559. * Until 1678, the city belonged to the Spanish Netherlands (now called Belgium). France conquered the city officially by the treaty of Nijmegen signed in 1678. *On 28 March 1794, allied forces under the prince of

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

, defeated French forces at Le Cateau. *Le Cateau formed the right wing of the front of II Corps of the British Expeditionary Force at the

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 Aug ...

on 26 August 1914, during its withdrawal from the Battle of Mons.

Heraldry

Population

Matisse Museum

The '' Musée Départemental Henri Matisse'' installed in the Palais Fénelon in the center of Le Cateau boasts the third largest collection of Matisse works in France.

Notable people

Births: *

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, artist * Marshal Mortier *

Pierre Nord Pierre Nord, real name André Léon Brouillard (15 April 1900 – 10 December 1985), was a French writer, spy and resistance member. Early life Brouillard was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Nord. He participated in the First World War as a re ...

Raymond Poïvet Raymond Poïvet (17 June 1910 – 30 August 1999) was a French cartoonist. Poïvet was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Nord. After studies in École des Beaux-Arts of Paris, he started in comics in 1941. In 1945 he joined the communist French ...

, one of the creators of the French science fiction comics '' Les Pionniers de l'Espérance''

Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...

was a high school student in Le Cateau, and later its representative at the general council for the Nord department.

Gallery