Lens (; ) is a city in the

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

department in northern France. It is one of the main towns of

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...

along with

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

Roubaix Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...

, Tourcoing,

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

and

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

. The inhabitants are called ''Lensois'' ().

Metropolitan area

Lens belongs to the intercommunality of Lens-Liévin, which consists of 36 communes, with a total population of 242,000. Lens, along with

and 65 other communes, forms the agglomeration ('' unité urbaine'') of Douai-Lens, whose population as of 2018 was 504,281.Comparateur de territoire
INSEE, retrieved 20 June 2022.

History

Lens was initially a fortification from the Norman invasions. In 1180, it was owned by the

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

, and sovereignty was exercised by the Crown of France. In the 13th century, Lens received a charter from Louis VIII of France, allowing it to become a city. The Flemish razed the city in 1303. Prior to this, the city's population relied on its markets. In 1526, Lens was made part of the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

under the ownership of the French monarchy, and only passed back to France on 7 November 1659 with the Treaty of the Pyrenees. In 1849, coal was discovered in Lens after surveys were carried out at Annay, Courrières and Loos-en-Gohelle. This led to the expansion of the city into an important industrial center as part of the

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin The Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin is a mining basin in Northern France that stretches across the Nord (French department), Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. The region is famous for its long history of coal extraction and its testimony to a s ...

. The Lens Mining Company was founded in 1852 and experienced large profits. The city, occupied from 1914 to 1918, was largely destroyed in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and its population of 18,000 fell by half. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Allies bombarded the city from the air, leaving 500 dead and 1,000 buildings destroyed. A new Hôtel de Ville was erected in 1965. The last coal mine in Lens closed in 1986. The Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin was made a UNESCO Heritage site in 2012, and the Louvre-Lens art museum was opened the same year.

Education

Lens is the site of one of the five campuses of the University of Artois.

Transport

The Lens railway station, built in 1927, is served by regional trains towards

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

and

. It is also connected to the TGV network, with high speed trains to Paris. It is served by the Lens-Béthune bus network, with bus services running across Lens and connecting it to nearby towns.

Sport

Football club RC Lens plays in the town. Their stadium, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, was used for

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

, the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

and UEFA Euro 2016 and the 1999 Rugby World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Population

Gallery

Image:Pas de Calais est.png, East of Pas-de-Calais (Béthune, Lens, Hénin-Beaumont) Image:Lens-eglise.jpg, Lens church Image:Lens-ruepietonne.jpg, Main shopping district File:Lens Coal Tip.JPG, One of the many cone-shaped coal tips that litter the landscape near Lens File:UEFA Euro 2016 Lens 4.JPG, The Hôtel de Ville

References

External links

Official web site

Communauté d'Agglomeration of Lens-Liévin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lens, Pas-De-Calais Communes of Pas-de-Calais Subprefectures in France Populated places in Artois