Maubeuge (; historical nl, Mabuse or nl, Malbode; pcd, Maubeuche) is a commune in the

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the

Sambre The Sambre (; nl, Samber, ) is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne ...

(here canalized), east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian border.

History

Maubeuge (ancient ''Malbodium'', from Latin, derived from the

Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century. After the Salian Franks settled in Roman Gaul, its speakers in Picardy an ...

name ''Malboden'', meaning "assizes of Boden") owes its origin to

Maubeuge Abbey Maubeuge Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubeuge) was a women's monastery in Maubeuge, in the County of Hainaut, now northern France, close to the modern border with Belgium. It is best known today as the abbey founded by St. Aldegonde, still a popular ...

, a double monastery, for men and women, founded in the 7th century by Saint Aldego, the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of whom are preserved in the church. It subsequently belonged to the territory of Hainaut. The town was part of the Spanish Netherlands and changed hands a number of times before it was finally ceded to France in the 1678 Treaty of Nijmegen. As part of Vauban's ''pré carré'' plan that protected France's northern borders with a double line of fortresses, it was extensively fortified as directed by Louis XIV of France. The Hundred Days Offensive, August-november 1918 Q7446

The Hundred Days Offensive, August-november 1918 Q7446

Besieged in 1793 by Prince

Josias Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...

of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, it was relieved by the victory of Wattignies, which is commemorated by a monument in the town. It was unsuccessfully besieged in 1814, but was compelled to capitulate, after a vigorous resistance, in the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

. As a fortress, Maubeuge has an old enceinte of bastion trace which serves as the center of an important entrenched camp of 18 miles perimeter. The fortress was constructed after the War of 1870 but has since been modernized and augmented. The forts were besieged in World War I by the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. Maubeuge suffered heavily in World War II: 90% of the town centre was destroyed by bombardments in May 1940. Fighting again occurred in early September 1944, in and around the outskirts of Maubeuge, involving units of the

U.S. 1st Infantry Division The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was offi ...

during the American push toward Belgium.

Heraldry

Geography

Climate

Maubeuge has a

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Maubeuge is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Maubeuge was on 7 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 January 1985.

Population

Economy

There are important foundries,

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

s and

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

s, together with manufactures of machine tools and porcelain. The town has a board of trade

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

, a communal college, a commercial and industrial school.

Transport

Being close to the Belgian border,

Maubeuge station Maubeuge is a railway station serving the town Maubeuge, Nord department, northern France. It is situated on the Creil–Jeumont railway. Services The station is served by regional trains to Aulnoye-Aymeries, Valenciennes, Saint-Quentin, Cha ...

has two lines to Belgium: one leading North towards

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, the other Eastbound to

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

. Neither have seen passenger service for several years; however, from December 2018 a limited service to

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

via Charleroi was announced. Trains to the South-West are frequent. There is an aerodrome in nearby Elesmes but it is purely recreational, with no facilities for commercial air transport of either passengers or cargo.

Tour de France

Maurice Garin, the winner of the inaugural

1903 Tour de France The 1903 Tour de France was the first cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper ', ancestor of the current daily, '. It ran from 1 to 19 July in six stages over , and was won by Maurice Garin. The race was invented to boost the circula ...

, began his cycling career in 1892 with the local Maubeuge cycling club, when he finished fifth in the Maubeuge-Hirson-Maubeuge race.Journal L'Alsace-Le Pays, 20 February 2001, Profile of Maurice Garin
In 2003, on the 100th anniversary of his win, he was commemorated with a street named after him.

Personalities

* Leandre Griffit, footballer * Jan Gossaert, painter *

Benjamin Pavard Benjamin Jacques Marcel Pavard (born 28 March 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Although usually deployed as a right-back, he is also capable of playing ...

, footballer * Benjamin Saint-Huile, politician

Sources

*http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/1stinfantry/ *

Footnotes

External links

Official website
(in French)

{{Authority control Communes of Nord (French department) Vauban fortifications in France