Villers-Faucon () 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 Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Geography

The commune is situated 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Saint-Quentin, at the D72 and D101 crossroads, in the far east of the département. The commune also includes the hamlet of Sainte-Emilie.

Population

History

According to Abbot Decagny of

Roisel Roisel () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Roisel is situated northwest of Saint-Quentin, on the D6 road, with the small river ‘La Cologne’ (a tributary of the Somme) flowing through th ...

, Villers-Faucon was originally Villers-Falcon and previously Villare Falconis, which means, in Latin, villa of the hawks. Villers-Faucon's original purpose was that of a falconry, located in the heart of the forest of Arrouaise.
The village was almost totally destroyed in 1916, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Following a withdrawal of German troops around the

Hindenburg line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

, the inhabitants were evacuated to the north to

Denain Denain (; pcd, Dnain) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Denain had a population of 19,877, on a land area of 11.52 km² (4.448 sq mi). It is the largest of 47 communes which comprise the Communauté d'agglomération ...

, tons of dynamite were set off around all of the buildings in the town (including the

sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the w ...

at St. Emilie) and all the trees were cut down, to leave the field open for the approach of troops. The village was destroyed, but the cemetery was left untouched.
After the conflict, reconstruction began, which lasted almost a decade, led by a rebuilding cooperative led by Louis Faille.

Sites and monuments

* Notre Dame church was rebuilt in 1932 by architect Louis Faille. It's one of many public buildings completed by the architect in his work during the period of reconstruction of the eastern part of the Somme.

Notable resident

Villers-Faucon is the birthplace of: * Hélène Nautré (1904-1976), French resistance fighter and politician.

References

External links

Official website of the Communauté de communes de la Haute Somme
Communes of Somme (department) {{Péronne-geo-stub