HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Armentières (; , ) is a commune in the Nord department in the
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. ...
region in northern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is part of the
Métropole Européenne de Lille The Métropole Européenne de Lille (, MEL; ) is the , an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities ( Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Armentières etc.) whose major city is the city of Lille. It is located in ...
. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud).


Geography

Armentières lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of
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 ...
, on the right bank of the river Lys.


History

In 1668, the town became French, along with most of the rest of
French Flanders French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...
. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Armentières acquired fame, being the "City of Fabric". Industrial
weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
, spinning and
brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
grew in Armentières, benefitting from the presence of water. Armentières particularly suffered during the World Wars although the town received two Military Crosses, one for
World War I 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 the second for the
Second World War 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 ...
and the
Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
. In Armentières and the surrounding areas, the military cemeteries are places of remembrance for the casualties of the world wars. " Mademoiselle from Armentières" was a popular song among Allied soldiers in
World War I 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 ...
. During World War I, in October 1914, the town was the site of the Battle of Armentières. Later in the war, Armentières was repeatedly shelled by the Germans with
mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard are names commonly used for the organosulfur compound, organosulfur chemical compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, which has the chemical structure S(CH2CH2Cl)2, as well as other Chemical species, species. In the wi ...
. In July 1917, 675 civilians were wounded of which 86 died due to lingering residue, as the agent was a new and unknown weapon. In April 1918, German troops shelled the town again. British troops were forced to evacuate the area, but the Germans could not enter for two weeks because of the heavy contamination. Witnesses to the bombardment stated that the shelling was so heavy that liquid mustard gas ran in the streets.


Population


Heraldry


Railways

Armentières has a railway station on the line from Lille to Calais and Dunkirk. It was commissioned in 1848 by the
Chemins de Fer du Nord The Chemins de fer du Nord''French locomotive built in 1846''
(Northern Railway Company). The buildings were completed in 1861. The station is currently served by TER Hauts-de-France trains, on the routes between
Lille-Flandres station Lille-Flandres station (, ) is the main railway station of Lille, capital of French Flanders. It is a terminus for SNCF Intercity and regional trains. It opened in 1842 as the ''Gare de Lille'', but was renamed in 1993 when Lille Europe station ...
and
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 ...
, and between Lille-Flandres and
Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, , , ) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1880, when French was taught ...
.Site SNCF , Informations pratiques sur les gares et arrêts
Gare d'Armentières
(consulté le 29 janvier 2020).


Twin towns – sister cities

Armentières is twinned with: *
Litoměřice Litoměřice (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. The town is the seat of the Roman C ...
, Czech Republic *
Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz (, ), often simply called Osterode (Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Lower Saxony in central Germany on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the ...
, Germany *
Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...
, England, United Kingdom


Notable people

* Amédée Fournier (1912–1992), cyclist, Olympic medalist * Jean Maurice Fiey (1914–1995),
Church historian Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of th ...
and Syriacist * Dany Boon (born 1966), actor and stand-up comedian * Martin Terrier (born 1997), footballer


Monuments

The belfry of Armentières was inscribed on the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 2005 as part of the
Belfries of Belgium and France The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) Belfry (architecture), belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of ...
site, and in recognition of their influence in the rise of municipal power in Europe. The belfry, just like the nearing city hall was designed by the architect Louis Marie Cordonnier and is open for visitors and tourists.


In fiction

Milady de Winter in ''
The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...
'' hides in Armentières. She is caught and executed there. The bawdy song, '' Mademoiselle from Armentières'', was popular amongst British and American troops during World War 1. There are multiple version of the lyrics, that mostly refer to a woman from the town.


See also

*
Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):


References


External links


Official website
(in French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armentieres Communes of Nord (French department) French Flanders