Arques () is a commune 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 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 ...

, bordering

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

Geography

Arques is situated in the middle of 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, 40 km from

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

Dunkerque 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 45 km from

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

. It lies on the border of the departments of

and

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 ...

. The town is crossed by the Neufossé Canal, which connects the rivers Aa and Lys. The commune also includes several lakes—Beauséjour, Arc-en-ciel, Malhôve, Batavia—and part of the forest of Rihout-Clairmarais.

History

Arques is in the region 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 ...

. As this area has been under Belgian, English, French and Spanish rule, many of the names are French versions of names in other languages. In the wake of the

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs (; ) or 1302 Battle of Courtrai was a military confrontation between the royal army of Kingdom of France, France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the 1297–1305 Franco-Flem ...

a battle was fought here in April 1303 between French and Flemish. The Flemish were victorious in the Battle of Arques (1303). Arques is not to be confused with

Arques-la-Bataille Arques-la-Bataille () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in north-western France. The zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (177 ...

, where the Battle of Arques (1589) took place. It is also close to Agincourt. It was one of the first towns in the region which subscribed to

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action ag ...

. Possible Roman influence There is a possibility of Arques being the Roman Port of 'Marcae' mentioned in the

Litus Saxonicum ''Litus'' is a 2019 Spanish comedy-drama film directed by Dani de la Orden based on the stage play by Marta Buchaca. It stars Belén Cuesta, Adrián Lastra, Álex García (actor), Álex García, Quim Gutiérrez, Miquel Fernández, and Marta Nieto. ...

as there appears to be research in the UK that the high sea levels were about 4.5 metres higher in late Roman times than that of today. Arques is between Oudenberg and Boulogne (both Saxon Shore forts) and appears to be land if the sea level is raised 4.5 metres in which case would mean Arques would have been a well protected harbour inland from the town.

Population

Economy

Arques is famous for its

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

manufacture. It has been the headquarters of

Arc International Arc Holdings is the holding company of the Arc Group, specializing in the design and manufacturing of glass tableware. The Arc Group markets its collections in France and exports them abroad under the registered trademarks Luminarc, Arcopal, Cr ...

, the largest manufacturer of glassware in the world, since its inception in the 19th century.

Places of interest

* The Fontinettes Boat Lift and the Arques

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

(l'écluse des Fontinettes, not to be confused with l'ecluse de Flandres, a smaller lock, also in Arques) *

* The Aa Valley Tourist Railroad (CFTVA: ''Chemin de Fer Touristique de la vallée de l'Aa'') which runs between Arques and

Lumbres Lumbres (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France at the junction of the valleys of the rivers Aa and Bléquin, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Saint-Omer. Population History Evidence ...

* The Audomarais marshes and the Parc naturel régional des caps et marais d'Opale (a park that runs from the

Opal Coast Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a mineraloid, unli ...

landinwards) * It is near the Forest of Éperlecques, which houses the

Blockhaus d'Éperlecques The ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' (, also referred to as "the Watten bunker" or simply "Watten") is a Second World War bunker, now part of a museum, near Saint-Omer in the northern Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, ''département'' of France, ...

* The local church, château and town hall There is a town walk which takes in most of these sites and can be downloaded from the town website. The town is a '' ville fleurie'' and is rated with three flowers. La Goudale have relocated to Arques from

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 ...

, to a state of the art brewery which can be visited.Visiting La Goudale Brewery
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References

External links

Town website

Gallery

File:Ascenseur03.jpg, Fontinettes boat lift File:Arques_22-09-2008_13-49-04.JPG, The church File:Arques_22-09-2008_13-45-17.JPG, The Château File:Arques 22-09-2008 13-33-14.JPG, The Town Hall File:Arques1.jpg, The "glass" roundabout {{authority control Communes of Pas-de-Calais