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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
.
History
Hem is one of the oldest communes in the North of France. Originally known as ‘Ham’, it became ‘Hem’ during the 14th century. The name means ‘the dwelling-place’ and suggests a large number of households of the size of a hamlet.
A territory of around , Hem at the beginning of the 19th century numbered just 4 876 inhabitants. It was at first essentially an agricultural centre with the fine plains of Hauts-Champs, Longchamp, Beaumont and Le Civron, but would reach the height of its industrial prosperity in 1900 although there would still be 41 farmers.
It was after the Second World War that the population of Hem began to grow rapidly. In the space of twenty years, Hem's population quadrupled. The town's former centre found itself increasingly pushed towards the town limits; the new housing was largely concentrated around the north of the town and would accommodate almost 50 per cent of the population. This housing would count for 72 per cent of the total housing of Hem but only 15 per cent of the total area of the town.
Unfortunately, the employment offered by the various firms and retail outlets of the town would not keep pace with the town's growth. In 1975, only 2 200 jobs were on offer to a potential workforce of 7 890 people (almost half of whom were manual workers). From the mid-1970s, with deindustrialisation, the town's population began experiencing slow but regular decline.
Since the 1990s, the municipal authority of Hem has prioritized the town's economic prosperity; as a result, around 15 new firms have set up in the town.
Population
Heraldry
Monuments
The Chapelle Sainte Thérèse (Saint Theresa's Chapel) was consecrated in 1958 by Cardinal Achille Liénart, Bishop of Lille. It was designed by the Swiss architect Hermann Baur. Its shape is reminiscent of a barn. It contains numerous works of modern art, including two walls of stained glass produced by Alfred Manessier. A scene from the French film The Dreamlife of Angels was shot within the Chapel.
People
* Daouda Sow (silver medallist in lightweight boxing at the 2008 Olympics).
* Alain Bondue (French Olympic racing cyclist).
* Michael Fortunati, pop singer, born in Italy but raised in Hem.
*Saida Jawad, French actress.
Twin towns
Hem is twinned with the following towns:
*
Mossley
Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester.
The town grew ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
*
Aljustrel
Aljustrel (), officially Town of Aljustrel (), is a town and a municipality in the Portuguese district of Beja. The population in 2011 was 9,257, in an area of 458.47 km2. The present mayor is Nelson Domingos Brito, elected by the Socialis ...
,
Alentejo
Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" ().
Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
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Wiehl
Wiehl () is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 41 km east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities Reichshof, Waldbröl, Nümbrecht, Much, Engelskirchen and Gummersb ...
,
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
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):