Armentières Explained

Armentières
Native Name:Armentiers
Commune Status:Commune
Image Coat Of Arms:Blason ville fr Armentières (Nord).svg
Arrondissement:Lille
Canton:Armentières
Insee:59017
Postal Code:59280
Mayor:Bernard Haesebroeck[1]
Term:2020 - 2026
Intercommunality:Métropole Européenne de Lille
Coordinates:50.6881°N 2.8811°W
Elevation M:17
Area Km2:6.28

Armentières (in French pronounced as /aʁmɑ̃tjɛʁ/; Armentiers, Armintîre) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.[2]

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, on the right bank of the river Lys.

History

In 1668, the town became French, along with most of the rest of French Flanders. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Armentières acquired fame, being the “City of Fabric”. Industrial weaving, spinning and brewing 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 and the second for the Second World War and the Legion d'Honneur. 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.

During World War I, in October 1914, the town was the site of the Battle of Armentières. In April 1918, German troops shelled Armentières with mustard gas. 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.[3] [4]

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 (Northern Railway Company). The buildings were completed in 1861.[5]

The station is currently served by TER Hauts-de-France trains, on the routes between Lille-Flandres station and Dunkirk, and between Lille-Flandres and Hazebrouck.[6]

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France. Armentières is twinned with:[7]

Notable people

Monuments

The belfry of Armentières was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005 as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, and in recognition of their influence in the rise of municipal power in Europe.[8] The belfry, just like the nearing city hall was designed by the architect Louis Marie Cordonnier and is open for visitors and tourists.[9]

In fiction

Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers hides in Armentières and 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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Répertoire national des élus: les maires. data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 2 December 2020. fr.
  2. https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/59017-armentieres INSEE commune file
  3. Web site: Heller . Charles E. . Chemical Warfare in World War I: The American Experience, 1917–1918 . . Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . September 1984 . January 15, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070704205655/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Heller/HELLER.asp . July 4, 2007.
  4. Web site: British air raiders. nytimes.com. 7 June 1918. 23 August 2023.
  5. Devaux père et fils, « Chemins de fer : service et situation en 1861 », dans Annuaire statistique du département du Nord, Lille, 1863 p. 337 intégral
  6. Site SNCF, Informations pratiques sur les gares et arrêts : Gare d'Armentières (consulté le 29 janvier 2020).
  7. Web site: Jumelage. armentieres.fr. Armentières. fr. 2021-04-24. 2 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191102102037/http://www.armentieres.fr/rub/page/index.php?page=446. dead.
  8. Web site: Belfries of Belgium and France . UNESCO World Heritage Centre . United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization . 5 November 2021.
  9. Web site: Destination lille Cities and territories. www.visitlilles.com. 2019-11-19.