Ablaincourt-Pressoir
Encyclopedia
Ablaincourt-Pressoir is a commune
in the Somme
department
in Picardie
in northern France
.
The two villages were formerly separately administered, but were joined in 1966.
sub-region, where early French Kings made their base, at Noyon
.
The town is in a strategic position close to the intersections of the A1 Paris
-Lille
autoroute and the A29 autoroute between Amiens
and Saint-Quentin
. Two departmental roads meet nearby (the D150 and the D164).
The town also an international TGV
rail station, the Gare TGV Haute-Picardie
, nicknamed "The sugar-beet station" named after the predominant crop of the area.
Abatix Curtis, Habelini Curtis (1046), Ablani Curtis, Ableni Curia (1106), Abbecourt (1144), Abiaucourt (1215), Ablaincort (1230), Ablincourt (1733) and finally, Ablaincourt, which signifies an abbey.
Pressurs or Drêsur (1180).
In 1215, Jean I de Nesle built a castle here. Remains of the motte
can still be seen, which marks out the position of the keep.
In 1648, possession of the fiefdom of Ablaincourt passed from the Blattepière family to the Mathieu family.
During World War I
Ablaincourt et Pressoir were at the centre of the Battle of the Somme. Both communes were totally ruined by the fighting.
The 2 communes were still separate.
The 2 communes were still separate.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
department
Départements of France
The departments of France are French administrative divisions. The 101 departments form one of the three levels of local government, together with the 22 metropolitan and 5 overseas regions above them and more than 36 000 communes beneath them...
in Picardie
Picardie
Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department...
in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The two villages were formerly separately administered, but were joined in 1966.
Geography
Ablaincourt-Pressoir is found in the SanterreSanterre (region)
Santerre is a natural region of France, located in the center of the French region of Picardie.Located between Amiens and Saint-Quentin, the Santerre is a territory covering an area of about 3 000 km², including 242 communes and with a population of 106 489 inhabitants.Still covered with...
sub-region, where early French Kings made their base, at Noyon
Noyon
Noyon is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.It lies on the Oise Canal, 100 km north of Paris.-History:...
.
The town is in a strategic position close to the intersections of the A1 Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
autoroute and the A29 autoroute between Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
and Saint-Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
. Two departmental roads meet nearby (the D150 and the D164).
The town also an international TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
rail station, the Gare TGV Haute-Picardie
Gare TGV Haute-Picardie
TGV Haute-Picardie is a railway station on the LGV Nord-Europe between Lille and Paris. Geographically, it is located about ten kilometers west of Péronne, between the towns of Saint Quentin and Amiens. When built, it was criticised by the press for being too far from any of the towns to be useful...
, nicknamed "The sugar-beet station" named after the predominant crop of the area.
Etymology; Ancient forms of the names
- Ablaincourt
Abatix Curtis, Habelini Curtis (1046), Ablani Curtis, Ableni Curia (1106), Abbecourt (1144), Abiaucourt (1215), Ablaincort (1230), Ablincourt (1733) and finally, Ablaincourt, which signifies an abbey.
- Pressoir
Pressurs or Drêsur (1180).
History
- Ablaincourt
In 1215, Jean I de Nesle built a castle here. Remains of the motte
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
can still be seen, which marks out the position of the keep.
In 1648, possession of the fiefdom of Ablaincourt passed from the Blattepière family to the Mathieu family.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Ablaincourt et Pressoir were at the centre of the Battle of the Somme. Both communes were totally ruined by the fighting.
Demographics
- 1851 Census
The 2 communes were still separate.
-
- Ablaincourt = Population : 445 inhabitants
- Pressoir = Population : 144 inhabitants
- 1896 Census
The 2 communes were still separate.
-
- Ablaincourt = Population : 312 inhabitants
- Pressoir = Population : 106 inhabitants
People
- Eloi Driencourt, born in the hamlet of Bovent, Ablaincourt, doctor of the SorbonneSorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and for a while, advisor to Louis XV's queen, Maria LeszczyńskaMaria LeszczynskaMarie Leszczyńska was a queen consort of France. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland and Catherine Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was the grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. In France, she was referred to as Marie Leczinska...
(1703–1768), - Ludovic Hulin was elected in March 1995 and became the youngest mayor of Ablaincourt-Pressoir, at the age of 28.
- Reinhard Johannes SorgeReinhard Johannes SorgeReinhard Sorge was a German dramatist and poet. He is best known for writing the Expressionist play The Beggar , which won the Kleist Prize in 1912. Sorge served in the Imperial German Army in World War I beginning in 1915...
, a German Roman Catholic poet and dramatist, died at a First Aid post located at the ruins of Ablaincourt-Pressoir on 20 July 1916. Sorge had been wounded by a hand grenadeHand grenadeA hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
during the Battle of the Somme.