Aire-sur-la-Lys is a
communeThe commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life; from Latin communis, things held in common.French communes are roughly...
in the
Pas-de-CalaisPas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders.-History:Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Pas-de-Calais region was populated in turn by the Celtic Belgae, the Romans, the Germanic Franks and the Alemanni...
department in northern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
.
The commune is located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of
Saint-OmerSaint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
, at the junction of the N43 with several departmental roads, by the banks of the
LysLys may refer to any of the following:Places*The Lys or Leie, a river in France and Belgium*Lys , a stream of Aosta Valley in Italy*Lys, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in France...
and the Laquette rivers.
Aire-sur-la-Lys is mentioned for the first time in 857. It developed around a fort or castrum built by
Baldwin II, Count of FlandersBaldwin II , nicknamed Calvus was the second count of Flanders. He was also hereditary abbot of St. Bertin from 892 till his death. He was the son of Baldwin I of Flanders and Judith, a daughter of Charles the Bald...
in response to the
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
invasions.
Aire-sur-la-Lys is a
communeThe commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life; from Latin communis, things held in common.French communes are roughly...
in the
Pas-de-CalaisPas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders.-History:Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Pas-de-Calais region was populated in turn by the Celtic Belgae, the Romans, the Germanic Franks and the Alemanni...
department in northern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Geography
The commune is located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of
Saint-OmerSaint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
, at the junction of the N43 with several departmental roads, by the banks of the
LysLys may refer to any of the following:Places*The Lys or Leie, a river in France and Belgium*Lys , a stream of Aosta Valley in Italy*Lys, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in France...
and the Laquette rivers.
History
Aire-sur-la-Lys is mentioned for the first time in 857. It developed around a fort or castrum built by
Baldwin II, Count of FlandersBaldwin II , nicknamed Calvus was the second count of Flanders. He was also hereditary abbot of St. Bertin from 892 till his death. He was the son of Baldwin I of Flanders and Judith, a daughter of Charles the Bald...
in response to the
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
invasions. More growth followed with the establishment of the
Collegiate churchIn Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
of Saint-Pierre by
Baldwin V, Count of FlandersBaldwin V of Flanders was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death.He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders, who died in 1035.-History:...
.
The town was laid siege ten times between 1127 and 1710. It was separated from the
County of FlandersThe County of Flanders was a historical region in the Low Countries.It consisted not only of the two actual Belgian provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders but also much of the present-day French département of the Nord , in parts of which there is still a minority speaking the French Flemish...
and attached to the
County of ArtoisThe County of Artois was a Carolingian county , established in Western Francia. In Roman times, Artois was situated in the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania Inferior and inhabited by Celtic tribes, until Germanic peoples replaced them as the Roman Empire waned.It lies in present Northern...
in 1196. Subsequently ruled by the
BurgundianBurgundian can refer to any of the following:*Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now know as Burgundy ....
s then by the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
.
The town was besieged in 1676 by Vauban and retaken for France, although it remained a Spanish possession until the 14th April 1713, when, by the
Treaty of UtrechtThe Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713. The treaties among several European states, including France, Spain, Great Britain,...
, it finally became a part of France.
VaubanSébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and in breaking through them...
’s stronghold, which was a strategic position, was dismantled in 1893.
Population
style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"|Population history
| 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2005 |
|---|
| 8652 |
9179 |
9184 |
9535 |
9529 |
9661 |
9651 |
| Census count starting from 1962 : Population without double counting Population without double counting is an English translation of the phrase Population sans doubles comptes.In France, for the purposes of the census, the INSEE has defined several population indicators that allow people who live in more than one place to be counted in each place, to study and keep...
|
Places of interest
Collegiate Church of Saint-Pierre
The church is one of the most important monuments, with its imposing style, in
ArtoisArtois is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras , Saint-Omer, Lens and Béthune.-Location:...
. It has all the characteristics of a cathedral, but in the absence of a
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, it cannot claim that title.
Witness to the splendour of the city, the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre is of
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
style. Built between 1492 and the eighteenth century, one can see both on the inside and the outside of the building carving that details the 400 years progress. It has been the parish church since 1802.
The tower, completed in 1624, collapsed soon after. Ten years later, the damage was repaired. The top of the tower was again restored between May 2005 and April 2007. The ground floor, the nave, choir and high arches are essentially Gothic.
The dimensions of the building are impressive:
- Total external length: 105 metres
- Total external width: 40 metres
- Width of the central nave: 10 metres
- Height of the tower: 66 meters
It was classified a historical monument in 1862.
Le Bailliage
A Flemish Renaissance style building which was built between 1595 and 1600, as guardrooms for the militia of the city. It is commonly known as the Le Bailliage (
BailiwickA bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal imperial writ...
), because at various times between 1634 and 1789, it served as the seat of the court bailiffs.
In 1595, the mayor, one Jacques de Caverel had obtained permission from
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
to raise taxes on beer and wine for the construction of the guardhouse on the city marketplace and the monument was inaugurated on November 22, 1600.
The building itself is an irregular quadrilateral of 125m square, with 3 facades giving out onto the Grande Place, Rue d’Arras and what was then the Rue des Cuisiniers. The architect, Pierre Framery was inspired by the former Hotel de Ville at
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
. Many restorations have been necessary over the centuries.
The Bailliage has undergone various uses: guardhouse, courthouse, Town Hall and police headquarters in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since 1970, it has been the Tourist Office. The large room upstairs is used for exhibitions.
The Bailiwick has been classified as an historic monument since 1886.
Town hall
After the return of Aire to the kingdom of France by the
Treaty of UtrechtThe Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713. The treaties among several European states, including France, Spain, Great Britain,...
in 1713, King Louis XIV gave permission to build a new and more prestigious Town Hall, in recognition of the suffering of the city during the siege of 1710 under Dutch occupation.
Other historic buildings
- The Bell-tower, classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. Rebuilt in 1923 at the same time as the City Hall after a fire in 1914.
- Chapel
A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds...
of Saint-Jacques-Canada:* Saint-Jacques, a municipality in the province of Quebec* Saint-Jacques-de-Leeds, a municipality in the province of Quebec* Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur-de-Wolfestown, a parish in the province of Quebec...
, a former Jesuit college, built by Jean Beegrand between 1682 and 1688.
- Abbey of Saint-Augustin-de-Clarques.
- The former Governor’s residence.
- The old Lys brewery – interesting facades and roofs of the brewing and malting workshop and the former stables.
- Old city gates to Arras and Saint-Omer.
- Bastion of Beaulieu Chenal the canal entrance protected by a cofferdam.
- The Taix and Listenois cavalry barracks.
- The Beaudelle chapel - Listed facade and roof.
- Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Maggiore and St. Ignatius:
- Church of Saint-Pierre:
- Church of Saint-Quentin
- Fort St. Francis (also called High Gassion), with some above-ground remains visible and underground remains of fortifications
- Hospital / Hospice of Saint-Jean.
Notable people
- Michault le Caron, 15th century poet
- René Goblet
René Goblet was a French politician, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1886-1887.He was born at Aire-sur-la-Lys, Pas-de-Calais and was trained in law...
(1828 - 1905), FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
, and Prime Minister of FranceThe Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the functional head of the government and Council of Ministers of France. The head of state in France is the President of the French Republic...
Twin towns
GER Lendringsen,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
ENG
SturrySturry is a village on the River Great Stour three miles north-east of Canterbury in Kent. It is a large parish incorporating the former mining village of Hersden and several hamlets....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ENG
FordwichFordwich is said to be the smallest town in England, with a population of 351 recorded in the 2001 census. It lies in Kent, on the River Stour, northeast of Canterbury....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
WAL
FlintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in color, and...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
External links