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Lens, Pas-de-Calais

 

 
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Lens, Pas-de-Calais
 
 
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Lens (pronounced ) is a commune
Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative divisions in the France. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin Medieval commune, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin communis, things held in common....
 in the Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais

Pas-de-Calais is a Departments of France in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders....
 department in northern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. It is one of France's large Picard
Picard language

Picard is a language closely related to French language, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two List of regions in France in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy – and in parts of the Belgium region Wallonia ....
e cities along with Lille
Lille

Lille is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Urban Community of Lille M?tropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille....
, Valenciennes
Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded....
, Amiens
Amiens

Amiens is a city and Communes of France in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme Departments of France in Picardie....
, Roubaix
Roubaix

Roubaix is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is located near the cities of Lille and Tourcoing and the Belgium border....
, Tourcoing
Tourcoing

Tourcoing is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is located near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgium border....
, Arras
Arras

Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard language dialect....
, and Douai
Douai

Douai is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is a Subprefectures in France of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfry ....
.

belongs to the intercommunality of Lens-Liévin, which consists of 36 communes, with a total population of 250,000. Lens, along with Douai
Douai

Douai is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is a Subprefectures in France of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfry ....
, forms the metropolitan area of Douai-Lens, whose population at the 1999 census was 552,682.

city is an industrial and has a long history of coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 mining.






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Encyclopedia


Lens (pronounced ) is a commune
Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative divisions in the France. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin Medieval commune, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life, from Latin communis, things held in common....
 in the Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais

Pas-de-Calais is a Departments of France in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders....
 department in northern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. It is one of France's large Picard
Picard language

Picard is a language closely related to French language, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two List of regions in France in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy – and in parts of the Belgium region Wallonia ....
e cities along with Lille
Lille

Lille is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Urban Community of Lille M?tropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille....
, Valenciennes
Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded....
, Amiens
Amiens

Amiens is a city and Communes of France in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme Departments of France in Picardie....
, Roubaix
Roubaix

Roubaix is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is located near the cities of Lille and Tourcoing and the Belgium border....
, Tourcoing
Tourcoing

Tourcoing is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is located near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgium border....
, Arras
Arras

Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard language dialect....
, and Douai
Douai

Douai is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is a Subprefectures in France of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfry ....
.

Metropolitan area

Pas De Calais Est
Lens belongs to the intercommunality of Lens-Liévin, which consists of 36 communes, with a total population of 250,000. Lens, along with Douai
Douai

Douai is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is a Subprefectures in France of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfry ....
, forms the metropolitan area of Douai-Lens, whose population at the 1999 census was 552,682.

Economy

The city is an industrial and has a long history of coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 mining. Surrounding the town are many large slag heap
Slag heap

A slag heap is a pile built of accumulated tailings, which are by-products of mining. These waste materials are mostly composed of shale, as well as smaller quantities of carboniferous sandstone and various other residues....
s, evidence of over a hundred years of mining, which came to an end in the 1960s.

Miscellaneous


The city supports a top-level
Ligue 1

Ligue 1 is the top division of French and Monegasque football , one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
 football
Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world....
 team, Racing Club de Lens
RC Lens

Racing Club de Lens is a France football club which plays in the northern city of Lens, Pas-de-Calais, in the Pas-de-Calais d?partement. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold....
.

At Vimy
Vimy

Vimy is a communes of the Pas-de-Calais d?partement and chief town of a cantons of France in the Pas-de-Calais departments of France in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France....
, a small town very close to Lens, are the Vimy Memorial
Vimy Memorial

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a Canadian National Historic Site and one of Canada's most important overseas war memorials. Dedicated to those Canadians who gave their lives in the World War I, the Vimy Memorial is one of eight Canadian First World War memorials in Europe....
 and Vimy Ridge.

From 2009, Lens will also be the location of the Louvre-Lens
Louvre-Lens

The Louvre-Lens is a new museum due to open in 2012 in the industrial France city of Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Pas-de-Calais....
.

Personalities

  • Émile Basly
    Émile Basly

    ?mile Basly is one of the great figures of trade unionism in mining in the mineral field of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, along with Arthur Lamendin. He is primarily known for his participation in the strike action of 1884, when he became known as "the untameable miner" and "the tsar of Lens"....
    , trade unionist then mayor of the city, died there in 1928
  • Maurice Garin
    Maurice Garin

    Maurice-Francois Garin was a road bicycle racer best known for winning the 1903 Tour de France — the first running of the event. He was stripped of his victory in the second Tour in 1904 because, amongst myriad stories of cheating, he and 8 others were believed to have, ridden in or been pulled by cars, and used the railways....
    , first winner of Tour de France
    Tour de France

    The Tour de France is a bicycle racing over more than . It is held every year. It is held in France and visits a bordering country every year. It usually lasts 23 days....
    , died there in 1957


See also

  • Stade Félix Bollaert
    Stade Félix Bollaert

    Stade F?lix Bollaert is a football stadium in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France, that was built in 1932. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 41,233 - about 4,000 more than the population of Lens....
  • Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department


External links