Hesdin
Hesdin | |
|---|---|
 Town hall | |
Location of Hesdin  | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Pas-de-Calais |
| Arrondissement | .svg){kind=small} Montreuil |
| Canton | Hesdin |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes de l'Hesdinois |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2001–2014) | Jean-Marie Roussel |
| Area 1 | 0.9 km2 (0.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | 2,474 |
| • Density | 2,700/km2 (7,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 62447 /62140 |
| Elevation | 23–34 m (75–112 ft) (avg. 26 m or 85 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
Geography
The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flow. A second bypass was built in the 1980s, taking all through traffic well away from the town centre.
The Canche river flows through the centre of Hesdin.
History
Hesdin was a fief of the counts of Artois, vassals of the Counts of Flanders until 1180. When Philip, count of Flanders gave Artois as dowry to his niece Isabel de Hainault when she married Philip Augustus of France in 1180, Hesdin and the other seigneuries passed to France. Though subsequently the territory passed to the Dukes of Burgundy, Hesdin remained one of a handful of French strongholds, until in 1553 Emperor Charles V ordered the utter destruction of the old fortified town on a rise of ground and built the present town the following year, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the original site, on the banks of the Canche.
In 1639 the French laid siege to Hesdin and under Louis XIII, it was recaptured for France. Thus, though Hesdin has an ancient name and 16th century structures, there is no medieval town at all.
The most recent and resourceful book on the history of Hesdin is Promenades dans Hesdin by Regis Deparis (2004) Template:Fr
Population
| 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3010 | 3105 | 3248 | 2977 | 2713 | 2686 | 2474 |
| Census count starting from 1962: Population without duplicat4es | ||||||
Places of interest
Hesdin is dominated by the central square, the Place d'Armes overlooked by the 16th-17th century town hall. The contemporary Church of Notre Dame was begun in 1565 and completed in 1685.
Notable people
- Jacquemart de Hesdin (c. 1355– c. 1414), miniaturist and painter to the duc de Berry
- The Abbé Prévost, (April 1, 1697 – 1763), celebrated novelist known worldwide for his Manon Lescaut, was born in Hesdin.
- Henri Titelouze de Gournay (1871-1933)
- Clovis Normand
- François Dalle
- Jean-Louis Cottigny
Miscellaneous
The best day to visit Hesdin is market day, Thursday, when a large range of goods can be purchased although the clothes and furnishing materials sold in the main square are not good value. A good range of local produce can be purchased from the stalls in the surrounding streets.
Twinned with
London Borough of Havering in London, England.
See also
References
External links
- Hesdin on the Insee websiteTemplate:Fr
- Hesdin on the Quid website Template:Fr
- English language website
 | This Pas-de-Calais geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |