Lestrem

Lestrem
Commune
Lestrem
Coat of arms
Location of Lestrem
Lestrem Lestrem
Coordinates: 50°37′23″N 2°41′09″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Béthune
Canton	Lillers
Intercommunality	Flandre Lys
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Jacques Hurlus
Area 1	21.15 km2 (8.17 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	5,073
• Density	240/km2 (620/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62502 /62136
Elevation	13–20 m (43–66 ft) (avg. 18 m or 59 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Lestrem (Dutch: De Stroom, Picard: Létrin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Geography

A small farming and light industrial town, situated some 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Béthune and 19 miles (30.6 km) west of Lille, on the D122, D178 and D975 roads, by the banks of the Lawe River.

History

The town was all but destroyed during the First World War.
In 1940, the small hamlet of Le Paradis, on the south side of the commune, was the scene of a massacre of British troops of the BEF, during the Battle of France. The town is twinned with Swanland in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	2,662	—
1975	2,727	+0.35%
1982	3,044	+1.58%
1990	3,753	+2.65%
1999	3,789	+0.11%
2007	3,943	+0.50%
2012	4,329	+1.89%
2017	4,532	+0.92%
Source: INSEE

Places of interest

• The church of St. Amé, dating from the sixteenth century.
• Two other churches at the hamlets of La Fosse and Le Paradis.
• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official website of the commune (in French)
• The CWGC cemetery at Le Paradis