Liévin

French commune
nomcommune=Liévin | région=Nord-Pas-de-Calais |département=Pas-de-Calais| arrondissement=Lens
canton= Chief town of 2 cantons
insee= 62510 |cp= 62800 |maire= Jean-Pierre Kucheida |mandat= 2001-2008
intercomm=Communaupole
de Lens-Liévin |longitude=2.77861111111
latitude=50.4227777778
alt moy= |alt mini= 32 m|alt maxi= 80 m
hectares= 1,283 |km²= 12.83 |sans= 33,427|date-sans=1999
dens= 2,646 |date-dens=1999

Liévin is a town and commune in northern France, in the "département" of Pas-de-Calais.

Its population as of 1999 was 33,943 in the city, 21,622 in the northern canton and 25,766 in the southern canton.

Overview

The city of Liévin is an old mining city of Pas-de-Calais. Near Lens, this modest-sized city nevertheless has several nursery schools, schools, colleges, a university, a swimming pool, a city library, a cultural and social center (CCS), a hospital, a covered stadium, several gardens and parks, two movie theaters, two cemeteries, a Catholic church, a shopping center, a National Police station, a fire station, a complete intercommunity transportation system (Tadao [http://tadao.fr] ), regional newspapers, the main ones being "L'Avenir de l'Artois" [the Future of Artois] ,"La Voix du Nord" ("Voice of the North") and "Nord Éclair" ("Northern Flash"), etc. The city has also recently acquired ADSL connectivity.

Administration

Liévin is the chief town of two cantons. It belongs to the "communauté d'agglomération" of Lens-Liévin (Communaupole) which gathers 36 communes, with a total population of 250,000 inhabitants.

History

Prehistory

The history of Liévin begins very early. The foothill of Riaumont (highest point in Liévin) is a rich archaeological site. Traces of Neolithic and Gallo-Roman periods have been found there, and 752 tombs attest that Liévin was once a Merovingian burial ground.

Agriculture and mining begin

In 1414, there were barely 150 inhabitants in Liévin. At that point it was a village mainly concerned with agriculture. Up until World War I, the population steadily grew:
* 600 inhabitants in 1759
* 900 inhabitants in 1789
* 1223 inhabitants in 1820

Coal was discovered in the vicinity of Liévin in 1857. This precipitated an explosion of productivity, prosperity, and population. The population of Liévin was 25,698 in 1914.

Liévin during the World Wars

The First World War brutally ended Liévin's expansion. The city was ruined, the churches and castles destroyed. Human losses were 400 civilian and 600 military. The city of Liévin was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1920.

After the war, it was necessary to rebuild everything. After a few years, Liévin was again an active city, and mining recommenced.

The Second World War again stopped the progress of the city. In 1940, Liévin was evacuated, and the city was settled by Germans. Resistance was organized, in particular with the help of the "Voix du Nord" newspaper. In this war, there were 220 civilian and 225 military casualties. Liévin was liberated on September 2, 1944 by the British Eighth Army.

After the war, mining recommenced in force; coal mining was vital to the reconstruction of the French economy. Silicosis, which would kill many miners, made its appearance.

End of coal mining

In addition to silicosis, miners were in daily peril of being lost in mining catastrophes. There were five major mining catastrophes during the coal mining period:

* November 28, 1861, pit 1, 2 dead
* August 13, 1882, pit 3, 8 dead
* January 14, 1885, pit 1, 28 dead
* March 16, 1957, pit 3, 10 dead
* December 27, 1974, Saint-Amé pit, 42 dead

Additionally, a recession in the mining industry began and with it a recession in Liévin. From 1960 to 1970, 60 of the 67 pits closed, Following the tragedy in Saint-Amé, the last pit closed in 1974. Liévin no longer produces coal, and has moved on to a new chapter.

Liévin without coal

Liévin suffered a great deal from the abandonment of coal; the whole city depended on the mines. Fortunately, the city reconverted and, although it may not have the same economic dynamism of that epoch, the commercial and industrial areas are a source of employment for many, and the city remains relatively prosperous with 33,430 inhabitants (see above).

Mayors of Liévin since the French Revolution

* 1790-1810, Procope-Alexandre-Joseph de Ligne
* 1810-1819, Pierre Caron
* 1820-1822, Jacques Delaby
* 1822-1825, Pierre Caron
* 1825-1856, Henri-Antoine de Ligne
* 1856-1871, Nicolas Antoine Delaby
* 1871-1878, Alexandre-Procope Comte Jonglez de Ligne
* 1879-1892, Louis Schmidt
* 1892, Félix Pamart
* 1893-1905, Edouard Defernez
* 1905-1912, Arthur Lamendin
* 1912-1913, Pierre Leroy
* 1914, François Pouvier
* 1914-1919 : (evacuation)
* 1919-1925, Léon Degreaux
* 1925-1929, Jules Bédart
* 1930-1935, Silas Goulet
* 1936-1939, Henri-Joseph Thiébaut
* 1939-1944, Louis Thobois
* 1944-1945, Henri Bertin
* 1945-1947, Florimond Lemaire
* 1947-1952, Eugène Gossart
* 1952-1981, Henri Darras
* 1981- present, Jean-Pierre Kucheida

Miscellaneous

Famous people from Liévin include:
* Georges Carpentier, boxer, born in Liévin 1894
* Robert Enrico, director, born in Liévin 1931

Twin towns :
* since 1962, Hohenlimburg, near Hagen (Germany),
* since 1999, Bruck an der Mur (Austria) and Pasvalys (Lithuania),
* since 2000, Rybnik, (Poland) and La Valette-du-Var (France).

ee also

* Riaumont

External links

* [http://www.ville-lievin.fr Town council website] (in French)