Lillers

French commune
name= Lillers
region=
departement=
arrondissement=Béthune
canton= Lillers (chef-lieu)
insee=62516
cp=62190
maire=Lucien Andries
mandat=2008-2014
intercomm=Communauté de communes Artois-Lys
longitude=2.48305555556
latitude=50.5644444444
alt moy=29 m
alt mini=18 m
alt maxi=88 m
hectares=2690
km²=26,9
sans=9775
date-sans=1999
dens=363|

Lillers is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais "département" in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A small farming and light industrial town situated some convert|9|mi|km|1 northwest of Béthune and convert|25|mi|km|1 west of Lille, at the junction of the D185, D182 and the D69 roads. The town is bypassed by the N43 to the north and the A26 autoroute to the south. The river Clarence flows through the town.

History

After being owned by the Counts of Flanders, Lillers, which had been fortified against the Normans was given as a dowry in 1179 to King Philippe Auguste of France. In 1327, Artois was created a county by Louis IX. His brother Robert became the first Count. In 1303, the city of Lillers was looted by the Flemings. In 1340, King Edward III of England claimed the throne of France and started the Hundred Years War, marked by two famous battles, that of Crécy 1346 and that of Battle of Agincourt, 1415, where Robert Wavrin, Lord of Lillers, met his death. In 1542, during the war against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, French troops burned Lillers. The population were still living in tents or huts three years later.
After a period of peace, the Thirty Years' War caused devastation in the region. In 1637, the town was taken by Marshall de la Ferté for Spain. In 1639, it was won back by Marshall de la Meilleraye to become French again. The Spanish retook it, only to be beaten off by the French in 1657.
In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was concluded, which ceded most of the Artois to France, except Saint-Omer and Aire-sur-la-Lys.
In 1710, the region was the scene of the War of Spanish Succession. In 1710, Lillers was taken by Spanish troops. The allied British, German and Dutch forces under the command of the Duke of Marlborough established their headquarters at Lillers until forced out by the Marquis de Goesbriand, the head of the French troops.
The Treaty of Utrecht ended the war in 1713, when Lillers found itself a part of France.
The still thriving shoe industries of Lillers started in the 19th century

Population

Places of interest

* Vestiges of an old castle and other fortifications.
* Several manorhouses, dating from the 16th and 17th century.
* The church of Saints-Jules-et-Victon, dating from the 12th century.
* The chapel of Notre-Dame.
* A shoe museum.

People with links to the commune

* Henri Leconte, the French tennis player, was born here in 1963.

See also

Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

External links

* [http://www.mairie-lillers.fr/ Official commune website]
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=27006&req=Lillers Lillers on the Quid website] fr

Notes

*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on July 10th 2008."