- Aire-sur-la-Lys
French commune
name= Aire-sur-la-Lys
region=
departement=
arrondissement=
canton=Aire-sur-la-Lys
insee=62014
cp=62120
maire=Jean-Claude Dissaux
mandat=2001-2008
mandat=
intercomm=Pays d'Aire
longitude=2.3975
latitude=50.6394444444
alt moy=22 m
alt mini=16
alt maxi=48 m
hectares=3338
km²=33.38
sans=9,651
date-sans=2005
dens=289|Aire-sur-la-Lys is a commune in the
Pas-de-Calais department in northernFrance .Geography
The commune is located 10 miles (16km) southeast of
Saint-Omer , at the junction of the N43 with several departmental roads, by the banks of theLys and the Laquette rivers.History
Aire-sur-la-Lys is mentioned for the first time in 857. It developed around a fort or
castrum built byBaldwin II, Count of Flanders in response to theNorman invasions. More growth followed with the establishment of theCollegiate church of Saint-Pierre byBaldwin V, Count of Flanders .
The town was laid siege ten times between 1127 and 1710. It was separated from theCounty of Flanders and attached to theCounty of Artois in 1196. Subsequently ruled by theBurgundian s then by the Spanish.
The town was besieged in 1676 by Vauban [User:Épiméthée/Vauban-Intelligence, p 167] and retaken for France, although it remained a Spanish possession until the 14th April 1713, when, by theTreaty of Utrecht , it finally became a part of France.Vauban ’s stronghold, which was a strategic position, was dismantled in 1893.Population
Places of interest
Collegiate Church of Saint-PierreThe church is one of the most important monuments, with its imposing style, in
Artois . It has all the characteristics of a cathedral, but in the absence of abishop , it cannot claim that title. Witness to the splendour of the city, the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre is of Romanesque style. Built between 1492 and the eighteenth century, one can see both on the inside and the outside of the building carving that details the 400 years progress. It has been the parish church since 1802. The tower, completed in 1624, collapsed soon after. Ten years later, the damage was repaired. The top of the tower was again restored between May 2005 and April 2007. The ground floor, the nave, choir and high arches are essentially Gothic. The dimensions of the building are impressive:
* Total external length: 105 metres
* Total external width: 40 metres
* Width of the central nave: 10 metres
* Height of the tower: 66 meters It was classified a historical monument in 1862.Le Bailliage
A Flemish Renaissance style building which was built between 1595 and 1600, as guardrooms for the militia of the city. It is commonly known as the Le Bailliage (
Bailiwick ), because at various times between 1634 and 1789, it served as the seat of the court bailiffs. In 1595, the mayor, one Jacques de Caverel had obtained permission fromBrussels to raise taxes on beer and wine for the construction of the guardhouse on the city marketplace and the monument was inaugurated on November 22nd, 1600. The building itself is an irregular quadrilateral of 125m square, with 3 facades giving out onto the Grande Place, Rue d’Arras and what was then the Rue des Cuisiniers. The architect, Pierre Framery was inspired by the former Hotel de Ville atAmsterdam . Many restorations have been necessary over the centuries. The Bailliage has undergone various uses: guardhouse, courthouse, Town Hall and police headquarters in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since 1970, it has been the Tourist Office. The large room upstairs is used for exhibitions. The Bailiwick has been classified as an historic monument since 1886.Town hall (Hôtel de ville)
After the return of Aire to the kingdom of France by the
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, KingLouis XIV gave permission to build a new and more prestigious Town Hall, in recognition of the suffering of the city during the siege of 1710 under Dutch occupation.Other historic buildings
* The Bell-tower, classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. Rebuilt in 1923 at the same time as the City Hall after a fire in 1914.
*Chapel ofSaint-Jacques , a former Jesuit college, built by Jean Beegrand between 1682 and 1688.
* Abbey of Saint-Augustin-de-Clarques.
* The former Governor’s residence.
* The old Lys brewery – interesting facades and roofs of the brewing and malting workshop and the former stables.
* Old city gates to Arras and Saint-Omer.
* Bastion of Beaulieu Chenal the canal entrance protected by a cofferdam.
* The Taix and Listenois cavalry barracks.
* The Beaudelle chapel - Listed facade and roof.
* Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Maggiore and St. Ignatius:
* Church of Saint-Pierre:
* Church of Saint-Quentin
* Fort St. Francis (also called High Gassion), with some above-ground remains visible and underground remains of fortifications
* Hospital / Hospice of Saint-Jean.People with links to the commune
* Michault le Caron, 15th century poet.
*René Goblet (1828 - 1905), Frenchpolitician , andPrime Minister of France for a period in 1886-1887.Twinned with
flagicon|GER Lendringsen,
Germany
flagicon|ENGSturry ,England
flagicon|ENGFordwich ,England
flagicon|WALFlint ,Wales See also
Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department External links
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=62014&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Aire-sur-la-Lys on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=26514&req=Aire-sur-la-Lys Aire-sur-la-Lys on the Quid website] frNotes
*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the
French Wikipedia ."
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