Thérouanne

French commune
nomcommune=Thérouanne
View of the village of Thérouanne, south of the former town
region=
departement=
arrondissement=
canton=Aire-sur-la-Lys
insee=62811
cp=62129
maire=Alain Chevalier
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Communauté de communes de la Morinie
longitude=02.259722
latitude=50.6375
alt moy=38 m
alt mini=31 m
alt maxi=116 m
hectares=837
km²=8.37
sans=1,063
date-sans=1999
dens=127
date-dens=1999

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

Geography

A village located 10 miles (16km) southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D157 and D341 road junction.

Population

History

At the time of the Gauls, "Tarwanna" or "Tervanna" was the capital of the Belgian tribe of the Morini. After the Romans conquered Gaul, they too made the city the capital of the "Civitas Morinorum" district.

In the 7th century, probably around 639, Saint-Audomare (Omer) established the bishopric of "Terwaan" or "Terenburg", which controlled during the Middle Ages a large part of the left bank of the river Scheldt. Territorially it was part of the county of Artois which belonged to the county of Flanders.

Thanks to that ecclesiastical control of some of the most prosperous cities north of the Alps, like Arras and Ypres, the bishopric was able to build a cathedral which was at the time the largest in France.

In 1553 Charles V besieged Thérouanne, then a French enclave in the Holy Roman Empire, in revenge for a defeat by the French at Metz. After he captured the city he ordered it to be razed to the ground, the roads to be broken up, and the area to be ploughed and salted. Only a small commune which lay outside the city walls, then named Saint-Martin-Outre-Eaux, was left standing, and later (probably around 1800) took over the name "Thérouanne". Part of the portal of the cathedral was acquired by Saint-Omer; a colossal statue of Christ is all that is left of it these days.

The disappearance of the former bishopric led to a reform of bishopric seats at the Council of Trent; the bishopric of Thérouanne was split in those of Saint-Omer and Ypres.

Bishops

*Hunfrid of Prüm (d.871)
*A certain Adam, seated 1213–1229 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_leaders_in_1220]
*Avignon Pope Clement VII, seated 1361–1368
*John, Cardinal of Lorraine (d.1550)

Places of interest

* The church of Saint Martin, dating from the 19th century.
* The archaeological site, remains of the medieval city.

Miscellaneous

Thérouanne is twinned with Hamstreet in Kent (in southern England, across the English Channel).

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=62811&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Thérouanne on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=27296&req=Thiembronne Thérouanne on the Quid website] fr