Ablain-Saint-Nazaire

French commune
name=Ablain-Saint-Nazaire


caption=Ruins of the church destroyed during World War I
region=Nord-Pas-de-Calais
departement=Pas-de-Calais
arrondissement=Arras
canton= Vimy
insee=62001
cp= 62153
maire= Dominique Robillart
mandat=2008-2014
intercomm=Lens-Liévin
longitude=2.71333333333
latitude=50.3927777778
alt moy=95 m
alt mini=77
alt maxi=188 m
hectares=985
km²=9.85
sans=1,890
date-sans=2005
dens=191
date-dens=2005

Ablain-Saint-Nazaire is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.

Geography

A farming village located 8 miles (12km) north of Arras, on the D57 road. It was rebuilt after being destroyed during World War I. The Saint-Nazaire stream, which passes through the commune, is a small tributary of the river Deûle.

Population

History

At the start of World War I, the Battle of Lorette lasted for 12 months, from October 1914 to October 1915, resulting in high casualties on both sides: 100,000 killed and as many wounded. A French national cemetery was built on 13 hectares nearby and comprises 20,000 graves, laid out irrespective of rank or military training. General Barbot has a private soldier buried next to him, on his right. In eight ossuaries, around the base of the lantern tower, are the remains of 22,970 unidentified soldiers. A portion of the cemetery has been reserved for Muslim soldiers.

Places of interest

* The church of St. Pierre, dating from the 20th century.
* The ruins of the 15th century church, destroyed in World War I.
* The war museum.

See also

* Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

Notes

*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on May 29th 2008."

External links

* [http://www.agglo-lenslievin.fr The Communauté d'Agglomération of Lens-Liévin] fr
* [http://www.ablain-st-nazaire.com Official website of Ablain-Saint-Nazaire] fr
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=62001&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Ablain-Saint-Nazaire on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=26501&req=Ablain-Saint-Nazaire Ablain-Saint-Nazaire on the Quid website] fr