- Racquinghem
French commune
name= Racquinghem
region=
departement=
arrondissement=
canton= Aire-sur-la-Lys
insee=62684
cp=62120
maire=Idzik Bernard
mandat=
intercomm=Communauté de communes du Pays d'Aire
longitude=2.35861111111
latitude=50.6938888889
alt moy=41 m
alt mini=20 m
alt maxi=68 m
hectares=532
km²=5,32
sans=2 334
date-sans=1 999
dens=438|Racquinghem is a commune in the
Pas-de-Calais "département" in theNord-Pas-de-Calais region ofFrance .Geography
A large village some 6 miles (9km) southeast of
Saint-Omer , on the N43 road, located on the banks of the Noeufossé canal, the border between the department ofNord and thePas de Calais .The commune is close to the eastern boundary of the Helfaut plateau, a remarkable geological and ecological area, not typical of the region, which now hosts the Helfaut Nature Reserve. Its flora comprises both dry and wet
heathland and some protected fauna, mostly amphibians.History
The area has been populated since before Roman times, as testified by artefacts discovered in the commune.
Various wars have been waged around the town, including the war of 1046 to 1056 between
Baldwin V, Count of Flanders andHenry III, Holy Roman Emperor , one battle of which was fought betweenArques andAire-sur-la-Lys . An artificial border was created on this occasion by digging a defensive canal called the Neufe-Fosse, which eventually became the Noeufossé canal.Population
Places of interest
* The church of Notre-Dame, dating from the 19th century.
* The Château de Bambecque.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=62684&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Racquinghem on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=27171&req=Racquinghem Racquinghem on the Quid website] frNotes
*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the
French Wikipedia , consulted on May 17th 2008."
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