The areas of Pas de Calais and Nord are part of the Low Countries, known as Flanders, and including parts of Belgium and Holland. It has long been strategic territory, fought over many times across the centuries and therefore steeped in history. Changing hands frequently, the area has come under the ownership of England, Germany, Spain and France at various times – indeed, the area around St. Omer is still referred to as ‘Spanish Flanders’. There is an excellent web site which lays out the area’s history since medieval times, giving personalities and timelines in a fascinating and very clear manner. To read the detailed history, click on the following link: http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/flanders-medieval.htm
This covers:
Counts of Flanders in the Middle Ages
Draining the Low Countries
Prosperity in the medieval wool trade
French kings fight for control over Flanders
Flanders allies with England in the 100 Years War
Joan of Arc helps drive out the English
French king vs ambitious Dukes of Burgundy
Flanders gains a Hapsburg ruler – and France gives up
Flanders in the Spanish Empire
The next generation – the Dutch rebellion & the Spanish armada
The Sun King expands France into Flanders
Napoleon re-unified Flanders
1830 – modern borders established
Invasions by Germany
We have mentioned the Audomarois elsewhere. This amazingly fertile fenland was first drained at the initiative of Bishop Omer, after whom the city is named. The fenlands still use traditional watercraft, specifically designed as farming transportation. For a web site illustrating the Audomarois, go to: http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/visit/visit-stomer-audomarois.htm
Joan of Arc is probably the best known of the local medieval celebrities, but it is also held that the English Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament was hatched by dissident English Catholics hiding out in St. Omer. To learn more about the city, go to: http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/towns/saint-omer.htm
This will also link you to the following historic places of interest you can visit in the area:
Adomarois – Fenland countryside around Saint-Omer, for walking, cycle rides, etc.
La Maison du Papier – workshop and museum about paper making, in the park
Revived rural railway – seasonal ‘Valley of the Aa’ tourist train that runs through the park and serves several tourist destinations.
Places to visit in Saint-Omer and Arques:
Le Blockhaus d’Eperlecques – the original WW11 bunker for the manufacture of V2 rockets
Boat Trips – local, down the river Aa to the coast; upstream toward Lille
Distillery Persyn – Gin distillery that can be visited by boat
Cathedral – one of Northern France’s finest medieval buildings
St. Bertin’s Abbey – ruined in the French Revolution
Museums: Sandelin and Henri Dupuis, both in St-Omer
La Coupole – Museum of WW11, and rocket manufacture in deep excavation works
Dennlys Park – family amusements
Saint Omer Brewery
Canal and canal Barge Lift – river boat marina
There are many wartime locations around the area, as mechanised warfare swept the area in both the First and Second World Wars. Areas like the Somme, Paschendaele and the Normandy Beaches are all within reach for a day trip. Monuments such as La Coupole, Eperleques, the Maginot Line and a wide variety of coastal defences are all quite close. At La Coupole you will see a very moving exhibition showing the conditions in this area during the Second World War. A salutary reminder to us all of the folly of war.
http://www.flandersbattlefields.com/
http://www.somme-battlefields.co.uk/
http://battlefieldsww2.50megs.com/normandy_battlefields_tourism.htm
