Ardres is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Population (1999): 4,198 inhabitants for the commune

Commune

Commune may refer to:In society:* Commune, a human community in which resources are shared* Commune , a township or municipality* One of the Communes of France* An Italian Comune...

 and 17,610 inhabitants for the canton

Cantons of France

The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...

.

Geography

Ardres is located 10.1 mi by rail (station is at Pont-d'Ardres, a few km from Ardres) S.S.E. of Calais

Calais

Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....

, with which it is also connected by a canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 (very limited turning space). It is one of three towns known as the Les Trois Pays ("the Three Countries"), the other two being Guînes

Guînes

Guînes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:Guînes is located on the border of the two territories of the Boulonnais and Calaisis, at the edge of the now-drained marshes, which extend from here to the coast. The Guînes canal connects with...

 and Licques

Licques

Licques is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village located 24 km south of Calais in the valley of the Hem, at the junction of the D191 and D215 roads...

.

History

Ardes, the first town in the French king's land, has a rich and vibrant history as a military and trading post for the English from 1347 to 1558.

The "Field of the Cloth of Gold

Field of the Cloth of Gold

The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...

", where Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 and Francis I of France

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

 met in 1520, was at Balinghem

Balinghem

Balinghem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Population:-Places of interest:* The sixteenth century church of the Nativité-de-Notre-Dame....

 in the immediate neighbourhood. The town is an important market for cattle.

Sights

Major tourist attractions at Ardres include the Chapelle des Carmes and the Eglise Notre Dame de Grâce.

There are also some lakes (created when peat was removed) which provide fishing and sailing.

See also

• Jean-Marie Dorsenne
  Jean-Marie Dorsenne
  Jean-Marie-Pierre-François Doursenne, called Dorsenne, count Lepaige was a French military commander of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
  
  (1773–1812), a French military commander of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, was born in Ardres