Doullens
Encyclopedia
Doullens is a commune
in the Somme
department in Picardie
in northern France
.
Its inhabitants are called Doullennais and Doullennaises.
, the border with the Pas-de-Calais. Doullens is practically mid-way on the intersection of these axes :
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 Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
department in Picardie
Picardie
Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne 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...
.
Its inhabitants are called Doullennais and Doullennaises.
Geography
Doullens is situated on the N25 road, in the northern part of the department, straddling the river AuthieAuthie River
The Authie is a river in northern France whose 103 km course crosses the departement of the Pas-de-Calais and Somme. Its source is near the village of Coigneux...
, the border with the Pas-de-Calais. Doullens is practically mid-way on the intersection of these axes :
- AbbevilleAbbevilleAbbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
- ArrasArrasArras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect... - AmiensAmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
- Saint-Pol-sur-TernoiseSaint-Pol-sur-TernoiseSaint-Pol-sur-Ternoise is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The population of the canton is 14,939.-History:The county of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, usually referred to as just Saint-Pol, was originally a stronghold of the Counts of Flanders and was established as a county... - Crécy-en-PonthieuCrécy-en-PonthieuCrécy-en-Ponthieu is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France, located south of Calais. It gives its name to Crécy Forest, which starts about two kilometres to the south-west of the town and which is one of the largest forests in the north of France...
- BapaumeBapaumeBapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is... - Auxi-le-ChâteauAuxi-le-ChâteauAuxi-le-Château is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:A farming town located 28 miles northwest of Arras at the junction of the D938, D933 and D941 roads. The Authie river flows through the town, which once divided the commune into two parts, one in the...
- Acheux-en-AmiénoisAcheux-en-AmiénoisAcheux-en-Amiénois is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is a farming village found at the junction of the departmental roads D938 and D114.-History:...
History
- Doullens, the ancient Dulincum, was seat of a viscountship under the counts of Vermandois then of Ponthieu (Hare) and an important stronghold in the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. - In 1225, the town became part of France.
- In 1475 it was burnt by Louis XI for openly siding with the Duke of Burgundy. It received its name Doullens-le-Hardi from its gallant defense in 1523 against the Anglo-Burgundian army. In 1595 it was besieged and occupied by the Spaniards, but was restored to France by the Peace of VervinsPeace of VervinsThe Peace of Vervins was signed between the representatives of Henry IV of France and Philip II of Spain, on 2 May 1598, at the small town of Vervins in Picardy, northern France, close to the territory of the Habsburg Netherlands...
(1598).
- On 26 March 1918, orders giving General FochFerdinand FochFerdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
overall command of the allied forces on the western frontWestern Front (World War I)Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
were signed in a room in the town hallDoullens conferenceThe Doullens Conference was held in Doullens, France on March 26, 1918 between French and British military leaders. The purpose of the conference was to better coordinate the British and French military operations on the Western Front.- Cause :...
.
Sites and monuments
Sites and monuments include:- the ruins of Saint-Pierre, partly of the 13th century, used as a barn in the nineteenth century (Hare).
- Notre-Dame church.
- the early 17th century brick belfryBell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
. - the CitadelleCitadelleCitadelle is the French word for "citadel". It may refer to:*Citadelle of Quebec, in Quebec City, Canada*Citadelle Laferrière, in Northern Haiti...
, built by VaubanVaubanSébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
, which has often served as a state prison, and later, a reformatory for girls. When Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
saw the Citadel in August 1837, the famous writer said, "I don't like citadels!"