Valenciennes¹

 

(väläNsyĕn') , city (1990 pop. 39,276), Nord dept., N France, on the Escaut (Scheldt) River. An old-line industry center in a former coal-mining region, its manufactures include railroad rolling stock, motor vehicles, paint, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and precision metalwork. An important place in medieval Hainaut, it became famous (15th cent.) for its lace industry. There is a museum there with works by Rubens and Van Dyck.

Commune of Valenciennes Façade of the town hall
Location
Coordinates	50°21'35" N 03°31'33" E
Administration
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Nord (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Valenciennes
Mayor	Dominique Riquet
Statistics
Altitude	17m–56m (avg. 42m)
Land area¹	13.84 km²
Population² (1999)	41,278
- Density	2983/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	59606/ 59300
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Valenciennes (Dutch: Valencijn, Latin: Valentianae) is a town and commune in northern France in the Nord département on the Escaut river. While the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. As of 1999, the commune has a population of 41,278 while the metropolitan area numbers 399,677. This renewed growth is particularly notable for Valenciennes, as well as some suburbs.

History

Valenciennes is first mentioned in 693 in a legal document written by Clovis II. In the 9th century the region was overrun by the Normans. Once the Empire of the Franks was established, the city began to develop. In 1008, a terrible famine brought the Plague.

In the 14th century, the Tower of Dodenne was built. In the 15th century, the County of Hainault, of which Valenciennes is part, was re-attached to Burgundy. In 1524, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, arrived at Valenciennes. With its manufacturers of wool and fine linens, the city was able to become economically independent.

Around 1560, Valenciennes became an early center of Calvinism. In 1562, here occurred the first act of resistance against religious persecution in the Netherlands, when a crowd liberated some Protestants condemned to die at the stake. In 1580, the town, by then a Calvinist stronghold, was conquered by Alexander Farnese and Protestantism was eradicated.

By the Treaty of Nijmegen, the French took control of Valenciennes (1678) and the surrounding southern part of Hainault, roughly cutting the former county in halves. Shortly thereafter, Vauban visited the city in the effort to fortify the northern reaches of France.

The city was under siege in 1793, during the Napoleonic wars.

Economy

Valenciennes is historically renowned for its lace. Until the 1970s, the main industries were steel and textiles. Since their decline, reconversion attempts focus mainly on automobile production. In 2001, Toyota built its Western European assembly line for the Toyota Yaris in Valenciennes. Because of this and other changes, the average unemployment in the region is now lower than the national average.

On 15 July 2004 the Administrative Board of the European Union's Railway Agency held its first meeting in Phénix, with representatives of the 25 Member States and François Lamoureux, those days Director General for Energy and Transportation at the European Commission. Valenciennes was picked as the European Railway Agency headquarters in December of 2003. International conferences are held in Lille.

Public transportation system

Main article: Tramway de Valenciennes

Line #1 of the tramway was put into service on July 3, 2006. 9.5 km long, this tramway crosses the five communes in the Valenciennois Metropolitain area, at a cost of 242.75 million Euros.

Administration

Valenciennes is a subprefecture of the Nord département.

Mayors since 1947

• 1947-1988: Pierre Carous, resigned (died in 1990)
• 1988-1989: Olivier Marlière
• 1989-2002: Jean-Louis Borloo, resigned when he entered the national government
• 2002- : Dominique Riquet

Miscellaneous

• Inhabitants are called valenciennois.
• A popular local way of serving coffee is to top it with whipped cream. This is known as "café valenciennes."

Monuments and tourist attractions

The Hindenburg Line ran through Valenciennes during World War I, leading to extensive destruction. Valenciennes was again almost completely destroyed during World War II, and has since been rebuilt in concrete.

A few surviving monuments are:

• The façade of the city offices, which managed to survive the bombardments of the war.
• Notre-Dame du Saint-Cordon, to which there is an annual pilgrimage.
• La Maison Espagnole, the remains of the Spanish occupation, which ended in 1678.
• The Dodenne Tower, the remaining part of the mediaeval fortifications after Charles V ordered them reduced.

People born in Valenciennes

• Medieval chronicler Jean Froissart
• Queen consort of England Philippa of Hainault
• painter Antoine Watteau
• Jean-Baptiste van Mour
• sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
• drawing artist Charles Eisen
• syndicalist Émile Basly
• Ace Pilot Charles Nungesser
• Fighter pilot Edmond Marin La Meslée
• advertiser Jean Mineur
• actor Pierre Richard
• actor Jean Lefebvre

Twin towns

• - Agrigento (Sicily, Italy)
• - Düren (Germany)
• - Gliwice (Poland)
• - Medway (England, United Kingdom)
• - Moscow (Russia)
• - Nacka (Sweden)
• - Obuda (Hungary)
• - Salgotarjan (Hungary)
• - Yichang (China)

External links

• Official web site of the city: in French
• Discover Valenciennes: in French
• Nordmag History of Valenciennes
• Fortifications of Valenciennes

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