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Arras

Prefecture and commune in Hauts-de-France, France

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The Arras plain is on a large chalk plateau bordered on the north by the Marqueffles fault, on the southwest by the Artois and Ternois hills, and on the south by the slopes of Beaufort-Blavincourt. On the east it is connected to the Scarpe valley.

Saint Vedast (or St. Vaast) was the first Catholic bishop in the year 499 and tried to eliminate paganism among the Franks. By 843, Arras was seat of the County of Artois which became part of the Royal domain in 1191. The first mention of the name Arras appeared in the 12th century. Some hypothesize it is a contraction of Atrebates, a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain that used to inhabit the area. The name Atrebates could have successively evolved to become Atrades, Atradis, Aras, and finally Arras. Others believe it comes from the Celtic word Ar, meaning 'running water', as the Scarpe river flows through Arras or simply the name of Abraham's wife Sarra spelled backwards.

Arras is Pas-de-Calais' second most populous town after Calais. The town counted 42,621 residents in 2022, with the Arras metropolitan area having a population of 159,719. Arras is located 182 kilometres (113 miles) north of Paris and can be reached in 2 hours by car and in 50 minutes by TGV. It is the historic centre of the former Artois province. Its local speech is characterized as a patois. The city of Arras is well known for its architecture, culture, and history. It was once part of the Spanish Netherlands, a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from 1556 to 1714. Louis XIII conquered Arras in 1640; the town officially became part of France in 1659.

Arras attracts thousands of visitors every year, who commonly explore the city's architecture and historic buildings. Some attractions include the Town Hall and its Belfry (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 15 July 2005), the "Boves" (a maze 10 metres (33 feet) beneath the city), the Squares (La Place des Héros and La Grand'Place), the Art District (the Theatre of Arras and the Hôtel de Guînes), the Abbey District (The Saint-Vaast Abbey and the Cathedral of Arras), the Vauban Citadel, and the Nemetacum site (the ancient town founded by the Romans 2000 years ago). The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is just outside the town.

History

Prehistory

Archaeologists found evidence of prehistoric human settlements in the Scarpe basin. The archaeological sites of Mont-Saint-Vaast in Arras and Biache-Saint-Vaast were Stone Age settlements of the Mousterian culture. They were evidenced by the finds of stone tools. These tools show signs of the Levallois technique, a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping, developed by forerunners to modern humans during the Paleolithic period 170,000 years ago.

Very little was found to document the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the Arras area.

Antiquity/Foundation

Arras was founded on the hill of Baudimont by the Belgic tribe of the Atrebates, who named it Nemetocenna in reference to a nemeton that probably existed there.

In the Scarpe valley, archaeologists' excavations and data recovery revealed Late Iron Age settlements. These buildings, believed to be farms, were found near the municipalities of Arras, Hamblain-les-Prés and Saint-Pol.

The town was later renamed Nemetacum/Atrebatum by the Romans, under whom it became an important garrison town. No traces of any amenities such as a forum, theatre, or basilica have been identified. One discovery has been "one of the rare sanctuaries devoted to the oriental god Attis in France".

Medieval and early modern period

Before the Middle Ages

In the 4th century, Nemetacum was renowned for its arts and crafts as well as textiles trade throughout the whole empire. Between 406 and 407, the city was taken and destroyed by Germanic invaders. In 428, the Salian Franks led by Clodion le Chevelu took control of the region including the current Somme department. Roman General Aetius then chose to negotiate for peace and concluded a treaty (fœdus) with Clodion that gave the Franks the status of «foederati» fighting for Rome.

The town's people were converted to Christianity in the late 4th century by Saint Innocent, who was killed in 410 during a barbarian attack on the town. In 499, after the conversion of Clovis I to Catholicism, a diocese (évêché in French) was created in Arras, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras, and given to Saint Vaast (also known as Saint Vedast in English), who remains the diocesan patron saint. Saint Vaast then established an episcopal see and a monastic community. It was suppressed in 580 to found the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cambrai, from which it would reemerge 5 centuries later.

Early Middle Ages

In 667 Saint Aubert, bishop of Cambrai, decided to found the Abbey of Saint Vaast, which developed during the Carolingian period into an immensely wealthy Benedictine abbey. The modern town of Arras initially spread around the abbey as a grain market. During the 9th century, both town and abbey suffered from the attacks of the Vikings, who later settled to the west in Normandy. The abbey revived its strength in the 11th century and played an important role in the development of medieval painting, successfully synthesizing the artistic styles of Carolingian, Ottonian and English art.

High Middle Ages

In 1025, a Catholic council was held at Arras against certain Manichaean (dualistic) heretics who rejected the sacraments of the Church. In 1093, the bishopric of Arras was refounded on territory split from the Diocese of Cambrai. In 1097 two councils, presided over by Lambert of Arras, dealt with questions concerning monasteries and persons consecrated to God. In this time, Arras became an important cultural centre, especially for the group of poets who came to be known as trouvères. One particular society of such poets was later called the Puy d'Arras.

The wool industry and trade

The town was granted a commercial charter by the French crown in 1180 and became an internationally important location for banking and trade. The wool industry of Arras, established in the 4th century, became of great importance during the Middle Ages. Already in the 3rd century Romans had lauded the quality of wool from Tournai and Arras. By the 11th century Arras was the leading city and trading hub of the wool industry. This prominence would eventually shift towards areas north of Arras, and cities such as Lille, Douai and Saint-Omer, followed by Ypres and eventually Bruges and Ghent would become the centres of the wool industry and trade. However, by the 14th century Arras still was renowned and drew considerable wealth from the cloth and wool industry, and was particularly well known for its production of fine tapestries—so much so that in English and Italian the word Arras (Arazzi in Italian) was adopted to refer to tapestries in general. The patronage of wealthy cloth merchants ensured that the town became an important cultural centre, with major figures such as the poet Jean Bodel and the trouvère Adam de la Halle making their homes in Arras.

Late Middle Ages

The ownership of the town was repeatedly disputed along with the rest of Artois. During the Middle Ages, possession of Arras passed to a variety of feudal rulers and fiefs, including the County of Flanders, the Duchy of Burgundy, the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg and the French crown. In 1430, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc in French), was imprisoned in the region of Arras. The town was the site of the Congress of Arras in 1435, an unsuccessful attempt to end the Hundred Years' War that resulted in the Burgundians breaking their alliance with the English. After the death of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, King Louis XI took control of Arras but the town's inhabitants, still loyal to the Burgundians, expelled the French. This prompted Louis XI to besiege Arras in person and, after taking it by assault, he had the town's walls razed and its inhabitants expelled, to be replaced by more loyal subjects from other parts of France. In a bid to erase the town's identity completely, Louis renamed it temporarily to Franchise. In 1482, the Peace of Arras was signed in the town to end a war between Louis XI and Maximilian I of Austria; ten years later, the town was ceded to Maximilian. It was eventually bequeathed to the Spanish Habsburgs as part of the Spanish Netherlands.

Renaissance

Arras remained under Habsburg rule from 1493 until 1640 when it was captured by the French. The Spanish ceded it by the peace treaty in 1659 and it has since remained French. The Union of Arras was signed here in January 1579 by the Catholic principalities of the Low Countries that remained loyal to King Philip II of Habsburg; it provoked the declaration of the Union of Utrecht later the same month.

Modern period

During the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1712, Arras was bombarded by an Anglo-Dutch Army under Arnold van Keppel, the Earl of Albemarle.

French Revolution

Maximilien de Robespierre, a French lawyer and politician from Arras and one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution, was elected fifth deputy of the third estate of Artois to the Estates-General in 1789. Robespierre also helped draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

During the French Revolution, the city of Arras was first presided over by French reformer Dubois de Fosseux, erudite squire, secretary of the Arras district (arrondissement in French) and future president of the Pas-de-Calais department. Around the same time, competing against Aire-sur-la-Lys, Calais, and Saint-Omer, Arras won the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais. From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Reign of Terror, the city was under the supervision of Joseph Lebon who implemented food restrictions, ordered 400 executions and destroyed several religious monuments including the Arras Cathedral and the Abbey of St. Vaast. Arras' demography and economic activity remained the same throughout the French Revolution while Lille's grew exponentially. In 1898, under the influence of Mayor Émile Legrelle, some of Arras' ramparts were demolished to build vast boulevards, establish a new sewage system and replace the old railway station from 1846.

World Wars

World War I

During most of the First World War, Arras was about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) away from the front line, and a series of battles took place around the city and nearby, including the Battle of Arras (1914), the Battle of Arras (1917), and the Second Battle of the Somme component of 1918's Hundred Days Offensive.

On 31 August 1914, German light cavalry (Uhlans) arrived in Tilloy-lès-Mofflaines, and an army patrol made a foray into Arras. On 6 September 1914, 3,000 soldiers led by General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim barracked within the city and in the citadel. Shortly after, Louis Ernest de Maud'huy's soldiers partly repelled the German army troops, and trenches were dug in the Faubourgs d'Arras. On 7 October 1914 the city hall burned. On 21 October 1914 the belfry was destroyed, and so was Arras Cathedral on 6 July 1915.

In 1917, a series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, linked and greatly expanded by the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, became a decisive factor in the British forces holding the city - particularly during that year's Battle of Arras.

By the end of World War I (1918), the city was so heavily damaged that three-quarters had to be rebuilt. The reconstruction was extremely costly, yet it proved to be a success and allowed the city to expand. The town is approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) south of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial built in 1936 on Hill 145, the highest point of the Vimy Ridge escarpment. It is dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge assault (part of the 1917 Battle of Arras) and the missing First World War Canadian soldiers with no known grave; it is also the site of two WWI Canadian cemeteries.

On 9 April 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Arras Mayor Frédéric Leturque thanked Canadians, as well as Australians and British, New Zealanders and South Africans, for their role in the First World War battles in the area.

World War II

In the early stages of the second World War, during the invasion of France in May 1940, the city was the focus of a major British counterattack. Arras saw an Allied counterattack against the flank of the German army. The German forces were pushing north towards the channel coast, in order to entrap the Allied Forces that were advancing east into Belgium. The counterattack at Arras was an Allied attempt to cut through the German spearhead and frustrate the German advance. Although the Allies initially made gains, they were repulsed by German forces and forced to withdraw to avoid encirclement. Arras was then occupied by the Germans and over the years 1941-44 218 French Resistance members were executed in ditches around the Arras citadel.

On 3 September 1944, the city was entered and liberated by the British Guards Armoured Division.

Contemporary period

Town twinning

Ipswich

In September 1993, Ipswich and Arras became twin towns.

Ipswich marked this relationship by dedicating a public square, known as Arras Square. It is surrounded by Ancient House, the Buttermarket Centre and St. Stephen's Church.

Reciprocally, Arras has dedicated a public square to Ipswich, known as Ipswich Square (Place d'Ipswich). This square is identifiable by the presence of a British red telephone box.

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