Auchy-lès-Hesdin

Auchy-lès-Hesdin
Coat of arms
Auchy-lès-Hesdin
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region Auchy-lès-Hesdin
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Montreuil
Canton	Le Parcq
Intercommunality	Hesdinois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Claude Darque
Area1	9.61 km2 (3.71 sq mi)
Population (2009)2	1,714
• Density	180/km2 (460/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62050 / 62770
Elevation	30–122 m (98–400 ft) (avg. 33 m or 108 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Auchy-lès-Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department and Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

Auchy is situated on the D94 some 29 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Montreuil on the banks of the Ternoise, a tributary of the river Canche.

History

Formerly called Auchy-les-Moines, the village owes its origin to the monastery founded by Saint Sylvain, who came here from Toulouse in 700. Destroyed by the Normans, the monastery was rebuilt in the 11th century by the Counts of Hesdin, and entrusted to the Benedictine monks of St Bertin (see Saint-Omer) in 1072.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	1,769	—
1968	1,861	+5.2%
1975	1,944	+4.5%
1982	1,814	−6.7%
1990	1,720	−5.2%
1999	1,759	+2.3%
2009	1,714	−2.6%

Sights

The abbey church

The pillars of the nave and the first span of the choir date back to the middle of the 12th century, the last two sections of the choir around 1200. They are the only remnants of the original church, which had to be almost entirely rebuilt after its collapse in 1280.
In 1415, several of the knights killed at Agincourt were buried here, including the Admiral of France, Jacques de Châtillon. Two decades later, the constant state of war forced the monks to desert the abbey, where they returned in 1457. Pillaged and burned by troops on several occasions during the 16th century, the buildings of the monastery were restored in the early 17th century. They were used as a textile mill after the Revolution and, with the exception of the abbey church, were finally destroyed by a fire in 1834.

Weir

Weir on the River Ternoise

A large and impressive weir on the river is a tourist attraction.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Auchy-lès-Hesdin on the Quid website (French)
• Official town website (French)