Abbeville

Abbeville Abbekerke ( West Flemish) Advile (Picard)
Subprefecture and commune
The belfry, entrance to the Boucher-de-Perthes Museum [fr ]
Coat of arms
Location of Abbeville
Abbeville Show map of France Abbeville Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°06′21″N 1°50′09″E / 50.1058°N 01.8358°E / 50.1058; 01.8358
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Abbeville
Canton	Abbeville-1 Abbeville-2
Intercommunality	Baie de Somme
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pascal Demarthe[1]
Area 1	26.42 km2 (10.20 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	22,595
• Density	860/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Abbevillois, Abbevilloises
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	80001 /80100
Elevation	2–76 m (6.6–249.3 ft) (avg. 8 m or 26 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Abbeville (French:

Abbeville is located on the river Somme, 20 km (12 mi) from its modern mouth in the English Channel. The majority of the town is located on the east bank of the Somme, as well as on an island.^[3] It is located at the head of the Abbeville Canal, and is 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Amiens and approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Paris. It is also 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) as the crow flies from the Bay of Somme [fr] and the English Channel. In the medieval period, it was the lowest crossing point on the Somme and it was nearby that Edward III's army crossed shortly before the Battle of Crécy in 1346.

Just halfway between

• Émonville Park takes its name from one of its owners Arthur Foulc d'Émonville, an amateur botanist, who bought a part of the Priory of Saints Peter and Paul [fr] in order to accommodate a garden and to construct a mansion, which now houses the study and heritage section of the Robert Mallet municipal library. The remains of the priory include the entrance arch, current main entrance of the garden located on Place Clemenceau, as well as some buildings which make up the Saint-Pierre School, including the remarkable Chapel of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul (now in a very poor state). This place is considered by some to be the origin of Abbeville, because it was the location of the first château of the Counts of Ponthieu, called castrum. It is assumed that this place could have been the location of the farm of Abbatisvilla, dependent upon the Abbey of Saint-Riquier.^[4]
• The suburbs of La Bouvaque and Thuison are located to the north of the city. The municipal park of La Bouvaque, bordered by the Boulevard de la République, consists of the La Bouvaque pond and Collart meadows, former settling ponds of the
  Béghin-Say [fr] sugar factory. It was in Thuison that the Carthusian monastery of Saint-Honoré was founded in 1301 by William of Mâcon [fr], Bishop of Amiens.^[5] This was a property of the Order of the Temple, sold to the latter by Gérard de Villars, the last master of the province of France [fr].^[6] The sale was confirmed by Hugues de Pairaud, then visitor of France [fr].^[7]
• The suburb of Saint Gilles
• Rouvroy is to the west, and the origin of the name comes from Rouvray (from Latin roborem, Middle French robre, meaning "oak") indicates the presence of an oak wood or a remarkable oak.
• Mautort, beside Rouvroy, is a former stronghold located between Cambron and Abbeville. It is at the origin of the noble name of de Mautort, surviving in the name of the Tillette de Mautort family or, for example, of Georges-Victor Demautort [fr]. The name tort is attested in Old French with the sense of détour and Mau (from the Latin malus, meaning "bad"). The Church of Saint-Silvin de Mautort [fr], emblematic of the quarter, was initially a simple chapel of sailors founded in the 11th century and underwent many changes during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.
• Menchecourt, in the north-west, is known for its sugar factory (closed in 2008 and demolished in 2010) and for its football club.

Transport

Abbeville station is served by trains on the line between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Amiens and between Calais and Paris. Abbeville was the southern terminus of the Réseau des Bains de Mer, the line to Dompierre-sur-Authie opened on 19 June 1892 and closed on 10 March 1947.

Abbeville is located just near the A16 autoroute, and is about 1 hour 50 minutes by car from Paris.

Climate

Abbeville has an oceanic climate due to its proximity to the ocean.^{[citation needed]} The summers and winters are temperate and rainy, days of snow are fairly common (18 days of snow per year on average). There are 26 days of storm per year with a maximum in the months of July and August, the rains are frequent and distributed regularly in the year with precipitation totalling 781.3 millimetres (30.76 in) and 128 days with precipitation. The sunshine is average (1678 hours of sunshine) because of its position in the north and the oceanic influence also helps to prevent temperatures from being too high with only three days of intense heat (temperature > = 30 °C) and from being too cold with 6 days of heavy frost (temperature = -5 °C). The highest temperature was 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) on 1 July 1952 and the record low is −17.4 °C (0.7 °F), which occurred during a particularly cold spell on 17 January 1985.

Demography

Its

Demographic evolution

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 18,125 —     1800 18,052 −0.06% 1806 17,660 −0.37% 1821 18,654 +0.37% 1831 19,162 +0.27% 1836 18,247 −0.97% 1841 17,582 −0.74% 1846 18,072 +0.55% 1851 19,158 +1.17% 1856 19,304 +0.15% 1861 20,058 +0.77% 1866 19,385 −0.68% 1872 18,208 −1.04% 1876 19,381 +1.57% 1881 19,283 −0.10% 1886 19,837 +0.57% 1891 19,851 +0.01% 1896 19,669 −0.18%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 20,388 +0.72% 1906 20,704 +0.31% 1911 20,373 −0.32% 1921 21,472 +0.53% 1926 20,320 −1.10% 1931 19,335 −0.99% 1936 19,345 +0.01% 1946 16,780 −1.41% 1954 19,502 +1.90% 1962 22,005 +1.52% 1968 23,999 +1.46% 1975 25,398 +0.81% 1982 24,915 −0.27% 1990 23,787 −0.58% 1999 24,567 +0.36% 2009 24,325 −0.10% 2014 23,559 −0.64% 2020 22,895 −0.48%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS[11] and INSEE[12]

Age structure

The population of the commune is relatively old.

Economy

Abbeville is the seat of the

• The municipal theatre [fr], built in 1911, registered as an historic monument in 2003
• The Municipal Conservatory of the Abbevillois (music and dance)
• The Robert Mallet municipal library: It preserves a Heritage fonds including being based on collections from the ancient monastic establishments in the vicinity, with 972 manuscripts. Among these, is a Carolingian Gospel book running to 790–800 at the Court of Charlemagne.^[17]
• The
  Museum of France
• The Society of Emulation of Abbeville [fr]

Festivals

• Festival de l'oiseau et de la nature [fr]
• Les Nuits du Blues [fr]^[18]

Floral town

Abbeville was awarded three flowers in 2007 by the Conseil des Villes et Villages Fleuris de France [Council of Floral Cities and Villages of France] in the Contest of floral cities and villages [fr].^[19]

Sport

• Association Futsal Abbevilloise
• Rowing club, Sport Nautique Abbevillois, Centre nautique Jean-Raymond-Peltier
• Rugby union club, XV of Abbeville, at stage Imanol Harinordoquy (side of Justice)
• Cycling club, the Étoile Cycliste Abbevilloise
• Handball club, the EAL Handball
• Table tennis club, currently in Nationale 1
• Flying school of aeroplanes and gliders, and ULM school (Ludair), located on the edge of Abbeville and
  Aerodrome Abbeville
  )
• Football, Sporting Club Abbeville Côte Picarde, a team of one of the regional football leagues [fr]
• Field hockey, women's team playing in Nationale 1
• Judo Club Abbevillois
• Grand-Laviers golf course, north-west of the city, one of the largest of Picardy and one of the cheapest of France^{[citation needed]}
• Skatepark of Abbeville
• Boxing Club – Bobo-Lorcy and Benjamin-Leberton rooms
• Automotive Stadium of Abbeville
• Fencing club, Abbevilloise Fencing Association (AAE)
• Sporting club of swimming (SCA swimming)

Abbeville has featured as the departure point for Stage 4 of the

Victor Hugo evoked the trips he made to Abbeville in his accounts of travel.

André Maurois, in Les Silences du Colonel Bramble (1918) amusingly described the intact commercial spirit of the inhabitants of Abbeville in the last months of the war. Maurois' Ni ange ni bete (Neither Angel, Nor Beast) is also set in Abbeville.

Christian Morel de Sarcus [fr], in his novel Déluges, Éditions Henry, November 2004 (2005 Prix Renaissance), evokes the bombing of 1940 and the floods of the Somme of 2001.

Toponymy

The Romans occupied it and named it Abbatis Villa.^[3][20]

The name of the city is attested in various forms over the centuries: Brittania (in the 3rd century), Abacivo villa (6th century), Bacivum palatium, Cloie and Cloye (in the 7th century), Abacivum villa, Basiu, Haymonis villa, Abbatis villa, Abbevilla (in the 11th century), Abbavilla,

Abbekerke and Abbegem[22] in Flemish.

Heraldry

Abbeville boasted of having never been taken and was called Abbeville la pucelle ("the virgin"). It was also granted many privileges from the Capetian kings, to reward its loyalty.^[23]

Charles V granted to Abbeville, by letters patent of 19 June 1369 dated to Vincennes, to focus on its coat of arms the leader of France and the motto: "Fidelis".[24] The Abbeville arms are blazoned Azure three bendlets or, a bordure gules, a chief azure semé of fleurs-de-lis or.[25] Motto: Fidelis (I am faithful) Supporters: A branch of laurel and an oak branch tied with a ribbon, inscribed with the motto: Fidelis External ornaments: Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 with Palm. Decree of 2 June 1948: "Beautiful city, victim of the two World Wars, holder of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918, was the scene of violent fighting in 1940, during the Battle of the Somme. Suffered many bombardments from May 1940 to Liberation, which have caused the destruction of more than one-third of its houses and very painful human losses. Its severely affected population in its flesh and in possessions, did no less face the occupant businesses with a wonderful patriotism. Liberated on 2 September 1944, after severe fighting in streets, which was valiantly attended by its volunteer combatants inflicting severe losses on the enemy. In all circumstances proved worthy of a beautiful past of glory and loyalty to the motherland". (3 June 1948 Olympics) Citation to the order of the army of 12 August 1920: "By its military situation has been the object of repeated attacks by enemy aviation; despite its suffering and its mourning it has kept its patriotic faith intact." (14 August 1920 Olympics) Details: Charles V granted to Abbeville, by letters patent of 19 June 1369, Vincennes, to focus on its coat of arms the chief of France and the motto: "Fidelis". The Mayor's office of Abbeville uses this form, which voluntarily reverse the arms of Ponthieu. The mistake is often made. Even Robert Louis erred in "The Armorial of the Somme", which earned an added erratum. Since then, the error is taken from copy to copy. Jacques Dulphy. Official

Sobriquet

The blason populaire of the people of Abbeville is "chés bourgeois d'Adville".

Politics and administration

Abbeville was the capital of the former province of Ponthieu. Today, it is one of the three sub-prefectures of the Somme department.

Political trends and results

Presidential Elections Second Round:

Intercommunality

The commune is part of the Communauté d'agglomération de la Baie de Somme of which it has the headquarters.

History

Prehistory

Palaeolithic

The subsoil contains many vestiges of the Pleistocene. This discovery was a founding element of prehistory as a science.

The name Abbeville has been adopted to name a category of

A more refined and later version of handaxe production was found in the Abbeville/Somme River district. The more refined handaxe became known as the Acheulean industry, named after Saint-Acheul, today a suburb of Amiens.

It retained some importance into the Bronze Age.^[3]

Antiquity

Although the research of Jacques Boucher de Perthes has highlighted an occupation of the site of Abbeville (Menchecourt-les-Abbeville quarter) from the

In 992, Hugh Capet fortified the city and gave it to his daughter, Gisèle, on her marriage to Hugh I, Count of Ponthieu who resided in Montreuil.

High Middle Ages

From the 12th century, the Abbot opened a leprosy hospice, the maladrerie des Frères du Val, moved to

In 1095, Guy I Count of Ponthieu founded the Abbey Saint-Pierre of Abbeville and on 24 May 1098, he was dubbed as a Knight by Louis the Fat.

On the occasion of the

With the rapid development of the salt trade (from Rue), woad (waide in Picard) and industry of wool cloth, the bourgeois increased in number and political importance: They asked for a charter granted in the course of the 12th century and which was confirmed in 1184^[3][29] by Count John I of Ponthieu who died in Palestine. To commemorate the event, they built a belfry in 1126. A century later, Jeanne de Dammartin, Countess of Ponthieu (1220–1278), allowed the religious to convert an additional part of forests into cropland, allowing the development of the local economy. Afterwards it was governed by the Counts of Ponthieu. Together with that county, it came into the possession of the Alençon and other French families, and afterwards into that of the House of Castile.^[31] In 1214, the Abbeville militia took part in the Battle of Bouvines.

In the middle of the 13th century, Abbeville was "one of the best cities of the Kings of France". Its port was one of the first of the Kingdom and its considerable trade.

In 1259, the Estates-General of the Kingdom stood at Abbeville and Henry III of England has met with Louis IX of France to sign the Treaty of Paris, which settled the question of the conquests of Philip Augustus.

In 1272, Ponthieu with Abbeville, passed by marriage to the kings of England, but Philip V took over the city, claiming that Edward II of England had not fulfilled its duty of vassal. Edward II complied with the feudal law, and Abbeville fell under English rule. However many challenges rose between the bourgeois and their new masters.

Late Middle Ages

Throughout the Hundred Years' War, the town was alternately occupied by English and French forces, causing the inhabitants of the town enormous suffering. They were tested by excessive taxes and terrible epidemics. Over the decades, the region was devastated by looting, epidemics and wolves. The city thus appealed to the King of France twice, in 1406 and in 1415.

Affected by the

In 1360, it was transferred, with the

In 1361, Abbeville, again English, poorly welcomed its new masters. Ringois, a bourgeois of the city, refusing to take the oath of obedience to Edward III of England, was taken to English soil and hurled from the top of the Tower of Dover Castle into the sea in 1368.^[32] During this period, a revolt of Jacques was defeated by the Abbeville militia in the vicinity of Saint-Riquier. The soldiers of Charles V captured the city by surprise, but the English recaptured it shortly after and it remained in their possession until 1385.

Like other Picardy cities, it then passed under Burgundian rule at the end of the Battle of Mons-en-Vimeu [fr] in 1421. In 1430, Henry VI of England was received at Abbeville.

In 1435, the city was ceded to Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, by the Treaty of Arras.^[31]

In 1466, the municipality enacted safety regulations recommending to reduce or not use flammable materials (such as walls in timber or straw roofs) in construction, in order to reduce the risk of fire. However, it clashed with general hostility, and the regulations were finally just applied.^{[clarification needed][34]}

Louis XI failed before Abbeville in 1471, but recovered Picardy on the death of the Duke of Burgundy in 1477.

Early modern era

In 1477 it was annexed by King

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre caused no casualties in Abbeville due to the moderation of Léonor d'Orléans, the Duke of Longueville and governor of Picardy. However, Abbeville had embraced the Catholic League and suffered from the Wars of Religion, and it was relieved when it was recognised, by Henry IV in April 1594, despite the clergy who persisted in its resistance. Following this, on 18 December 1594, the King of France Henry IV visited Abbeville.

17th century

At the beginning of the 17th century a plague epidemic wreaked havoc. More than 8,000 people perished, thus depopulating Abbeville.

On 21 December 1620, King

In 1635 and 1636 the town suffered from the war against the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. They destroyed many villages located in the surrounding area. Richelieu stayed in the city in October. A plague epidemic raged again during the years 1635, 1636 and 1637.

In 1656, 6,000 soldiers, who had participated in the

In 1657, Louis XIV came twice to Abbeville with his mother, Anne of Austria.

By the mid-16th century, the

In 1685, it suffered a serious blow at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the Protestant temple was destroyed and the persecuted workers who were the majority of skilled labour left the town, including those of Van Robais. The population decreased very strongly and never fully recovered from this exodus of talent.^[3]

In 1693 the Ponthieu became the refuge of a considerable number of Bretons and Normans who had left their country because of famine [fr], but they almost all perished of misery.

18th century

In 1717, Peter the Great passed through Abbeville.

In July 1766, the

Administratively, the people of Abbeville formed a subdelegation [fr] whose competence has been confused with that of the delegation of the same name (located in the Generalitat of Amiens). On the eve of the Revolution, Abbeville was the chef-lieu of a main electoral Bailiwick (without secondary Bailiwick).

Abbeville was fairly important in the 18th century, when the Van Robais Royal Manufacture (one of the first major factories in France) brought great prosperity (but some class controversy) to the town. Voltaire, among others, wrote about it.

Contemporary era

French Revolution

There were no significant excesses during periods of Revolution and the Terror.

In 1793, on Place Saint-Pierre the furniture of the churches was burned, along with images and the feudal titles. The Church of Saint-vulfran [fr] became the Temple of Reason.

On 8 June 1794, a festival was celebrated in honour of the Supreme Being. Abbeville suffered from famine in 1794 and 1795.

On 5 January 1795, the Hotel of Grutuze, built under Charles VII, attended by the directors of the district, was destroyed by a fire.

In 1797, the Society of Emulation of Abbeville [fr], one of the oldest learned societies of France, was created.

In 1798 and 1799, the winter was severe and a part of the town^[38] was flooded.

Consulate and Empire

On 18 brumaire year X (9 November 1801), there was a terrible hurricane that caused more than 1,300,000 francs worth of damage in the arrondissement.

On 29 prairial year XI (18 June 1803),

In 1813, as part of the reorganisation of the cavalry which had been decimated in Russia, the arrondissement offered the government 43 men mounted and equipped.

Early in 1814, with

In early April, after the Battle of Paris and the abdication of Napoleon, 2,000 Lancers and Prussian cuirassiers commanded by General Röder arrived from Paris and the surrounding countryside, and committed all kinds of excesses during their stay.

On 27 April 1814,

During the First Restoration, many distinguished people and about 10,000 British troops passed through Abbeville, to return to their country. The Duke of Berry, accompanied by the 10th Regiment of Cuirassiers [fr] and the 108th Infantry Regiment [fr], stayed there.

On 21 March 1815, King Louis XVIII, who was on the way to exile, spent a night in the town.

In 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo, the town was again put into defence. However, after numerous desertions, the garrison was reduced to 400 men.

July monarchy, Second Republic and Second Empire

Victor Hugo came to Abbeville three times, as a tourist: In 1835, he stayed there successively from July 26 (after going down to L'Écu de Brabant), then on 4 and 5 August (staying at L'Hôtel d'Angleterre). In August and September 1837, he came to Amiens after having descended the Somme by Steamboat. Finally, in 1849, leaving the city in the rain on 11 September.

In 1847, there was the arrival of the railway in Abbeville with the opening of the Amiens-Abbeville section of the line of the

End of 19th century and Belle Epoque

Abbeville was the birthplace of

In 1896, the Socialist Jules Guesde came to lecture in Abbeville. In the aftermath, a group of the French Workers' Party and a House of the people are created. 1899, the phone has already arrived in Abbeville but its operation does not any satisfaction.

In 1899, Abbeville industry had a mill, a table linen factory, a rope factory, a factory of weight scales, three smelters, a boiler works, a locksmith for buildings, a wood grinding mill, a distillery, etc.

On 7 July 1907 was the inauguration of the La Barre Monument, gathering many Republicans, delegates from Socialist groups and free-thinkers.

World War I and the conferences of Abbeville

During World War I, the town was never occupied by the German troops (as evidenced by the monument built on the Mont de Caubert).

In 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, it served as a military hospital (the 3rd Australian General Hospital). As with Amiens and Beauvais, the town was partially destroyed and the aftermath of war [fr] is significant nearby, particularly due to unexploded ordnance still found in the soil.

In 1918, it was the seat of two Anglo-French conferences (conferences of Abbeville): That of 25 March, between Field Marshal Haig and Generals Wilson and Foch, who convened the Doullens conference. During the second conference on 2 May, Foch demanded authority on the Italian front but only obtained a power of coordination. It was at the Conference of Abbeville (1 and 2 May 1918) while the armies weakened that Foch opposite Clemenceau and Lloyd George would have considered a fallback to the south to protect the capital. In the event that the French and British armies were separated and they could no longer defend both access to the ports of the English Channel and Paris, the British army would have then withdrawn and stood on the Somme.

On May 31, 1918,

On 3 May 1936, voters in the 1st District of Abbeville did not derogate from a broad popular movement. In the 2nd round, they chose Max Lejeune [fr] as the MP who, at 27 years old, was the youngest elected to the chamber.

World War II

On 12 September 1939 a

In the development of the 1940 Battle of France, the Germans had massed the bulk of their armoured force in Panzer Group von Kleist, which attacked through the comparatively unguarded sector of the Ardennes and achieved a breakthrough at Sedan with air support. The group raced to the coast of the English Channel at Abbeville, thus isolating (20 May 1940)^[3] the British Expeditionary Force, Belgian Army, and some divisions of the French Army in northern France.^{[citation needed]}

After five years, in September 1944, Abbeville was liberated by the Polish 1st Armoured Division (which was attached to the 1st Canadian Army) under General Stanisław Maczek, which entered Abbeville through the suburb of Rouvroy. World War II was not kind to the architecture of the town as the famous 17th-century Gothic Cathedral of St. Vulfran was nearly destroyed.^[3] It, along with the town hall with its tower from the 13th century were saved, albeit damaged.^[29]

Floods of 2001

In the spring of 2001, the city, like the Somme Valley, had to suffer floods. These lasted several weeks, because of the saturation of the water table, the result of a year of exceptional precipitation. The station was inaccessible, the tracks being covered by several centimetres of water.

Military life

Units which have been stationed in Abbeville:

• 128th Infantry Regiment [fr], 1906
• 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval [fr], 1906

Places and monuments

The city was very picturesque until the early days of the Second World War when it was bombed mostly to rubble in one night by the Germans. The town overall is now mostly modern and rebuilt.

Collegiate Church of Saint-Vulfran

Built in 1911, the theatre [fr] is one of the few in the region that boasts an Italian room. Registered as an historical monument in 2003.

Belfry

Classified as a World Heritage Site in 2005 and registered as an historic monument in 1926, the belfry [fr] is one of the oldest in France, built in 1209. On 20 May 1940, during a bombing, its roof was damaged and it was only in 1986 that it was rebuilt. The belfry is one of the fifty-six belfries of Belgium and France registered in 2005 by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in recognition of its testimony to the rise of municipal power in the region and its architecture.^[42] It has housed the museum [fr] of the city since 1954.

Boucher de Perthes Museum

The Boucher de Perthes Museum [fr] is partly situated in the now unused bell tower of the 13th century which is inscribed on the World Heritage list.^[42] It is a tribute to Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes who also has a lycée named after him. The museum features artwork and artifacts from the 16th century onwards, along with other exhibitions that periodically change.

Château de Bagatelle

• Southeast of the town is the Château de Bagatelle [fr] from the 18th century.^[15] The folly was built in 1752 by Josse Van Robais. Inscribed as an historical monument in 1926, the regular garden and park were registered as historic monuments in 1946.

Manufacture des Rames

Classified as an historic monument in 1986,^[43] the Manufacture des Rames specialised in the production of luxury linen. The building was partly constructed in 1710.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre [fr], situated in the heart of the old town centre, is a collegiate Gothic church from the 11th century. The thirty-one stained glass windows were designed by Alfred Manessier (1911–1993) and were made in Chartres. The church was classified as an historical monument in 1907.^[44]

Other churches

• Church of our Lady of the Chapel [fr]: Steeple classified as an historical monument in 1910,^[45] the 18th century pulpit classified as an historical monument in 1909.^[46] Many objects inscribed as historical monuments in 1981, statues: Christ on the cross (15th century), God of mercy (16th century), Saint Nicolas (17th century), saint holding a sceptre (18th century), two bishops forming counterparts (Simon Pfaff de Pfaffenhoffen [fr], 18th century), Sainte Genevieve and Saint Louis (19th century); two stools of the church (17th century); buffet of organs (18th century); tableaus: the Holy Family (17th century), the Virgin (19th century), funerary stele (19th century).
• The Church of Saint-Gilles [fr] registered as an historical monument in 1926.
• The Priory of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul of Abbeville [fr] inscribed as an historical monument in 1993 (façades and roofs).
• Church of Saint-Silvin de Mautort [fr].
• The Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Rouvroy, built in brick, and has a bell tower with an offset clock [fr].
• The Church of Saint-Jacques, which was built in the Gothic Revival style by architect Victor Delefortrie [fr]. Poorly maintained, the municipal council voted on 7 February 2013 for its demolition, despite a certain wave of protest.^[47] The demolition was completed in May of the same year.

Archaeological sites

• The Carpentier
  excavation: An archaeological site of the Lower Paleolithic, classified as an historical monument in 1983.^[48]
• The Menchecourt
  excavation: An archaeological site of the Lower Paleolithic, classified as an historical monument in 1983.^[49]

• War memorial of the war of 1870, due to an Alsatian, Xavier Niessen, founder of the Souvenir français.^[50]
• Monument to Admiral Courbet, the work of Alexandre Falguière and Antonin Mercié.
• War memorial of the Great War, Les Patrouilleurs sculpture due to Louis-Henri Leclabart [fr]. Made of stone from Lavoux, the sculpture depicts a scene from the trenches. The monument was unveiled in 1923 by Marshal Foch.

Parks and public gardens

• The garden of Emonville [fr] in which is situated the Robert Mallet municipal library and the service of the municipal archives is named after one of its owners Arthur Foulques d'Emonville, an amateur botanist who had bought a part of the Priory of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul of Abbeville [fr], to accommodate a garden, and to construct a mansion. The main entrance to the garden is a remnant of the priory.
• The Carmel and its gardens
• The municipal park of the Bouvaque [fr] is home to many sedentary and migratory birds as well as willow, reed beds, etc.

Other monuments

• The Hotel Rambures, of the 18th century, inscribed as an historic monument in 1977.
• The Hotel Buigny inscribed as an historic monument in 1933.
• Abbeville railway station
  , of "seaside regional" style, is built around a frame of wood with red brick cladding, inscribed as an historical monument in 1984.
• The bathhouse of Abbeville [fr], built in 1909–1910 by Caisse d'Épargne on the plans of the architects Greux and Marchand. The sculptures are of Louis-Henri Leclabart [fr] (1876–1929), creator of the war memorial of Abbeville and the Delique Stadium. Registered as an historical monument in 2003.
• In the town centre, a dozen old houses dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were classified as historical monuments or registered as historical monuments between 1924 and 1974.
• The town hall, inaugurated in 1960.

Twin towns – sister cities

Abbeville is twinned with:

• Argos, Greece (1993)^[51]
• Burgess Hill, England, United Kingdom (1994)^[52]

Notable people

• St Vulflagius (died c. 643), also known as 'St Vulphy' or 'St. Wulflagius', hermit priest greatly venerated in Montreuil-sur-Mer.^[53]
• Roger Agache (1926–2011), archaeologist, considered one of the pioneers of aerial archaeology
• François-Germain and Jacques Aliamet (1726–1788), engravers
• Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet (1731–1797), writer
• Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier (1734–1794), harpsichordist, organist and composer
• Gabriel Barbou des Courières [fr] (1761–1827), general of the Revolution and the Empire
• Rose Bertin (1737–1813), milliner and dressmaker to Queen Marie Antoinette
• Georges Bilhaut (1882–1963), painter
• Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788–1868), one of the founders of the study of prehistory. As a tribute, the museum and the public school bear his name.
• Jesuit
  and scholar
• Alfred Broquelet (1861–1957), painter and lithographer
• Jacques Buteux (1600–1652), born in Abbeville, New France Jesuit in Trois-Rivières
• Abbé Pierre Carpentier (1912–1943), priest and resistance figure, deported and beheaded at Dortmund. He was vicar of the parish of Saint Gilles of Abbeville and had much invested in local Scouting. The Scouts et Guides de France of Abbeville Group bears his name.
• Louis Cordier (1777–1861), engineer of the Corps des mines, geologist and mineralogist
• Père Antoine Désiré Mégret (born 1797) Capuchin missionary, founded Abbeville, Louisiana
• Robert Cordier, engraver, active 1629–1653
• Admiral
  Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet
  (1827–1885), French admiral; a commemorative monument is located in the square bearing his name
• Jacques Darras [fr] (born 1939), academic and poet
• Mickaël Debève (born 1970), footballer
• Louis-Alexandre Dévérité [fr] (1743–1818), Deputy of the Somme during the French Revolution
• Didier Drogba (born 1978), Franco-Ivorian footballer, lived in Abbeville during his childhood. He was also a player for SC Abbeville.^[54]
• Gaston Dufresne (1886–1963), figure of the Resistance (member of Réseau Zéro [fr] France), President of the HLM office (1928–1963), Vice President of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of HLM cooperative societies [fr], Councillor (1945–1953) and Deputy Mayor (1953–1963). In May 1965, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of cooperative housing society co-founded by Gaston Dufresne (he has launched the construction of housing in accession to the property and contributed to the establishment of 500 of these homes in Abbeville), Max Lejeune, Mayor of Abbeville, inaugurated the street which bears the name of this tireless activist: "we wanted his name to remain forever engraved in our city" to keep the memory of "a hard worker hard who always fulfils his task voluntarily".^[55]
• Johann Duhaupas (born 1981), boxer
• André Dumont (1764–1838), several times member of Parliament for the sum under the Revolution, was sub-prefect of Abbeville during the First Empire
• Pierre Duval (1618–1683), geographer
• Emmanuel Fontaine [fr] (1856–1935), sculptor
• Thomas Gaugain (1756–1812), painter and engraver
• Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain (1798–1864), founder of the Guerlain perfume empire
• Philippe Hecquet (1661–1737), physician
• Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville (1743–1793), hero and martyr sans-culotte
• François-Jean de la Barre (1745–1766), victim of religious intolerance; a Monument La Barre [fr] commemorates him
• Calvinist schoolboy (regarded as a heretic) executed in the Butte Saint-Roch [fr] in Paris, for having desecrated the sacramental bread
• Max Lejeune [fr] (1909–1995), mayor from 1947 to 1988, MP, Minister, Senator
• Adolphe Leroy (1810–1888), artist, illustrator and lithographer
• Alfred Le Roy de Méricourt [fr] (1825–1901), physician, Member of the Academy of Medicine
• Jules Gabriel Levasseur (1823 – after 1878), engraver
• Pierre-François Levasseur (1753 – after 1815), cellist
• François César Louandre and Charles Léopold Louandre [fr] (1812–1882), historians
• Louis XII
  married in Abbeville in 1514
• Stanisław Maczek (1892–1994), Polish general commanding the 1st Armoured Division having released Abbeville in September 1944, made honorary citizen of the city.
• Robert Mallet, writer
• Alfred Manessier (1911–1993), representational painter, creator of the stained glass windows of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre [fr].
• Jean Marant [fr], marine and privateer from the 14th century, who became famous during the Hundred Years' War
• Jacques Marseille [fr] (1945–2010), historian, specialist of economic history
• Claude Mellan (1598–1688), painter
• Jean Miélot († 1472), private secretary to the Dukes of Burgundy
• Charles Hubert Millevoye (1782–1816), poet
• Gabriel Naudé, organiser of the Bibliothèque Mazarine, died in 1653 in Abbeville
• Henri Padé (1863–1953), mathematician
• François de Poilly (1623–1693), engraver
• Aimé Louis Richardot [fr], Mayor of Reims (from 1849 to 1850), died in 1884 at Abbeville
• Jean-Baptiste Sanson de Pongerville (1782–1870), politician and academician
• Louis XIII
• Jérémy Stravius (born 1988), swimmer
• Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (born 1977), politician
• Evens Stievenart (born 1983), racing driver

See also

• Bay of Somme [fr]
• Battle of Abbeville
• Beffroi d'Abbeville [fr]
• Ponthieu
• Église Saint-Silvin de Mautort [fr]
• Église Saint-Vulfran d'Abbeville [fr]
• Église Saint-Sépulcre d'Abbeville [fr]
• List of churches with an eccentric clock tower [fr]
• Forêt de Crécy [fr]
• History of Abbeville [fr]
• Travel of Victor Hugo [fr]
• Ponthieu
• List of Comtes de Ponthieu [fr]
• Communes of the Somme department
• Rural exodus in Somme [fr]
• List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in the Somme

Bibliography

• Hugo, Victor (1987). Œuvres Complètes – Voyages [Complete Works – Travel]. Bouquins (in French). Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont.
• Lesueur, Charles. Abbeville pendant la Guerre de 1914–1918 [Abbeville during the War of 1914–1918] (in French).
• Louandre, François-César. Recherches sur la topographie du Ponthieu, avant le siecle XIVe [Research on the topography of Ponthieu, before the fourteenth century] (in French).
• Louandre, François-César (1829). Biographie d'Abbeville et de ses environs [Biography of Abbeville and its surroundings] (in French). Devérité.
• Louandre, François-César (1834). Histoire ancienne et moderne d'Abbeville et de son arrondissement [Ancient and modern history of Abbeville and its arrondissement] (in French). A. Boulanger.
• Louandre, François-César (1837). Lettres et bulletins des armées de Louis XI, adressés aux officiers municipaux d'Abbeville [Letters and newsletters of the armies of Louis XI, addressed to municipal officers of Abbeville] (in French). with explanations and notes.
• Maisse, Gérald (2005). Paillart, F. (ed.). Occupation et Résistance dans la Somme 1940–1944 [Occupation and Resistance in the Somme 1940–1944] (in French). Abbeville.
  ISBN 978-2-85314-019-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
  )
• Mallet, Robert. Les Riches heures d'Abbeville [The Rich hours of Abbeville] (in French).
• Mallet, Robert. Mes souvenirs sur la vie abbevilloise [My memories of the Abbeville life] (in French).
• Micberth, Michel-Georges; Louandre, François César (1998) [1883]. Histoire d'Abbeville et du comté de Ponthieu jusqu'en 1789 [History Abbeville and Ponthieu County until 1789]. Monographies des villes et villages de France (in French).
  • Louandre, François-César (1998). Vol. I (in French). Vol. I. Le Livre d'Histoire.
    ISBN 978-2-84435-013-8
    .
  • Louandre, François-César (1998). Vol. II (in French). Vol. II. Le Livre d'Histoire.
    ISBN 978-2-84435-014-5
    .
• Morel de Sarcus, Christian (2004). Déluges [Floods] (in French). Éditions Henry. (memory of the bombing of 1940 and the floods of the Somme in 2001).
• Prarond, Ernest (1850). Notice sur les rues d'Abbeville [Instructions on the streets of Abbeville] (in French).
• Prarond, Ernest (1854). Notices historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur l'arrondissement d'Abbeville [Historical, topographical and archaeological records of the arrondissement of Abbeville] (in French).
• Prarond, Ernest (1875). Abbeville à table, études gourmandes et morales [Abbeville to table, gourmet and ethical studies] (in French).
• Prarond, Ernest (1871). La Topographie historique et archéologique d'Abbeville [The historical and archaeological topography of Abbeville] (in French).
• Prarond, Ernest (1873). La Ligue à Abbeville, 1576–1594 [The League in Abbeville, 1576–1594] (in French). Paris Dumoulin.
• Prarond, Ernest (1886). Les Convivialités de l'échevinage, ou l'Histoire à table [The convivialities of the aldermen, or table history] (in French).
• de Wailly, Henri (1980). Le Coup de faux: l'assassinat d'une ville (Abbeville 1940) [The false strike: The assassination of a city (Abbeville 1940)] (in French). Copernic.
• de Wailly, Henri (1990). De Gaulle sous le casque, Abbeville 1940 [De Gaulle under the helmet, Abbeville 1940] (in French). Librairie académique Perrin.
• de Wailly, Henri (1995). La Victoire évaporée: Abbeville 1940 [The Evaporated Victory: Abbeville 1940] (in French). Librairie académique Perrin.
• de Wailly, Henri (2012). L'Offensive blindée d'Abbeville 27 mai – 4 juin 1940 [The Abbeville Armored Offensive 27 May 27 to 4 June 1940] (in French). Economica.

Online

• Anon (2015). "British Towns Twinned With French Towns". Complete France. Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
• Anon (2014). "The "Phoney War" (1940)". Charles-de-gaulle.org. Foundation Charles De Gaulle. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
• Anon (2007). "Le CM2 a Visité la sucrerie" [The CM2 Visited the Sugar Refinery] (in French). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

Encyclopaediae

• Asimov, Isaac (1964). "Boucher De Crèvecœur de Perthes". Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology: The Living Stpries of More than 1000 Great Scientists from the Age of Greece to the Space Age. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
  LCCN 64016199
  .
• Canby, Courtlandt (1984). "Abbeville". Encyclopedia of Historic Places. Vol. I: A-L. New York, NY: Facts on File Publications.
  LCCN 80025121
  .
• Cohen, Saul B., ed. (1998). "Abbeville". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Vol. 1: A to G. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
  LCCN 98071262
  .
• Darvill, Timothy, ed. (2008). "Abbeville, France". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  LCCN 2008279152
  .
• Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abbeville". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  LCCN 2008934270
  .
• Van Valkenburg, Samuel (1997). "Abbeville". In Johnston, Bernard (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. I: A to Ameland (1st ed.). New York, NY: P. F. Collier.
  LCCN 96084127
  .

References

External links

Wikisource has the text of a 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article about Abbeville.

Wikisource has the text of the Nuttall Encyclopædia article Abbeville.

• Media related to Abbeville at Wikimedia Commons
• Abbeville travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website (in French)