Picardy
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Picardy
Picardie | |
---|---|
Coat of arms | |
Coordinates: 49°30′N 2°50′E / 49.500°N 2.833°E | |
Country | France |
Dissolved | 1 January 2016 |
Prefecture | Amiens |
Departments | |
Government | |
• NUTS Region | FR2 |
Website | cr-picardie.fr |
Picardy (/ˈpɪkərdi/, Picard and French: Picardie, French: [pikaʁdi] ⓘ, Picard: [pika(ː)rdi]) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France.[2] It is located in the northern part of France.
History
The historical province of Picardy stretched from Senlis to Calais via the main parts of the Oise and Aisne departments, the whole of the Somme department and the west of the Pas-de-Calais department. The province of Artois (Arras area) separated Picardy from French Flanders.
Middle Ages
From the 5th century, the area formed part of the
The name "Picardy" derives from the Old French pic, meaning "
Beginning in 1419, the Picardy counties (
Modern era
In the 15th century, the government (military region) of Picardy was created. This became a new administrative region of France, separate from what was historically defined as Picardy. The new Picardy included the
département.In 1557, Picardy was invaded by Habsburg forces under the command of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy.[10] After a seventeen-day siege,[10] St. Quentin would be ransacked,[10] while Noyon would be burned by the Habsburg army.[11]
In the early 18th century, an infectious disease similar to
One of the most significant historical events to occur in Picardy was the series of battles fought along the Somme during World War I. From September 1914 to August 1918, four major battles, including the Battle of the Somme, were fought by British, Commonwealth, French and German forces in the fields of Northern Picardy.[14]
Picardy today
In 2009, the Regional Committee for local government reform proposed to reduce the number of
Today, the modern region of Picardy no longer includes the coastline from Berck to Calais, via Boulogne (Boulonais), that is now in the
Geography
Between the 1990 and 1999 censuses, the population of Oise increased 0.61% per year, almost twice as fast as France as a whole. Meanwhile the Aisne department lost inhabitants, and the Somme barely grew with a 0.16% growth per year. Today, 41.3% of the population of Picardy live inside the Oise department.
Picardy stretches from the long sand beaches of the Somme estuary in the west to the vast forests and pastures of the Thiérache in the east to Chantilly and Pierrefonds near the Paris Area and vineyards of the border with Champagne to the south.
Administration
The president of the regional council prior to its abolition in 2015 was Claude Gewerc, a Socialist who had been in office since 2004. That year he defeated longtime UDF incumbent Gilles de Robien.
Since 2008, the mayor of the city of
Language and culture
Historically, the region of Picardy has a strong and proud cultural identity. The Picard (local inhabitants and traditionally speakers of the
The villages of Picardy have a distinct character, with their houses made of red bricks, often accented with a "lace" of white bricks. A minority of people still speak the
Picardy is arguably the birthplace of Gothic architecture, housing six of the world's greatest examples of Gothic cathedrals, which span the history of Gothic architecture in its entirety. Amiens Cathedral, standing as the largest cathedral in Europe, which according to John Ruskin is the "Pantheon of Gothic architecture", could house Notre-Dame de Paris twice over. It was built in as little as 50 years. Picardy also holds the tallest transept in the history of the Gothic period; this transept is located in Saint-Pierre cathedral in Beauvais, Oise.
The Museum of Picardy in Amiens, built between 1855 and 1867, houses a vast array of great works, spanning the centuries and ranging from archaeology from ancient Greece and Egypt to modern works of Pablo Picasso. The museum was closed until the end of 2019 for building work.
Although Picardy is one of the least-known regions in France, its influence from art and most certainly architecture is vivid throughout the world.[16]
Major cities
In popular culture
- The song "Roses of Picardy" is a ballad written in 1916 during World War I. In 1927, the song title was used as the title of the silent British film of the same name.
- Picardy is one of the minor characters in the Japanese manga series Hetalia: Axis Powers.
- The french army song "Reveillez-vous picards" ( "picards awaken") was originally a rally song used by Charles the Bold's picard mercenaries.
See also
- War memorials in the Aisne region of Picardy
- War memorials in the Oise region of Picardy
- War memorials in the Eastern Somme
- War memorials in the Western Somme
References
- ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ Loi n° 2015-29 du 16 janvier 2015 relative à la délimitation des régions, aux élections régionales et départementales et modifiant le calendrier électoral (in French)
- ^ Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888–987
- ^ "picardy | Origin and meaning of picardy by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ Maciamo. "Eupedia". Eupedia. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-521-32208-9. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online. History of Picardy.
- ^ Potter 1993, p. 37.
- ^ Potter 1993, p. 39.
- ^ a b c A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, Vol. II, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 518
- ^ George A. Rothrock, The Huguenots: A Biography of a Minority, (Nelson-Hall, Inc., 1979), 48.
- ^ T. F. C. Hecher (1844). The epidemics of the Middle ages. G. Woodfall and Von. pp. 315–318. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ "Picardie". French.co.uk.
- ISBN 978-0-307-26585-2. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- The Walters Art Museum.
- ^ "Gothic Art in Picardy". 80011 AMIENS Cedex 1: Picardy Tourist Office. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
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Bibliography
- Potter, David (1993). War and Government in the French Provinces: Picardy 1470-1560. Cambridge University Press.
External links
- Picardy: the other north of France – Official French website
- (in French) Official regional council website
- Picardy, brief guide to the region and attractions
- photos from Southern Picardy