Amiens is a French commune, prefecture of the department of the
Somme in the Hauts-de-France region. Historic capital of Picardy, it
is, with its 134,057 inhabitants called Amiénois in the last census
in 2017, the second city in the region after Lille and the
twenty-seventh in France. Located within the Paris - London -
Brussels triangle, it is at the heart of the Greater Amiens
metropolitan area, with nearly 400,000 inhabitants.
The first
city in France in terms of UNESCO heritage listings, Amiens is
famous for its Notre-Dame cathedral, a jewel of Gothic art and one
of the largest cathedrals in the world.
Nicknamed the "Little
Venice of the North" because of the many canals that cross it and
the hortillonnages (set of floating gardens covering 300 hectares),
Amiens offers a rich heritage and picturesque neighborhoods,
witnesses of a two-thousand-year-old history. Since 1992, the City
of Art and History label rewards the protection and enhancement of
this heritage.
The contemporary image of the city is strongly
linked to three activities which radiate beyond its borders: its
status as the historic capital of Picardy, the importance of its
university and the vitality of its cultural life carried by
infrastructures and national events.
Notre-Dame d'Amiens Cathedral is a Catholic church located in
Amiens in the French department of the Somme in the Hauts-de-France
region. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it is the cathedral church of
the diocese of Amiens. It is the largest cathedral in France by its
interior volumes (200,000 m3). Its overall length is 145 meters and
its vault height of 42.30 meters. Only the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre
de Beauvais exceeds it in height, with 48 meters high under the
vault.
Its construction is contemporary with that of the
cathedrals of Reims,
Bourges or Beauvais. It is considered the archetype of classical
Gothic style for the nave and radiant Gothic for the choir. The
flamboyant Gothic style is present in the rosettes of the western
facade and the transept, the upper parts of the north tower, the
Beau Pilier, the stalls and the statuary of the choir enclosure.
The cathedral has lost most of its original stained glass
windows, but it remains renowned for its 13th century Gothic
sculptures adorning its western facade and the portal of the Golden
Virgin on the south facade of the transept, as well as the stalls,
masterpiece cabinetmaking work. Its architectural unity is evident,
except for the upper parts of the two towers. The elevation of the
nave, choir and transept reflects the ingenuity and boldness of the
builders. Listed as a historic monument in France since 1862, it has
been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.
The Musée de Picardie is an art and archeology museum located in
Amiens, France. It brings together rich collections ranging from
prehistory to the twentieth century, particularly in archeology and
painting. It has received the “Musée de France” label.
Historical
From the cabinet of curiosities to the museum
At
the beginning of the 18th century, Étienne de Fay created, at the
Saint-Jean-des-Prémontrés Abbey in Amiens, a cabinet of antiques and
curiosities made up of a collection of heterogeneous objects,
including sixteen 17th century paintings. century, a 15th century
alabaster statue of the Virgin, a Bernard Palissy dish, numismatic
coins, ceramics, astronomical instruments. In 1786, the Vicomte de
Breteuil sent a letter to the king requesting the creation of a
museum in Amiens. The French Revolution temporarily put an end to
this project.
In 1802, 85 paintings and engravings were
deposited at Malmaison, to form the “Stock Exchange Museum”. At the
time of the signing of the Peace of Amiens, the State had some
twenty paintings from the Palace of Versailles deposited at the town
hall of Amiens, including the four Hunts in exotic countries by
Carle van Loo and Francois Boucher. All these works were left in
Amiens after the signing of the treaty.
In 1828, the Musée de
la Salle de la Bourse was inaugurated, the collections of which
consisted - for the most part - of antique statues. At the same
time, in 1835, the Society of Friends of the Arts of the Department
of the Somme was founded and in 1836 the Archaeological Society of
the Somme became, in 1839, the Society of Antiquaries of Picardy
which, in addition to carrying out archaeological research and
historical, set itself the task of creating a museum in Amiens.
Museum Foundation
The Société des Antiquaires de Picardie was
recognized as being of public utility on July 8, 1851. Thanks to its
militant action, the objects of art and archeology collected over
the decades could henceforth be preserved and exhibited in a museum
worthy of the name. In 1852, it was authorized by Napoleon III to
organize a lottery to finance the construction work of the museum
and the State granted it ownership of the land of the old arsenal of
Amiens in 1854. The “Napoleon museum” was born. In 1869, it was
ceded to the city by the Société des antiquaires de Picardie and
took the name of Musée de Picardie in 1875.
Paleolithic
The discoveries of important prehistoric deposits
at Amiens contributed to the birth of Prehistory, a science which
imposed itself in the second half of the 19th century. The territory
has enormous potential for Quaternary geology and for the study of
the first settlements in Europe.
The importance of the Amiens
deposits as well as the quality of the work of local prehistorians,
such as Victor Commont or Jacques Boucher de Perthes (considered the
founder of prehistory), have brought international scientific fame
to the territory. Like the Vézère and Dordogne valley, the Somme
valley is a reference for Prehistory and for the study of the
Paleolithic.
It is in Amiens that was thus defined one of the
oldest civilizations of humanity: the Acheulean. In 1853, “cut axes”
were collected in the old alluvium of the Somme near the suburb of
Saint-Acheul, to the east of the city. This discovery fascinates the
most imminent specialists of the time who flock to the site (Joseph
Prestwich, Hugh Falconer, Charles Lyell, John Evans, etc.). In
August 1859, Albert Gaudry discovered there nine new "cut axes"
which, according to him, attest to the great antiquity of humanity.
These discoveries mark the beginning of the great period of
Saint-Acheul which will last more than 75 years. Between 1860 and
1880, 20,000 bifaces were thus collected. From then on, the Amiens
site becomes the reference for the main facies of the Lower
Paleolithic and welcomes specialists and collectors from all over
the world. This success even gave birth to a trade in false cut
flint.
In 1872, Gabriel de Mortillet, designer of prehistoric
chronology, decided to call Acheuléen the period of Prehistory
characterized by the cut flints identical to those found in the
Saint-Acheul district.
Nowadays, the archaeological garden of
Saint-Acheul is open to the public and presents a landscaping of the
old quarries classified as Historical Monuments in 1947.
In
2007, archaeological excavations in rue du Manège brought to light
the very first traces of human occupation in an alluvial water
table. The remains collected during this intervention date from
around 500,000 to 550,000 years ago.
In 2014, a Gravettian
Venus dating back around 23,000 years was unearthed in the
Renancourt district. The Venus of Renancourt is the first work of
this kind discovered in the North of France and one of the rare
testimonies of the presence of Cro-Magnon man at the beginning of
the Upper Paleolithic. It is on display at the Picardy museum.
Mesolithic
In 2006, excavations made it possible to discover
Mesolithic sitesb on positions of the old banks of the Somme and
Selle48.
Neolithic
The Neolithic has not been the subject
of as intensive research as the Paleolithic in the territory of
Amiens. However, a deposit in the Montières-Etouvie sector yielded
an abundant Neolithic industry in yellow flint of excellent quality.
The brickworks of Renancourt have also unearthed vestiges
attributable to the Neolithic or Chalcolithic; This is evidenced by
the naviform bipenne ax which is on display at the Picardy museum.
Protohistory
In the third century BC, the territory was
occupied by a Gallic people, the Belgians, divided into several
tribes: the Ambiens occupied the surroundings of Amiens as far as
the coast. This population densely exploits the territory, with the
establishment of a network of farms. From the 2nd century BC,
oppidums were founded locally: L'Étoile, La Chaussée-Tirancourt,
Méricourt-sur-Somme, etc.
The Ambiens mint coins inspired by
the staters of Taranto, Magna Graecia, which tends to prove the
prosperity of this tribe and its economic links with the
Mediterranean. Ambian coinage served as a model for the Parisii and
the Bellovaques.
Nowadays, the Samara park is installed at
the foot of the old Gallic oppidum of La Chaussée-Tirancourt.
Located 15 km from Amiens, it is a natural and archaeological park
dedicated to Prehistory, Protohistory and the Gallo-Roman period.
Antiquity
Samarobriva (Pont de la Somme in Gallic) is the
name of the city of Amiens in Gallo-Roman times; it is cited for the
first time in Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. The
latter set up his winter quarters there on his return from an
expedition to island Brittany in 54 BC. A few years later, the
capital of Ambiens is a large city which controls the passage of the
Via Agrippa of the Ocean connecting Lugdunum (Lyon) to Gesoriacum
(Boulogne-sur-Mer). The junction point of many other Roman roads,
Samarobriva holds a strategic place in terms of trade and the
dissemination of Romanization.
During the first century, the ancient city developed rapidly
until it became the largest and most populous in western Gaul,
Belgium. The excavations undertaken near the town hall and the
courthouse revealed the foundations of monuments built for a
population greater than that of Lutèce (Paris) and at least equal to
that of Londinium (London): a forum, thermal baths as well as an
amphitheater that can accommodate around 15,000 spectators.
From the reign of Claudius to that of Marcus Aurelius, Samarobriva
experienced a prosperous period. It is a major equipment center and
sees a flock of legionaries and merchants.
From 235, the
overthrow of the Severan dynasty ushered in a period of economic and
social instability. The city undergoes Saxon and Frankish raids
before being again invaded by the Franks and the Alamans in 275 -
276. At the end of the third century, the city is surrounded by a
rampart and transforms its amphitheater into a fortress in order to
be protect.
During the Lower Empire, the fortified city was
one of the main rear bases of the Roman system facing the Great
Invasions. The enclosure protects an area of 20 ha.
At the
turn of the third and fourth centuries, Samarobriva takes the name
of "Ambianorum". “Most prominent city”, according to Ammien
Marcellin, it strengthens its military role and becomes a garrison
town.
Around December 334, Martin, a Roman legionary, shared
his mantle with a poor man at the gates of the city, c, before
converting to Christianity. The region was evangelized during this
period and the Christian tradition made Firmin, Fuscien, Victoric
and Gentien the first propagators of the new faith.
In 350,
Magnence, a Roman general born in Amiens in 303, had the Emperor
Constant I assassinated. On January 18, 350, he was proclaimed
Emperor of the West. In Rome, this convinced pagan restored old
beliefs while sparing the authorities of the new Christian Church.
During his reign, he rebuilt the temples and celebrated with pomp
great night sacrifices. He creates a monetary workshop in his
hometown. The great Roman Empire is living its last decades and
power stirs up greed; Magnence is threatened by Constance II who
makes him retreat. Defeated at the battle of Mons Seleucus, he
committed suicide in Lyon on August 11, 353.
In 367, Emperor
Valentinian I moved to the city in order to organize a maritime
defense system (Tractus Armoricanus and Nervicanus) and proclaimed
Augustus his son Gratien. In 368, Amiens is the starting point of
the operation which aims to restore the Roman order in Brittany.
In 383, the city surrendered to Maxime, proclaimed emperor by
the legions of Brittany.
At the beginning of the fifth
century, Germanic peoples ransack the city; the Huns would have
devastated it too. From 435, the Franks occupied the city. The town
became the main residence of Clodion le Chevelu, oldest known king
of the Merovingian dynasty and great-grandfather of Clovis, who died
there in 448.
Middle Ages
Apart from a mention of Grégoire
de Tours evoking the surroundings of the castrum, a charter of 779
citing Amiens as one of the first places of the Frankish kingdom and
another charter, of 850, attesting to an episcopal group made up of
at least two churches , only archaeological data allow a sketch of
the city during the six centuries following the end of the Roman
era. Amiens then preserves the ancient architectural framework: the
wall which closes the city, the road and some civil buildings such
as the amphitheater which becomes the main fortress. The excavation
of the market square has yielded only huts for the Carolingian
period. A story from the 950s draws a city organized in two poles,
one around the count's turris, the other around the bishop's turris.
In 859, the city was pillaged by the Vikings. In 881 - 882, the
latter occupied the city again and transformed it into a military
base before setting it on fire.
The city is rebuilt and
knows, thanks to the found peace, a new development from the
beginning of the eleventh century.
Around 1095, Amiens
benefited from a draft municipal organization; the town was sworn in
in 1113 and recognized by the king. In 1115, Louis VI le Gros was
present to support Bishop Geoffroy and the inhabitants against Count
Enguerrand de Boves who refused to recognize the municipal
institution.
An essential place between Île-de-France and the
county of Flanders, the city was reunited with the crown by Philippe
Auguste in 1185. The latter met and married in the city of Ingeburge
in Denmark in 1193. Amiens saw new fortifications s' expand
northward and industrial textile districts with multiple mills
develop. The traces of these districts are still visible today in
the Saint-Leu district.
In 1218, lightning destroyed the archives of the bishopric and
those of the chapter, and destroyed the Romanesque cathedral which
had been rebuilt after the Viking invasions. It was at the heart of
this city which enjoyed political stability and wealth that, from
1220, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world was built.
During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Amiens was one of the
main “draping towns” and developed an important trade in dyers'
pastel (called waide in Picard). Amiens blue made the fortune of the
city and helped finance the work of the cathedral. This prosperity
earned Amiens the nickname "country of blue gold".
During the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the city was the scene of great
events. On January 23, 1264, in the cathedral still under
construction, Saint Louis made a famous arbitration in favor of the
king of England Henry III known as the Dit d'Amiens. In 1279, the
King of France Philippe III the Bold and the King of England Edward
I initialed the Treaty of Amiens which put an end to the conflict
between Capetians and Plantagenêt. In 1329, in the cathedral, the
King of England Edward III paid homage to the King of France
Philippe VI of Valois. On July 17, 1385, Charles VI married Isabeau
of Bavaria there.
The Hundred Years' War had serious
repercussions on the territory so close to England. In 1358, the
battle of Amiens opposed the partisans of Charles II of Navarre -
including the bourgeois of Amiens - to the troops of Charles V of
France. Not far from there, the illustrious battles of Crécy (1346)
and Agincourt (1415) bloody the Picardy lands. In 1423, the Treaty
of Amiens sealed a triple alliance between the Duke of Bedford,
Philippe III of Burgundy and John V of Brittany to fight against
Charles VII.
From the end of the fourteenth century to the
middle of the fifteenth century, the economy of Amiens was in
difficulty. The war between France and England undermines the
fruitful trade exchanges between Amiens and the towns across the
Channel; the strengthening of the ramparts put a strain on the
finances and competition from foreign drapery caused a decline in
trade.
In 1435, by the Treaty of Arras, the city was ceded to
Burgundy before returning to the crown in 1477 at the will of Louis
XI. The sovereign then reaffirms the communal freedoms of Amiens and
grants it the motto it still retains: Liliis tenaci vimine jungor (A
powerful bond unites me to the lily).
In the last third of
the fifteenth century, Amiens found new economic momentum thanks to
the sayetterie, a light drapery. The Amiens merchants developed an
important trade in fabrics with Artois and Hainaut. The wools come
from all over Picardy and the fabrics are sold in Portugal,
Switzerland, Italy as far as the Antilles. The king authorizes two
annual fairs in the city, so that it not only increases but also
does not increase the flight of currency from the kingdom to Antwerp
and Bruges.
Modern era
Around 1520, charmed by the
reception he received in Amiens, François I had the Logis du Roy
built in order to spend part of the year there. Located opposite the
current courthouse, it remains one of the few examples of
Renaissance architecture in the city.
During the Protestant
Reformation, many disturbances broke out and fights took place even
in the cathedral. In 1588, the notable Amiens solemnly adhered to
the Catholic League; they did not recognize Henry IV until 1594.
On March 11, 1597, the Spaniards attacked the Amiens by
surprise: soldiers disguised as peasants came to the gates of the
ramparts with nuts and apples. Hungry Amiens then opened the doors
and the Spaniards seized the city by trickery. After the six months
of the siege of Amiens, Henri IV took over the city, put an end to
its privileges and imposed the construction of a vast citadel which
would penalize its development. His successor, Louis XIII, stayed in
Amiens several times during the Thirty Years' War. In 1636, then in
1640, accompanied by Cardinal Richelieu, he set up his headquarters
there during the sieges of Corbie and Arrasd. At the end of the
conflict, Picardy is devastated and the plague rages. The Peace of
the Pyrenees pushes back the border of the kingdom further north;
Amiens lost its place as a border town.
Although enamelled
with wars and conflicts, the seventeenth century was nonetheless
fruitful on the literary and artistic level. The city saw the birth
of thinkers and artists famous in their time, such as academician
Vincent Car, Charles du Fresne du Cange, Nicolas Blasset or Nicolas
Cornet. The college of Amiens enjoys a good reputation and the
schools flourish.
In the 18th century, Amiens benefited from a long period of peace
conducive to its economic development. The Amiens city councilors
undertake major town planning works; the ramparts gradually
disappeared to make way for wide boulevards, a promenade and a body
of water were built in La Hotoie (1746), seven public fountains were
put into service (1753-1758), the water tower was built (1755), the
town hall has a new facade (1760), the municipal theater is built
(1780), etc.
The Enlightenment movement found a favorable
echo in Amiens, where a growing interest in science and technology
emerged. In 1746, Jean-Baptiste Gresset created the Académie des
sciences, des lettres et des arts d'Amiens, a learned society which
is still active today. In 1751, the Jardin du Roy (the current
Jardin des Plantes d'Amiens) opened its doors and botany courses
were given there. Artistic and literary productions are abundant
throughout the century. In 1767, Jean-Jacques Rousseau received a
triumphant welcome during his visit to the city. In 1782, the Amiens
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos signed one of the masterpieces of French
literature, Dangerous Liaisons.
It was at this time that the
city's industry took its greatest expansion. In 1666, Colbert gave
the Amiens textile industry regulations which would contribute to
its growth and influence. In 1701, the Spanish and American markets
opened up to Amiens products. In 1756, Alexandre Bonvallet founded
his factory in the Faubourg Saint-Maurice and successfully
introduced embossing and printing on fabric. In 1762, Honoré Matifas
introduced to Amiens the manufacture of cotton velvet. In 1766, the
title of royal manufactory was granted to Jean-Baptiste Morgan for
his production of Utrecht velvet and cotton velvet. The city was
then the center of a considerable trade and produced all kinds of
fabrics: serges, Indiennes, street vendors, baracans, drugstores,
Utrecht velvet, etc. This production is shipped throughout France,
the Netherlands, the United Provinces, Germany, Spain, America, the
French Antilles, etc. In 1785, the importation of English textiles
and the new fashion for cotton caused an economic slowdown which led
to the unemployment of thousands of friends.
Contemporary
period
The revolutionary period, although dotted with conflicts
and fruit riots (1789, 1795), was relatively calm in Amiens. In
March 1790, the town became the capital of the Somme department.
The periods of the Consulate and the First Empire reinforce the
city's position. On March 25, 1802, the United Kingdom and France
signed the Peace of Amiens at the town hall; this peace treaty puts
an end to the Second Coalition against France. In 1803, Napoleon
Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais stayed in Amiens60. In 1804,
the Amiens Court of Appeal was created. In 1806, the Lycée d'Amiens
succeeded the Central School created during the Revolution. The same
year, a practical health school was founded. In 1808, the Academy of
Amiens was established while faculties of letters and sciences
opened their doors.
In the nineteenth century, Amiens took
advantage of the industrial revolution and retained international
recognition for its textile production. Still strongly marked by its
medieval character, the city is expanding and modernizing. Under the
Restoration and the July Monarchy, the city is a perpetual site,
prefiguring the Haussmanization. In the 1820s, the ramparts were
completely dismantled to make room for wide boulevards that surround
the city center. This demolition gave birth in particular to the
bourgeois quarter of Henriiville. Radial streets converging towards
the center are pierced from 1830 to 1848. The rue de la République
is created and becomes the street of power and knowledge with the
erection of the municipal library (1826) and the expansion of the
prefecture (1838 ). Industrial activities were pushed to the
outskirts, in the Saint-Leu district and the Saint-Maurice and Hem
suburbs. The Amiens industry was perfected and organized around an
"Industrial Company", created in 1836 to stimulate it and improve
production.
The railway is operated quickly in Amiens. The
first line was built in 1846, with the first station known as Gare
du Nord; it connects the city to Parise. A second line was opened
from 1847, towards Boulogne-sur-Mer, with the Saint-Roch station.
This progress changes the geography of the city, which now turns its
back on the river, like the town hall which transfers its entrance
from the square to the wire, to the current rue des Trois-Cailloux.
The Second Empire was a period of prosperity in this Bonapartist
city with the expansion of industry and the rail network. In 1867,
the Amiens-Laon and Amiens-Rouen lines were put into service. The
city experienced strong demographic growth, going from 52,000 to
63,000 inhabitants between 1851 and 1872. From 1855 to 1867, the
current Picardy Museum was built. It is the first building specially
constructed in France to be a museum.
During the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Somme was invaded by the Prussians,
we were fighting for Amiens which was finally occupied.
The
1870s saw the emergence of the republican current, embodied locally
by Jules Barni, Frédéric Petit and especially René Goblet who became
the head of the French government in 1886.
In 1872, the
writer Jules Verne moved to Amiens. Involved in local public and
political life, he became a municipal councilor in 1888. He was one
of the initiators of the municipal circus, inaugurated in 1889. Died
in 1905 at his home, he is buried in the cemetery of La Madeleine.
In 1891 the network of the old Amiens tramway was created, first
in horse-drawn traction then in electric traction from 1899. This
network operated until the destruction of the Battle of France in
1940.
At the end of the 19th century, the industrial
development of the “French velvet capital” attracted a population
from the countryside. The Société Industrielle had a subdivision
built, with a washhouse, school and church between Saint-Roch
station and Boulevard du Port [archive] to strengthen the alliance
of labor and capital between 1869 and 1879. The family Cosserat
built houses on the Abbeville road to house workers in their textile
factories.
Since 1900
From the Belle Époque to the First
World War
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Amiens was
the tenth most populous French city. Faced with the need to
accommodate newcomers, the city enriches its heritage and
particularly enhances its center. Amiens extends first to the South
then to the North, preserving traces of its past with a plan
retaining the imprint of successive enclosures. It was during this
period that many so-called “Amiens” houses were built. They still
participate in the identity of the city.
The Nouvelles
Galeries opened in 1895 rue des Trois-Cailloux and competed with the
small business. In 1902, the Amiens ready-to-wear brand Devred 1902
set up its first store in this emblematic shopping street.
On
October 13, 1906, the CGT held a historic congress which adopted the
Amiens Charter, a constitutive act of French trade unionism
asserting its independence from political parties.
The
Picardy capital is then a lively city, rich in sporting and cultural
activities. In 1906, the international exhibition that the city
organized welcomed 1.3 million visitors. In 1913, 100,000 spectators
attended the French Automobile Grand Prix63. A great intellectual
activity reigns in the city with several influential learned
societies, a varied press and a renowned theater. There are many
traditional, popular or aristocratic festivals.
In 1913, the
city had 38 clothing companies. The districts of Saint-Leu,
Saint-Pierre and the suburb of Hem, where the textile industry
predominates, contrast with the prosperity of the city center and
the upper town by concentrating poverty and unsanitary housing.
With the declaration of war of 1914, Amiens, which geographic
determinism places in a position to protect Paris, suffered the full
brunt of the throes of war.
World War I
The largest city
behind the Western Front, Amiens held a strategic place throughout
the First World War. Occupied for a few days by the German army in
1914, the capital of the Somme went from 93,000 inhabitants when the
war entered to 110,000 during the conflict due to the presence of
Allied troops.
Between 1914 and 1918, the city welcomed
fighters from all over the world: French, British, Australians, New
Zealanders, Canadians, South Africans, Indians, Chinese… Life is
intense and there are many activities: industrial in war factories ,
health with hospitals, media with the production of newspapers in
English, sports with the development of football in contact with
Anglo-Saxon troops, entertaining for soldiers on leave.
The city is going through difficult times with the reception of
Belgian and French refugees, population evacuations, restrictions
and deprivation (gas, coal, bread, etc.). Faced with regular
bombardments, the municipality implemented the protection of
historic monuments in 1915. The same year, modern camouflage was
invented in Amiens; a workshop of 200 people is responsible for
making decoys to deceive the enemy air force (fake trees or cows,
fake tanks, fictitious farms, etc.).
In 1916, east of Amiens,
took place the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest confrontation of
the Great War with 1.2 million victims. The collective memory
retains a deep memory of this event which remains the deadliest in
British history; a day of commemoration is held at the main
Commonwealth places of memory in the Somme every July 1st. ANZAC Day
is celebrated every April 25 in Amiens and in other communes of the
department.
During the conflict, Notre-Dame Cathedral served
as a rallying point for soldiers in search of recollection and
peace. Sent from Amiens, letters to their families are often
accompanied by photos or postcards. The images of Amiens Cathedral
and its Weeping Angel are thus sent around the world, in millions of
copies.
At the end of March 1918, an intense wave of
bombardments destroyed the Gare du Nord, the Nouvelles Galeries and
the Halle aux blés. It involves the evacuation of the population;
the municipality then took refuge in Neufchâtel-en-Bray.
In
March 1918, the Germans launched Operation Michael, which was
stopped by the Canadian cavalry brigade (Lord Strathcona's Horse -
Royal Canadians) on April 4 at Villers-Bretonneux and Moreuil. In
August, Marshal Douglas Haig's British Expeditionary Force led the
Battle of Amiens. The attack is intended to liberate a large part of
the railway line between Paris and Amiens.
At the end of the
conflict, the death toll of civilian victims was 152 killed and 213
wounded, that of material damage was 731 buildings completely
destroyed and nearly 3,000 damaged, plus looting.
In 1919,
Amiens was decorated with the 1914-1918 War Cross. The same year, a
reconstruction plan was initiated by Louis Duthoit. In 1924, the
state rejected the municipality's claim for war damages. A less
ambitious reconstruction began in 1925, as evidenced by some Art
Deco facades.
The Second World War
While the
reconstruction of the city center, already severely affected during
the First World War, was not completed, the city was again affected
by the numerous bombings of the Second World War, in 1940, in
particular at the beginning of June, during the Battle of Amiens: on
May 20, the 1st Panzerdivision was on the outskirts of the city. The
Germans gradually penetrated the city and two other armored
divisions provided support for the offensive. French and British
units resisted, stationed in positions south of Amiens, and fired at
the town on June 5. A last offensive by the German armored vehicles
in numerical superiority, launched from 6 to 8 June, overcomes the
Franco-British lock, the city falls definitively on the 8 and the
Wehrmacht can continue its breakthrough towards its next objective,
Paris. However, the German losses are high: nearly 200 tanks.
Despite these bitter fighting, the cathedral and a few neighborhoods
were spared, including those of Henriiville and Saint-Leu.
In
1942, the first reconstruction plans were put together by German
officials, and by Pierre Dufau.
On January 4, 1944, at the
initiative of the Germans, a raid was organized which resulted in
the arrest of 21 Amiens Jews, joined by other Jews from the
department. First detained at the Drancy camp, most of them were
deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau by convoy no 66. Of this convoy,
there was only one survivor from Amiens at the end of the conflict:
it was Renée. Louria, who recounts her terrible fate in the Courrier
Picard in May 1945.
On February 18, 1944, the British air
force targeted the prison during Operation Jericho, then the
railroads. The 1944 Pentecost bombardment by more than 450 planes,
which primarily targeted the railway junction near the Gare du Nord,
was one of the deadliest, with 146 dead and several hundred injured.
The British army liberated the city on August 31, 1944. By
saving the Beauvillé bridge from destruction, and following intense
fighting at the Citadel, the FFI facilitated the continuation of the
advance of the Allied armies towards the North.
Amiens comes
out of the conflict 60% destroyed.
Post-war
The city was rebuilt according to the plans of Pierre Dufau: its
reconstruction and development plan was adopted in July 1942. It was
based on the desire to improve traffic by widening the streets and
densifying the blocks. Place Gambetta was designed by architect
Alexandre Courtois, Place de la Gare was designed by Auguste Perret,
including its famous Tower, Dufau focusing on Place du Marché and
Place de la Cathédrale.
The winds of protest that blew over
France and the world at the end of the 1960s also affected Amiens.
First, a demonstration opposed to the Vietnam War was organized on
October 21, 1967. Then, while the Maison de la Culture had welcomed
the Minister of National Education Alain Peyrefitte in mid-March
1968, on the occasion of a symposium on education, the students of
Amiens follow in the footsteps of Parisian events by parading on May
6 and 7.
The workers of the Somme joined the protest movement
on the 17th, while the next day, the railway workers of Longueau
blocked the switches. Ferodo workers occupy their factory from May
20 for five weeks.
Without experiencing clashes comparable to
Parisian nights, the city is quickly paralyzed: the lack of
collection of household waste gives the streets foul odors, and the
department runs out of gasoline from the 22nd. Faced with this
movement of left, the extreme right is not absent: while militants
had thrown an explosive device on the communist office of the city
on December 23, 1967, members of the West opposed the students on
May 21, in front of the cinema Picardy. On the night of May 27 to
28, the students attempt to take the Culture House. The day after De
Gaulle's speech, his Amiens supporters marched on May 31, while the
recovery began the following week. The Faure law promulgated, the
University of Amiens was created on the following October 26.
Since the 1970s
In the 1970s, the city gradually bought the
houses in the Saint-Leu district and renovated it in the 1980s. In
the 1990s, the Saint-Pierre park was redeveloped and part of the
University of Picardy settled in new buildings at the foot of the
cathedral, while the North district is undergoing major renovations.
Over the past fifteen years, the city has also developed through the
commercial district of the Vallée des vignes, to the south of the
city.
Since 2006, a vast redevelopment program for the
station district, the Gare la Vallée project, has been underway.
Since June 2008, the vast architectural transformation of the Place
de la Gare has made it easier for people with reduced mobility to
access the station and to ensure pedestrian continuity between the
town hall and the latter, at the cost of a controversy over the
quality of the enhancement of Perret's work.