'Saint-Omer' (''Sint-Omaars'' in
Dutch), a town and
commune of
Artois in northern
France, ''
sous-préfecture'' of the
Pas-de-Calais ''
département'', 68 km westnorthwest of
Lille on the railway to
Calais. The town is named after
Saint Audomare (Omer) (d. ca.
670 AD), who evangelized the area.
Geography
At Saint-Omer begins the
canalised portion of the
river Aa, which reaches the
North Sea at
Gravelines, and under its walls it connects with the
Neufossé canal, which ends at the
Lys.
Main sights
The
fortifications (which had been improved by
Vauban in the 17th century) were demolished during the last decade of the
19th century and boulevards and new thoroughfares made in their place. However, a section of the ramparts remains intact on the western side of the town, converted into a park known as the 'jardin public'. There are two
harbours outside and one within the city. Saint-Omer has wide streets and spacious squares, but little animation.
The old
cathedral belongs almost entirely to the
13th,
14th and
centuries. A heavy square tower finished in
1499 surmounts the west portal. The church contains interesting paintings, a colossal statue of
Christ seated between the
Virgin and St John (13th century, originally belonging to the cathedral of
Thérouanne and presented by the emperor
Charles V), the
cenotaph of Saint Audomare (Omer) (13th century) and numerous ex-votos. The richly decorated chapel in the
transept contains a wooden figure of the Virgin (12th century), the object of
pilgrimages. Of St Bertin, the church of the abbey (built between
1326 and
1520 on the site of previous churches) where
Childeric III retired to end his days, there remain some arches and a lofty tower, which serve to adorn a public garden. Several other churches or convent chapels are of interest, among them St Sepulchre (14th century), which has a beautiful stone spire and
stained-glass windows.
A fine collection of records, a picture-gallery, and a
theatre are all accommodated in the
town hall, built of the materials of the abbey of St Bertin. There are several houses of the
16th and
17th centuries; of the latter the finest is the Hôtel
Colbert, once the royal lodging, and now occupied by an
archaeological museum. Among the
hospitals the military hospital is of note as occupying the well-known college opened by the
English Jesuits in
1592. The old episcopal palace adjoining the cathedral is used as a court-house. The chief statue in the town is that of
Jacqueline Robin.
Economy
The industries include the manufacture of
linen goods,
sugar,
soap, tobacco pipes, and
mustard, the distilling of oil and liqueurs, dyeing, salt-refining, malting and
brewing.
Demographics
The suburb of Haut Pont to the north of Saint-Omer is inhabited by a community which continues to speak the
Flemish language, wear its traditional costume and maintain their peculiar customs, and claim particular pride in their honesty and industry. The ground which these people cultivate has been reclaimed from the marsh, and the ''lègres'' (square blocks of land) communicate with each other only by boats floated on the ditches and canals that divide them.
Nearby areas
At the end of the marsh, on the borders of the forest of Clairmarais, are the ruins of the abbey founded in
1140 by
Thierry of Alsace, to which
Thomas Becket betook himself in
1165. To the south of Saint-Omer, on a hill commanding the Aa, lies the camp of Helfaut, often called the camp of Saint-Omer.
On the Canal de Neufossé, near the town, is the
Ascenseur des Fontinettes, a hydraulic lift enabling canal boats to surmount a difference of level of over 12 m.
During the
Second World War the area was chosen as a launch site for the
V-2 rocket. The nearby
blockhouse at
Éperlecques and underground complex of
La Coupole were built for this purpose and are open to the public.
History
Omer,
bishop of Thérouanne, in the
7th century established the
monastery of St
Bertin, from which that of Notre-Dame was an offshoot. Rivalry and dissension, which lasted till the
French Revolution, soon sprang up between the two monasteries, becoming especially virulent when in
1559 St Omer became a
bishopric and Notre-Dame was raised to the rank of cathedral.
In the
9th century the village which grew up round the monasteries took the name of St Omer. The
Normans laid the place waste about
860 and
880, but ten years later found town and monastery surrounded by walls and safe from their attack.
Situated on the borders of territories frequently disputed by French,
Flemish, English and
Spaniards, St Omer long continued subject to
siege and military disaster. In
1071 Philip I and Count
Arnulf III of Flanders were defeated at St Omer by
Robert the Frisian. In
1127 the town received a communal charter from
William Clito, count of Flanders. In
1340 a
large battle was fought in the towns suburbs between an Anglo-Flemish army and a French one under
Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy in which the Flemish force was forced to withdraw.
In
1493 it came to the
Low Countries as part of the Spanish dominion. The French made futile attempts against it between
1551 and
1596, and again in
1638 (under
Cardinal Richelieu) and
1647. But in
1677, after seventeen days' siege,
Louis XIV forced the town to capitulate; and the
peace of Nijmegen permanently confirmed the conquest. In
1711 St Omer, on the verge of surrendering to
Prince Eugene of Savoy and
Marlborough owing to
famine, was saved by the daring of Jacqueline Robin, who risked her life in bringing provisions into the place. St Omer ceased to be a bishopric in
1801.
Miscellaneous
Saint-Omer is the seat of a court of assizes, of tribunals of first instance and of commerce, of a chamber of commerce, and of a board of trade arbitration. Besides the ''
lycée'', there are schools of music and of art.
Initially from the library of the abbey of St Bertin, the
public library of Saint-Omer holds, in its rare books section
[1], one of the three French copies of the 42-line
Gutenberg Bible (the other two being in
Paris).
Births
Saint-Omer was the birthplace of:
★
Hippolyte Carnot (1801-1888), statesman
★
Alexandre Ribot (1842-1923), statesman, four times
Prime Minister.
Twinned cities
Saint Omer is twinned with:
★
Deal,
United Kingdom
★
Detmold,
Germany
★
Ypres,
Belgium
See also
★
College of St. Omer
★
Lycée Alexandre Ribot
External link and reference
★
English translation of the text of the 1127 charter
★
★
Webpage on the fortifications
★
Website of the Lycée Alexandre Ribot, Saint Omer
★
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