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{{distinguish|Valencia}}{{Other uses}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}{{more citations needed|date=December 2023}}

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Subprefectures in France>Subprefecture and commune|image = Valenciennes.JPG|image coat of arms = Blason valenciennes.svg|caption = The town hall|arrondissement = Valenciennes|canton = Valenciennes|INSEE = 59606|postal code = 59300Laurent Degallaix)RéPERTOIRE NATIONAL DES éLUS: LES MAIRES >URL=HTTPS://WWW.DATA.GOUV.FR/FR/DATASETS/R/2876A346-D50C-4911-934E-19EE07B0E503 DATE=2 DECEMBER 2020, fr, |term = 2020–2026Union of Democrats and Independents>UDICommunauté d’agglomération Valenciennes Métropole>CA Valenciennes Métropole50290324display=inline,title}}|elevation m = 42|elevation min m = 17|elevation max m = 56|area km2 = 13.82population_total}}population_as_of}}population_footnotes}}|demonym=Valenciennois (masculine)Valenciennoise (feminine)}}Valenciennes ({{IPAc-en|ËŒ|v|æ|l|ɒ̃|ˈ|s|j|É›|n}},ENCYCLOPEDIA,www.lexico.com/definition/Valenciennes,web.archive.org/web/20200322182745/https://www.lexico.com/definition/valenciennes, dead, 2020-03-22, Valenciennes, Lexico UK English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, also {{IPAc-en|UK|ËŒ|v|æ|l|É™n|s|i|ˈ|É›|n}},WEB,www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/valenciennes, Valenciennes, Collins English Dictionary, HarperCollins, 29 June 2019, {{IPAc-en|US|-|n|z|,_|v|É™|ËŒ|l|É›|n|s|i|ˈ|É›|n|(|z|)}},AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, Valenciennes, 29 June 2019, MERRIAM-WEBSTER, Valenciennes, 29 June 2019, {{IPA-fr|valɑ̃sjÉ›n|lang|ValenciennesNPDC.ogg}}; ; or ; ) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.INSEE commune fileIt lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. The 1999 census recorded that the population of the commune of Valenciennes was 41,278, and that of the metropolitan area was 399,677.

History

Before 1500

Valenciennes is first mentioned in 693 in a legal document written by Clovis II (Valentiana).{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} In the 843 Treaty of Verdun, it was made a neutral city between Neustria and the Austrasia. Later in the 9th century the region was overrun by the Normans, and in 881 the town passed to them.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} In 923, it passed to the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia dependent on the Holy Roman Empire. Once the Empire of the Franks was established, the city began to develop, though the archaeological record has still not revealed all it has to reveal about this period. Under the Ottonian emperors, Valenciennes became the centre of marches on the border of the Empire.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}In 1008, a terrible famine brought the Plague. According to the local tradition, the Virgin Mary held a cordon around the city which, miraculously, has since protected its people from the disease. Since then, every year at that time, the Valenciennois used to walk around the {{cvt|14|km|0|abbr=off}} road round the town, in what is called the tour of the Holy Cordon. Many counts succeeded, first as Margraves of Valenciennes and from 1070 as counts of Hainaut.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}In 1259 Valenciennes was the site of a General Chapter of the Dominican Order at which Thomas Aquinas together with masters Bonushomo Britto,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=LIYNAAAAQAAJ&dq=bonushomo&pg=PA103, Histoire littéraire de la France: XIIIe siècle, 1838, Chez Osmont, à l’Olivier, Huart l’aîné, a la Justice, Clousier, à l’Ecu de France, Hourdel, David le jeune, à l’Esperance, Chaubert, à la Renommée & Gissey, fr, Florentius,Probably Florentius de Hidinio, aka Florentius Gallicus, Histoire littéraire de la France: XIIIe siècle, Volume 19, p. 104, Accessed October 27, 2012 Albert, and Peter took part in establishing a ratio studiorum or program of studies for the Dominican OrderEncyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 10, p. 701. Accessed 9 June 2011 that featured the study of philosophy as an innovation for those not sufficiently trained to study theology. This innovation initiated the tradition of Dominican scholastic philosophy put into practice, for example, in 1265 at the Order’s studium provinciale at the convent of Santa Sabina in Rome, out of which would develop the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum.“The Place of Study In the Ideal of St. Dominic” {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229185458www.domcentral.org/study/opstudy.htm |date=2010-12-29 }}, J. A. Weisheipl, O.P. (1923–1984), 1960. Accessed 19 March 2013In 1285, the currency of Hainaut was replaced by the currency of France: the French écu. Valenciennes was full of activity, with numerous corporations, and outside its walls a large number of convents developed, like that of the Dominicans (whose church was excavated by the Valenciennes Archaeological Service in 1989 and 1990).{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}In the 14th century, the Tower of Dodenne was built by Albert of Bavaria, where even today, the bell is rung in honour of Our Lady of the Holy Cordon.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} In the 15th century, the County of Hainault, of which Valenciennes is part, was re-attached to Burgundy, losing its autonomy. Valenciennes in this period, however, had several famous sons – the chronicler Georges Chastellain, the poet Jean Molinet, the miniaturist Simon Marmion, the sculptor Pierre du Préau and the goldsmith Jérôme de Moyenneville). The area had a famous daughter: Philippa of Hainault, Queen Consort of England as the wife of King Edward III from 24 January 1328 to her death on 15 August 1369, was born on either 24 June 1310 or 24 June 1315. In 1346 she acted as regent when her husband was away fighting in the Hundred Years’ War.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

1500–1793

(File:Valenciennes - Valentiana (Atlas van Loon).jpg|thumb|250px|Valenciennes in the 17th century.)In 1524, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, arrived at Valenciennes, and – even when Henry II of France allied with him against the Protestants in 1552 – Valenciennes became ({{Circa|1560}}) an early center of Calvinism and in 1562 was location of the first act of resistance against persecution of Protestants in the Spanish Netherlands. On the “Journée des Mals Brûlés” (Bad Burnings Day) in 1562, a mob freed some Protestants condemned to die at the stake. In the wave of iconoclastic attacks called the Beeldenstorm that swept the Habsburg Netherlands in the summer of 1566, the city was the furthest south to see such an attack on August 24, 1566. It was also one of the first to feel the hand of repression after the siege and fall of the city on March 23, 1567. One of the victims of that repression was Guido de Bres, the author of the Belgic Confession. Following the “révolte des gueux’s victory at Brielle, the army of Louis of Nassau, one of the major commanders of the Dutch rebel forces and supported by the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny, invaded the Spanish Netherlands with an army composed of German, English, Scottish and French soldiers, and took Valenciennes on 21 May 1572.The Eighty Years War (1568-1648)Tracy p.82 However, Louis went on to Mons, and the Protestant garrison left behind offered only a feeble defence to the Duke of Alba, at the head of the bulk of the Spanish army, who recaptured Valenciennes in early June 1572, depriving Louis’ French allies, of one of their main bases.Duffy. Siege Warfare: Fortress in the Early Modern WorldIn 1576, when for a time the Southern Netherlands joined the revolt, the Spanish forces massed at the porte d’Anzin (in a fortress known as “La Redoute“) were besieged by Valenciennes.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} However, in 1580, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma took Valenciennes and Protestantism was eradicated there. Hereafter, Valenciennes remained under Spanish protection, no longer directly involved in later fighting of the Eighty Years’ War. With its manufacturers of wool and fine linens, the city was able to become economically independent.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}The French army laid siege to the city in 1656 (Vauban participated in this siege without a commandMartin Barros, Nicole Salat et Thierry Sarmant. Vauban – L’intelligence du territoire. Éditions Nicolas Chaudun et Service historique de l’armée, Paris, 2006. Préface de Jean Nouvel. 175 p, {{ISBN|2-35039-028-4}}, p 166). Defending the city, Albert de Merode, marquis de Trélon was injured during a sortie on horseback, died as a result of his injuries and was buried in the Church of St. Paul (his tomb was found during the archaeological campaign in 1990). The Spanish victory in the Battle of Valenciennes (16 July 1656) lifted the French siege.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}In 1677, the armies of Louis XIV of France (this time led by VaubanBarros et alii, p. 167.) captured the city and in 1678 the Treaty of Nijmegen gave the French control of Valenciennes (1678) and the surrounding southern part of Hainault, roughly cutting the former county in half.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

1793–1914

The city was besieged by the First Coalition against Revolutionary France in 1793.A painting of the siege was commissioned in 1793-4 from Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg by the publishers V. and R. Green and Christian von Mechel, who later commissioned a companion piece for it, Lord Howe’s action, or the Glorious First of June. The two paintings were sold to Mr T. Vernon of Liverpool in 1799 and the ‘Valenciennes’ finished up in Lord Hesketh’s collection at Easton Neston. Following a protracted Siege of Valenciennes the city was captured and occupied in July by Anglo-Austrian forces under the Duke of York and the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, and only retaken by the French Revolutionary armies in August 1794.{{cn|date=May 2024}} In July 1795, one year after the execution of Robespierre put an end to the Reign of Terror, the Republicans of Valenciennes tortured, and guillotined five Ursuline nuns; by some accounts, the nuns were raped before being executed. After the Napoleonic era, Valenciennes gave itself up to the Bourbons in 1815 for 5 years.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

First World War

During World War I the German army occupied the town in 1914. They were finally driven out by British forces at the Battle of Valenciennes in 1918, ‘in which seven British divisions attacked eleven German divisions’. One dramatic first-hand experience of this battle is provided by A. S. Bullock who fought at a section of the front near Maresches.Bullock, A. S., Gloucestershire Between the Wars: A Memoir, The History Press, 2009, pages 84–85A significant personality of this period was Louise de Bettignies (born in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux), a pupil of the Ursulines in Valenciennes from 1890 to 1896. Fluent in four languages (including German), in 1915 she created and directed the main British intelligence network behind enemy lines, nearly {{cvt|60|km|mi}} from the front around Lille.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Arrested at the end of September 1915, and imprisoned in Germany, she died of mistreatment in September 1918 two months before the Armistice. It is estimated that she saved the lives of nearly a thousand British soldiers by the remarkably precise information she obtained. For example, it enabled the British to conduct the first aerial bombing of a train (that of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who came to visit the front at Lille), though both aircraft were not equipped with suitable viewfinders and so the raid narrowly missed its target.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} The German High Command, based in Brussels, then put all its efforts into neutralising the accursed network that allowed the British to see everything and know everything about this part of the front. Louise’s arrest was associated with the escape of Szeck Alexandre, a young Austrian radio operator who got out of Brussels in August 1915, allowing the British to get their hands on the secret German diplomatic code.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} This code was exploited by Secret Service Room 40 (“Room 40“), under the supervision of Sir Reginald Hall, and in January 1917 allowed the decipherment of the famous Zimmermann Telegram, which triggered the United States’ entry into the war in April 1917.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}Valenciennes was retaken after bitter fighting in 1918, by British and Canadian troops (one of whose soldiers, a recipient of the Victoria Cross Sergeant Hugh Cairns, was honoured in 1936 when the city named an avenue after him). Canada named a mountain, Valenciennes Mountain, after the town in 1920.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Second World War

A huge fire devoured the heart of the town, fuelled in particular by a fuel depot. German troops then occupied the ruined city on May 27. Former Prince Wilhelm was wounded in Valenciennes and later died of his wounds.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}On September 2, 1944, after bloody fighting, American troops entered Valenciennes and liberated the city.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

1945 to present

The town’s first antenna was set up in Lille in 1964, then the Centre universitaire was set up in 1970, becoming independent in 1979 as the University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}In 2005, a local resident, Isabelle Dinoire, became the first person to have a partial face transplant.

Geography

Climate

Valenciennes has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Valenciennes is {{cvt|11.0|C}}. The average annual rainfall is {{cvt|694.1|mm}} with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around {{cvt|18.7|C}}, and lowest in January, at around {{cvt|3.9|C}}. The highest temperature ever recorded in Valenciennes was {{cvt|40.9|C}} on 25 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was {{cvt|-14.9|C}} on 7 January 2009.{{Weather box|width=auto|location = Valenciennes (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1987−present)|single line = Y|metric first = Y|Jan record high C = 15.3|Feb record high C = 19.2|Mar record high C = 23.9|Apr record high C = 28.0|May record high C = 31.2|Jun record high C = 35.0|Jul record high C = 40.9|Aug record high C = 37.2|Sep record high C = 34.8|Oct record high C = 28.6|Nov record high C = 21.8|Dec record high C = 16.0|Jan record low C = -14.9|Feb record low C = -13.3|Mar record low C = -11.9|Apr record low C = -4.9|May record low C = -1.1|Jun record low C = 1.1|Jul record low C = 5.0|Aug record low C = 5.6|Sep record low C = -0.4|Oct record low C = -6.2|Nov record low C = -10.1|Dec record low C = -11.6|Jan high C = 6.4|Feb high C = 7.6|Mar high C = 11.4|Apr high C = 15.1|May high C = 18.8|Jun high C = 21.9|Jul high C = 24.0|Aug high C = 24.0|Sep high C = 20.4|Oct high C = 15.5|Nov high C = 10.2|Dec high C = 6.9|year high C = 15.2|Jan mean C = 3.9|Feb mean C = 4.5|Mar mean C = 7.4|Apr mean C = 10.1|May mean C = 13.6|Jun mean C = 16.6|Jul mean C = 18.7|Aug mean C = 18.6|Sep mean C = 15.5|Oct mean C = 11.7|Nov mean C = 7.3|Dec mean C = 4.5|year mean C = 11.0|Jan low C = 1.3|Feb low C = 1.4|Mar low C = 3.3|Apr low C = 5.0|May low C = 8.4|Jun low C = 11.4|Jul low C = 13.5|Aug low C = 13.2|Sep low C = 10.7|Oct low C = 8.0|Nov low C = 4.4|Dec low C = 2.0|year low C = 6.9|precipitation colour = green|Jan precipitation mm = 54.3|Feb precipitation mm = 47.3|Mar precipitation mm = 50.8|Apr precipitation mm = 41.8|May precipitation mm = 57.9|Jun precipitation mm = 63.1|Jul precipitation mm = 66.4|Aug precipitation mm = 67.6|Sep precipitation mm = 52.1|Oct precipitation mm = 60.1|Nov precipitation mm = 63.9|Dec precipitation mm = 68.8|year precipitation mm = 694.1|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm|Jan precipitation days = 11.3|Feb precipitation days = 9.9|Mar precipitation days = 10.0|Apr precipitation days = 9.1|May precipitation days = 9.6|Jun precipitation days = 9.2|Jul precipitation days = 9.9|Aug precipitation days = 9.4|Sep precipitation days = 8.9|Oct precipitation days = 10.7|Nov precipitation days = 12.0|Dec precipitation days = 12.3|year precipitation days = 122.3|source 1 = Météo-FranceWEB,donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_59606004.pdf, Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records, fr, Météo-France, September 7, 2022, }}

Population

{{Historical populations| align = none| cols = 2| percentages = pagr38657|Valenciennes}} and INSEE (1968-2017)Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE| graph-pos = bottom1691819016199061895319499213432204023263242292496624344246622608327607275752870029912309463175934766344254002342359425643868443434453794662642473402753844141278426704298943336}}

Main sights

(File:Hotel de Ville, Valenciennes.jpg|thumb|left|Valenciennes town hall)(File:Valenciennes, Frankrijk Jun 02, 2019 02-28-11 PM.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Museum of Fine Arts of Valenciennes.)The Hindenburg Line ran through Valenciennes during World War I, leading to extensive destruction. Valenciennes was again almost completely destroyed during World War II, and has since been rebuilt in concrete.A few surviving monuments are: 1) The façade of the town hall, which managed to survive the bombardments of the war; 2) the Basilica of Notre-Dame du Saint-Cordon, to which there is an annual pilgrimage; 3) La Maison Espagnole, the remains of the Spanish occupation, which ended in 1678. The building is now used as the town’s tourist information office; 4) The Dodenne Tower, the remaining part of the medieval fortifications after Charles V ordered them reduced; 5) Théâtre le Phenix, a theatre and performing arts venue constructed in 1998; 6) The “Beffroi”, a large, pin-like monument {{cvt|45|m|ft|abbr=off}} in height, built in 2007 on the site of the former belfry.(File:Office du Tourisme, Valenciennes.jpg|thumb|left|La Maison Espagnole, now home to the tourist information office)(File:Le Phénix.jpg|thumb|right|Théâtre Le Phénix)

Economy

{{unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}Valenciennes is historically renowned for its lace. Until the 1970s, the main industries were steel and textiles. Since their decline, reconversion attempts focus mainly on automobile production. In 2001, Toyota built its Western European assembly line for the Toyota Yaris in Onnaing near Valenciennes. Because of this and other changes, the average unemployment in the region is now below the national average.On 15 July 2004, the Administrative Board of the European Union’s Railway Agency held its first meeting in Phénix, with representatives of the 25 Member States and François Lamoureux, those days Director General for Energy and Transportation at the European Commission. Valenciennes was picked as the European Railway Agency headquarters in December 2003. International conferences are held in Lille.

Public transport

(File:Tramway valenciennes station.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Valenciennes tramway line No. 1 – Université Station)(File:Gare de Valenciennes.jpg|thumb|Gare de Valenciennes)Line No. 1 of the Tramway de Valenciennes was put into service on 3 July 2006. {{cvt|9.5|km|mi}} long, this tramway crosses the five communes in the Valenciennois Metropolitan area, at a cost of 242.75 million Euros.Valenciennes railway station offers connections with Lille, Paris and several regional destinations.

Administration

Valenciennes is a subprefecture of the Nord département.

Mayors since 1947

• 1947–1988: Pierre Carous, resigned (died in 1990)
• 1988–1989: Olivier Marlière
• 1989–2002: Jean-Louis Borloo, resigned when he entered the national government
• 2002–2012: Dominique Riquet
• 2012–present: Laurent Degallaix

Notable people

• Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827 – 1875), sculptor, painter and tutor.
• Louis Cattiaux (1904-1953), philosopher, painter and poet, was born in Valenciennes.
• Alphonse Chigot (1824-1917), historical painter, soldier and art tutor, particularly associated with the city of Valenciennes.
• Gustave Crauck (1827 - 1905), sculptor and painter
• Eugène Chigot (1860-1923), post impressionist painter and official painter for the Marine Nationale.
• Henri Harpignies (1819 - 1916), painter and watercolourist.
• Fabrice Jaumont, author, educator, advocate for dual-language bilingual education.
• Joseph Layraud (1834 - 1912), painter and tutor.
• Auguste Désiré Saint-Quentin (1838 - 1906), painter
• Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), French painter, was born in Valenciennes.
• Philippa of Hainault (1310/1315-1369), Queen of England, was born in Valenciennes.

Sport

File:Intérieur Stade du Hainaut (2013).JPG|thumb|Stade du HainautStade du HainautValenciennes FC is based in the city.

Twin towns – sister cities

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}Valenciennes is twinned with:WEB, Valenciennes (Frankreich): Dürens Partnerstadt seit 1959,www.dueren.de/assets/userfiles/pdf_bereich_kulturundtourismus/Valenciennes.pdf, dueren.de, Düren, 9, de, 2021-04-14,

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Agrigento, Italy
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Central AO (Moscow), Russia
• {{flagicon|GER}} Düren, Germany
• {{flagicon|POL}} Gliwice, Poland
• {{flagicon|UK}} Medway, England, United Kingdom
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Yichang, China

See also

• Vendémiaire Pavot Sculptor of La Faunesse in Valenciennes

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Valenciennes}}

• {{Official website}} {{in lang|fr}}

{{Nord communes}}{{Authority control}}