Montdidier, Somme

Montdidier

Coat of arms
Montdidier

Coordinates: 49°38′55″N 2°34′15″E / 49.6486°N 2.5708°E / 49.6486; 2.5708Coordinates: 49°38′55″N 2°34′15″E / 49.6486°N 2.5708°E / 49.6486; 2.5708
Country France
Region Hauts-de-France
Department Somme
Arrondissement Montdidier
Canton Montdidier
Intercommunality Canton of Montdidier
Government
 • Mayor (2001–2008) Catherine Le Tyrant
Area1 12.58 km2 (4.86 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 6,174
 • Density 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 80561 / 80500
Elevation 55–113 m (180–371 ft)
(avg. 97 m or 318 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Montdidier (French pronunciation: ​[mɔ̃didje]) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Geography

Montdidier is on the D935 road, some 30 km southeast of Amiens, in the region known as the 'Santerre'.

Population

Population history
1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006
4706 4305 4278 4399 4557 5430 5828 6204 6194 6262 6328 6029
Starting in 1962: Population without duplicates
The Town hall with its 48 m-high belfry.

History

Baptismal fonts.

The commune has existed since before Roman times, possibly corresponding to the site of Bratuspance.[1]

Under Charlemagne, a donjon was built in the north-west of the town, on a chalk promontory, (nowadays the site of the Prieuré). It was here, in 774, that Desiderius, king of the Lombards, was held prisoner by Charlemagne, giving the town its name (in French, Didier).

The first church was built near the castle by Heldwide, around 948, the wife of Hilduin 1st of the house of the Counts of Montdidier][2]

Empty tomb of Raoul de Crépy.

In 1184, King Philip II of France had the outlying buildings of the town burnt down,[3] during the war for the possession of the Amiénois and the Vermandois. In 1195, the town was granted its communal charter.

In 1472, Montdidier was set alight by the Burgundians. Charles the Bold is reported to have said "Such are the fruits of war".[4]

Under the Ancien Régime, Montdidier was in the province of the Santerre (one of eight provinces of Picardy) and the seat of a bailiwick (established in 1516)[5][6]
By edict of 1575, Henry III of France created the élection of Montdidier, granting tax-raising powers to elected representatives.

The year 1590 saw the commune threatened and eventually invaded by the troops of Henry IV of France.

As with many towns of the region, Montdidier bore the brunt of the fighting of World War I. Many of the town's more ancient and valuable monuments were destroyed in that occasion.

Main sights

Personalities

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pages 68 et 118 : La Somme, éd. du Bastion, 160 p
  2. ↑ Histoire des Cathédrales, Abbayes, Châteaux-forts et Villes de la Picardie et de l'Artois, Paul Roger, éd. Duval et Herment, Amiens, 1842, p. 337, ISBN 2-84265-206-1
  3. ↑ Victor de Beauvillé, Histoire de Montdidier, 1857.
  4. ↑ page 199 : P. Lami, Résumé de l'histoire de la Picardie.
  5. ↑ page 280 : P. Lami, Résumé de l'histoire de la Picardie
  6. ↑ pages 282-283 : P. Lami, Résumé de l'histoire de la Picardie
  7. ↑ Page 9 : « Terres de Parmentier » - Guide d'accueil et de tourisme, éd. "Office de Tourisme de Montdidier, ses environs" - 28 pages (diffusé gracieusement en janvier 2008)

Bibliography

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