Clerques

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Coordinates: 50°47′37″N 1°59′43″E / 50.7936111111, 1.99527777778

Administration
Commune of Clerques
Location

Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Saint-Omer
Canton	Ardres
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes de la Région d'Ardres et de la Vallée de la Hem
Mayor	Marc Garenaux
Statistics
Elevation	37 m–173 m (avg. 47 m)
Land area^¹	6,39 km²
Population^² (1999)	213
- Density	33/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	62228/ 62890
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Clerques is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

1 Geography
2 Population
3 History
4 Places of interest
5 See also
6 External links
7 Notes

[edit] Geography

A small farming village situated 10 miles (16km) northwest of Saint-Omer, on the D217 road, nestled in the valley of the river Hem at the foot of the Boulonnais, which is a wooded ridge at this point. Two hamlets, Audenfort to the west and Le Hamel to the East, make up the remainder of the commune.

[edit] Population

Population Evolution
1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
184	186	180	209	215	213
Census count starting from 1962 : Population without double counting

[edit] History

The recent history of the village was marked by the flooding of the river, on August 13th 2006. The stone bridge in the village centre, built in 1862, was destroyed after exceptional rainfall upstream at Licques. The river, usually quiet, had accumulated such a speed it turned into an uncontrollable torrent.^[1].

[edit] Places of interest

The Sower and Saint-Barthélémy’s church

The church of St.Barthélemy, dating from the 13th century.
The chapel of St.Théresa
Audenfort mill, which ceased to operate in the 1970s, and is now converted into a hotel-restaurant
The former flour mill at Hamel, now a hydro-electric generator.
The new symbol of the village: The statue of the Sower, which symbolizes the friendship between the town of Clerques and the Belgian village of Klerken.