Helfaut

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Coordinates: 50°41′54″N 2°14′38″E / 50.698333, 2.2438888

Administration
Commune of Helfaut
Location

Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Saint-Omer
Canton	Arques
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de Saint-Omer
Mayor	Brigitte Leblond (2008-2014)
Statistics
Elevation	23 m–95 m (avg. 92 m)
Land area^¹	8.92 km²
Population^² (1999)	1693
- Density	189/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	62423/ 62570
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.

Helfaut 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 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Geography

A large village situated 4 miles (6km) south of Saint-Omer, at the D195 and D198 crossroads. It is located on a geological formation called the "plateau d'Helfaut", which separates the Aa valley to the north from the Lys valley, to the south. The commune is home to a unique geological heritage, resulting in an unusual landscape. The sides of the old quarries alongside the plateau display many geological strata. The quarries of Heuringhem and Blendecques have collapsed as a result of soil creep. The commune gave its name to 'Dilluvium d’Helfaut', a flint and clay formation rare in France and Europe. The commune is home to many rare and protected species in a heathland landscape, which is unusual for northern France and justified the creation of a nature reserve (Les Landes d'Helfaut).

[edit] Population

Population Evolution
1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
1000	1139	1248	1426	1671	1693
Census count starting from 1962 : Population without double counting

[edit] History

The village was subject to much damage during World War II, as it was here that the Germans sited La coupole, an underground bunker, housing a huge concrete dome built by the Nazis between 1943 and 1944. Initially this bunker was to serve as a base to launch V2 rockets, but it never entered service because of the many bombing raids by the Allies. The Dome has been transformed into a museum.^[1]