Montdidier, Somme

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Coordinates: 49°38′55″N 2°34′15″E / 49.6486111111, 2.57083333333

Commune of Montdidier
Location
Image:Paris_plan_pointer_b_jms.gif
Map highlighting the commune of
Administration
Country France
Region Picardie
Department Somme
(sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement Montdidier
Canton Canton of Montdidier
(chef-lieu)
Intercommunality Communauté de communes du canton de Montdidier
Mayor Catherine Le Tyrant
(2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation 55 m–113 m
(avg. 97 m)
Land area¹ 12,58 km²
Population²
(2004)		 6029
 - Density 479,3/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code 80561/ 80500
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.
France

Montdidier is a commune in the Somme département in the Picardie region of France.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Situated on the D935 road, some 20 miles northeast of Amiens, in the region known as the ‘Santerre’.

[edit] Population

Population Growth
! 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2004
4706 4305 4278 4399 4557 5430 5828 6204 6194 6262 6328 6029
Census count starting from 1962 : Population without double counting
The historic town centre
The historic town centre
The Town hall with its 48m belfry.
The Town hall with its 48m belfry.


[edit] History

Baptismal fonts
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 Didier, king of the Franks and future western Emperor was held prisoner, giving the town its name The first church was built near the castle by Heldwide, c 948, the wife of Hilduin 1st of the house of the Counts of Montdidier][2]

Tomb (empty) of Raoul de Crépy
Tomb (empty) of Raoul de Crépy

In 1184, Philippe Auguste had the outlying buildings of the town burnt down[3], because of the rivalry between Philippe d'Alsace, for 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 Tel fruit porte l'arbre de la guerre. [4](‘Such are the fruits of war’)

Under the Ancient Regime, Montdidier was in the ‘province’ of the Santerre (one of eight provinces of Picardie) and the seat of a bailiwick (established in 1516)[5] [6]
By edict of 1575, Henri 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 Henri IV of France.

Parmentier Square.
Parmentier Square.

As with many towns of the region, Montdidier bore the brunt of thje fighting of World War I. It wasn’t pssible to save much of the town’s more ancient and valuable monuments.

[edit] Places of interest

  • Church of Saint-Sépulcre in flamboyant gothic, with six 17th century Reydams tapistries on show in the nave
  • Church of St Peter (flamboyant gothic,
  • Ruins of Saint-Martin’s church
  • Statue of Antoine Augustin Parmentier on Parmentier Place'
  • The town hall, in the Flemish style and decoreated in Art deco style
  • 'The priory (once know as the Salle du Roy). Rebuilt in 1930, after being damaged during [[World War I} It has functioned as the Palais de Justice and bcame the Centre des Impôts in 1965. [7]
  • The war memorial
  • Monument to the 212 French pilots that lost their lives in Picardie in May and June of 1940

[edit] Gallery

St Sepulchre Church and Town hall

St Peter’s Church

West front of St. Peter’s.

The war memorial

[edit] People linked with Montdidier

[edit] See also

Communes of the Somme department

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[edit] Bibliography

  • (French) Paul Roger, pages 259 à 266 in Tome II de « Histoire des Cathédrales, Abbayes, Châteaux-forts et Villes de la Picardie et de l'Artois », éd. Duval et Herment, Amiens, 1842 (Réimpression Editions La Découvrance, 2003), 352 p. - ISBN|2-84265-206-1

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Pages 68 et 118 : La Somme, éd. du Bastion, 160 p., reprint 1994 de 3 petits ouvrages : "Guide pittoresque du voyageur en France - 1838", "Atlas national - Département de la Somme", "La France pittoresque du Nord"
  2. ^ page 337, Tome I de « Histoire des Cathédrales, Abbayes, Châteaux-forts et Villes de la Picardie et de l'Artois », Paul Roger, éd. Duval et Herment, Amiens, 1842 (Réimpression Editions La Découvrance, 2003) - 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 » (voir ci-dessus)
  5. ^ page 280 : P. Lami, « (Résumé de) l'histoire de la Picardie » (voir ci-dessus)
  6. ^ pages 282-283 : P. Lami, « (Résumé de) l'histoire de la Picardie » (voir ci-dessus)
  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)