Lestrem

Lestrem
Lestrem
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region  Lestrem
Coordinates: 50°37′23″N 2°41′09″E / 50.6231°N 2.6858°E / 50.6231; 2.6858Coordinates: 50°37′23″N 2°41′09″E / 50.6231°N 2.6858°E / 50.6231; 2.6858
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Béthune
Canton	Laventie
Intercommunality	Flandre Lys
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Marc Delannoy
Area
• Land1	21.15 km2 (8.17 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Population2	4,006
• Population2 Density	190/km2 (490/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62502 / 62136
Elevation	13–20 m (43–66 ft) (avg. 18 m or 59 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.

Lestrem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A small farming and light industrial town, situated some 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Béthune and 19 miles (30.6 km) west of Lille, on the D122, D178 and D975 roads, by the banks of the Lawe River.

History

The town was all but destroyed during the First World War.
In 1940, the small hamlet of Le Paradis, on the south side of the commune, was the scene of a massacre of British troops of the BEF, during the Battle of France. The town is twinned with swanland in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Population

Places of interest

• The church of St. Amé, dating from the sixteenth century.
• Two other churches at the hamlets of La Fosse and Le Paradis.
• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official website of the commune (French)
• The CWGC cemetery at Le Paradis
• Lestrem on the Quid website (French)