Audinghen

Coat of arms

Audinghen

Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region

Audinghen

Coordinates: 50°51′09″N 1°36′50″E / 50.8525°N 1.6139°ECoordinates: 50°51′09″N 1°36′50″E / 50.8525°N 1.6139°E

Country

Terre des Deux Caps

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Marc Sarpaux

Area¹

13.09 km² (5.05 sq mi)

Population (2009)²

584

• Density

45/km² (120/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

62054 / 62179

Elevation

0–123 m (0–404 ft)
(avg. 68 m or 223 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.

Audinghen (Dutch: Oudinghen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A farming commune, comprising several hamlets, some 14 miles (23 km) north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D940 and the D191 roads. Cap Gris Nez, the nearest part of France to the English coast, forms the western boundary of the commune.

History

The town was originally named Odingehem, 'home of Odin', by the Vikings who built a temple here dedicated to the Germanic god Odin. Audinghen has been rebuilt several times after being completely destroyed, including:

In 1643 or 1644, according to the interpretations, by a party of soldiers of the King of England, who burned the village population inside the church;
Three centuries later, in 1943, by the British, who bombarded and totally destroyed the village (then occupied by the German army).