To discover
Saint Vulfran's Collegiate Church ****

This building is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of Picardy flamboyant gothic, remarkable above all for its sculpted western façade.

The Belfry - Boucher de Perthes Museum ***
24 Place Gontier Patin

After the destruction of 20 May 1940, the belfry was restored to its original state. A modern building was added to house the remarkable archaeological collections of the Boucher de Perthes Museum and those of the Fine Arts Museum which contains most notably some beautiful mediaeval sculptures.

The garden and the Bagatelle Castle **
Built between 1752 and 1754 by Abraham Van Robais, the Bagatelle "Folly" was ceded in 1810 to the Wailly family. An English-style garden was afterwards added to the French-style park.
Its total area is around 11 hectares and shows off marvellously the harmonious proportions of the castle.
131-133 Route de Paris

The town hall and its modern belfry
Place Max Lejeune
Abbeville was rebuilt after the war, having been flattened by incendiary bombs on 20 May 1940. The inauguration of the new Town Hall and the tall Scandinavian-style belfry on 9 October 1960 marked the end of the town's reconstruction programme.

The Saint-Sépulcre Church
and stained glass windows by Manessier ***
Place Saint-Sépulcre

Classed as a Historical Monument, the church was built in the XVth century. The steeple and transept were rebuilt in the neo-gothic style in 1864. The church recently underwent restoration, its upper section having been partially destroyed in 1940.

All the stained glass windows, inaugurated in 1993, were designed by Alfred Manessier. Born in 1911 in the Somme, Manessier spent his childhood in Abbeville. He is considered one of the greatest non-figurative artists. His work reflects the subtleties of the light in the Baie de Somme. Every hour of the day, with a different sunshine depending on the season, offers a new way of admiring the Saint-Sépulcre stained glass windows.

The Laying in the Tomb on the left of the Saint-Sépulcre Chapel, is definitely worth a visit. Only the recumbent statue of Christ is old (wooden statue from the XVth century), the figures that surround it are later and of a very different workmanship.

The Emonville garden and the Municipal Library
Place Clémenceau
Arthur Foucques d’Emonville, a botanist from Abbeville and collector of camellias, built in 1861 according to the plans of Mr. Lefuel, architect of the Louvre, a private mansion called Emonville and a number of greenhouses for his plants. When he died his nephews sold the property to the town of Abbeville. One of the greenhouses used by the municipal gardens department probably dates back to Foucques' time. Nowadays, the park is open to the public. It contains over ten different rare species, including the Liriodendron Tulipifera or Virginia Tulip Tree, the Laburnum Alpinium, the Liquidambar Styraciflua, the Gingko Biloba, the Sequoia Giganteum, the Lebanese Cedar… most of these trees are over 150 years old.

The private mansion, on the corner of the rue des Capucins and the Place Clémenceau, was used by the Municipality, in turn, for the Abbeville and Ponthieu Museum, the Town Hall from during the Last War until 1960, and finally the Municipal Library. It is one of the oldest in France, founded in 1643. It houses more than 160 000 volumes, an important collection of watercolours by Oswald Macqueron, incunabula (early printed books) and a number of outstanding manuscripts.

The remains of the Ursuline Convent Rue des Capucins All that remain are the chapel door and one section of the cloister façades in pure Louis XIII style. Requisitioned as a military hospital in 1939, it was almost completely destroyed on 20 May 1940.

The Tenter Factory
272 Chaussée d’Hocquet
(tenter = stretcher supporting pieces of wet, stretched material to straighten them out and give them a uniform size).

This remarkable architectural ensemble, combining workshops and private mansion, dates from the beginning of the XVIIIth century. It is a testimony to the prosperity of the Van Robais family. A fire partially destroyed the buildings, which were bought by the municipal authorities, but you can still walk past and admire the exquisite Louis XVI door.

The Bank of France
22 Rue Lesueur
This building was known as the "New House". It was built by Abraham Van Robais, when the Tenter Mansion became too small to accommodate all the Van Robais family. Unfortunately, successive owners have reduced the original building by more than half.

The Saint-Gilles Church
Rue Saint Gilles
Built between 1485 and 1528, much of it was destroyed on 20 May 1940. Only the main door has kept its original XVth century character. Its decor is an exceptionally exuberant example of the flamboyant style. The interior is modern, having been rebuilt after the war.

The Church of Saint-Silvin de Mautort *
Chaussée du Rouvroy
A simple seamen's chapel built in the XIth century, the nave was raised and widened in the XIVth century. A steeple tower was added in the XVth century. In the XVIth century a gothic choir and sepulchral chapel were also added, and it underwent a series of renovations in the XIXth century. Saint Anthony's Blessing of the Bread is celebrated here on the first Sunday after 17 January.

Bouvaque Park
Rue basse de la Bouvaque
Bouvaque Park is situated in the lower valley of the Scardon, to the north of Abbeville. The park, based around two large ponds, is in a wooded setting. There is an observation hut on a peninsular near to the centre of the main pond. From there you can see the willow plantation, the reedbed, beautiful trees and aquatic herbaria. A path stretching the length of the perimeter of the banks and along the streams lets you take a closer look at the amphibians and birds. The blue springs add to the rarity of this preserved natural site, within easy reach of the town.

S.N.C.F. train station
Built in 1867, its style recalls the so-called "Seaside spa" architecture, representative of holiday resorts in France's second Empire, like the villas of Le Tréport and Mers-les-Bains. The station serves the Paris-Calais line with a branch line to Le Tréport. Repair works have returned the station to its original character.
It is listed in the French Register of Historic Monuments.

The Chevalier de la Barre Monument
Rue Jean Jaurés
Cf "A bit of history".

A bit of history
Archaeologists throughout the world are acquainted with Abbeville, thanks to Boucher de Perthes, who, at the beginning of the XIXth century, was a pioneer in the study of Prehistory and established when mankind was born. Today the term "abbevillian", which indicates a period of the Lower Palaeolithic, is no longer used, but Boucher de Perthes has not been forgotten.

The importance of the Capital of le Ponthieu and le Vimeu is not limited to archaeology, though its Museum does have some interesting collections, and the tradition of Boucher de Perthes lives on thanks to another abbevillian, Roger Agache, pioneer in aerial archaeology.

Originally the Abbot of Saint-Riquier's estate, Abbatis villa, Abbeville village, passed in the Xth century under the control of Hugues Capet, whose daughter married Hugues de Ponthieu. The town was then fortified and its expansion was to become part of the great urban renaissance movement that began in the XIth century with the renewal of trading routes opened by the crusades.

It was from Abbeville that, in 1096, Godefroy de Bouillon set off on the first Crusade with his Norman and Flemish knights.

In the XIIth century, the town, which was a dependency of the King of England, the Count of Ponthieu, was an active sea port alongside the other English possession of Guyenne. The manufacture of woollen fabric developed there.

The wealthy fought to obtain local freedoms, which they bought in 1130. They were only formalized in 1184, in the local charter of Abbeville, granted by Jean de Ponthieu.

The square Belfry, built in 1209, one of the oldest in France, is testimony to this period.

Of strategic importance during the Hundred Years War, the town came under the authority of the King of France, who annexed le Ponthieu in 1369. It was to become part of Burgundy and would not finally become French until the death of Charles the Bold in 1477.

With peace restored, rebuilding had to begin. It was at this time that the Flamboyant Gothic style flourished and the Saint Vulfran Collegiate Church was built. Trading started again and Abbeville diversified into the manufacture of woollen fabrics. Printing activity can even be traced back to the end of the XVth century.

The town was the scene of a famous episode of the Thirty Years War. When Corbie had just fallen to the Spanish (15 August 1636) and the breakthrough of the line of defence, i.e. the Somme, was threatening Paris, Louis XIII made a promise to devote his Kingdom to the Virgin Mary if Corbie was won back, which indeed happened on 10 November that same year. The King honoured his commitment in a solemn ceremony in Abbeville in 1638. The event was immortalised by Philippe de Champaigne and Ingres.

The setting up in business of Josse Van Robais, with the support of King Louis XIV, who wanted to encourage the manufacture of luxury fabrics in France, opened up a new era of prosperity. The Van Robais employed almost two thousand people, a huge number for that time. The Tenter Factory (1713), the New House (1730) and the "Bagatelle Folly" give give you some idea of their power.

In 1766, the Chevalier de la Barre, who was decapitated for not taking his hat off during a royal procession, inspired Voltaire to write a satirical pamphlet. He became a symbol of the arbitrariness of royal absolutism and religious intolerance.

The revolution, which led to the massive destruction of religious buildings, marked the end of the influence of the Van Robais era.

In order to preserve sea trade, which was threatened by the silting-up of the Somme, the building of a maritime canal began in the XVIIIth century.

During the 1914 war, life in the town was dominated once again by the English, who this time had come as allies to set up their headquarters behind the front.

On 20 May 1940, the town centre was wiped out by German aerial bombardments: 2400 buildings were destroyed and 3600 suffered damage.

Completed in 1960, the rebuilding of the town and the later restoration of damaged monuments have enabled the remnants of this rich history to be preserved.

Abbeville is today the Somme's second largest town.

Activities
Walks

The Franck Guide suggests a 9 km circular walk "Caesar's camp", starting from Saint John's Church on the chaussée du Rouvroy.

Golf
Abbeville golf course : Grand Laviers

Loisirs aéronautiques
Abbeville :

• Aéro-club de la Somme
• Ludair

Practical info
Markets
The market is held in the market square
: all day Thursday except in the last week in the month
: on Wednesdays. Food/Flower Market
: on Saturday mornings.

Tourist office
1 place de l’Amiral Courbet
80100 ABBEVILLE
Tél : +33 (0)3 22 24 27 92 – Fax : +33 (0)3 22 31 08 26
E-mail : office.tourisme.abbeville@wanadoo.fr
Website : www.ot-abbeville.fr

Population: 24 567 (figures from INSEE [French national institute of economic and statistical information] – 1999 census)