Arras (pop. 43,566), once the capital of the old County of Artois and now chief town of the département of Pas-de-Calais and the see of a bishop, lies between Amiens and Lille on the right bank of the Scarpe. With its spacious arcaded squares and high-gabled burghers' houses, it has preserved much of the character of an old Flemish commercial
town. The town was famed for its tapestries (hence the English word "arras"). During World War I the Arras area was the scene of heavy fighting, commemorated by many military cemeteries and memorials, particularly in the hilly country north of the town.
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