Amiens, lying 130km/80mi north of Paris on the left bank of the Somme, here divided into a number of branches, is the old capital of Picardy and now the chief town of that region and of the département of Somme, the see of a bishop and a university town. Situated at the intersection of trunk roads linking Paris with northern France, Britain, the Benelux states and Germany, Amiens is a busy town and popular tourist center, rebuilt after suffering heavy damage during the Second World War, which fortunately spared its magnificent cathedral. Amiens has long been famed for its linen, wool, cotton and jute industries.
As Samarobriva ("bridge on the Somme") Amiens was the chief town of a Celtic tribe, the Ambiani, until their conquest by Caesar. Under the Romans it flourished, thanks to its situation on the Roman road to the north. The town was Christianized by St Firmin (Firminus) in the fourth century, and the existence of a bishopric is recorded in 511. In the ninth century Norman raids wrought great devastation. At the end of the 12th C the county of Amiens became subject to the French crown. As a fortified town defending the approach to Paris from the north Amiens was the scene of numerous conflicts with the house of Burgundy and later with the Spaniards. In 1802 the treaty which brought a temporary peace in the Napoleonic wars was signed in Amiens.
Amiens' Cathedral of Notre-Dame is one of the largest in France. Much of this Gothic structure was completed by 1264, although the facade was built in the 1400s and the towers were erected between the 14th and 16th C.
In Amiens, in the house in which Jules Verne lived for many years, visitors can see the room where he worked and wrote. He is buried in the romantic Cimetière de la Madeleine.
The hub of Amiens's life is the Place Gambetta. From here the busy main street, the Rue des Trois-Cailloux, runs east to the Gare du Nord, on the wide boulevard which follows the line of the old town walls.
In Amiens, a little way northwest of Place Gambetta is the Place Leon-Debouverie, in the center of an area which was totally destroyed during the Second World War and has now been almost completely rebuilt. In this square is the Town Hall (17th-20th C).
Behind the Amiens Hôtel de Ville is the old Bailliage, with a Renaissance facade (restored). The church of St-Germain has a 15th C doorway and a curious lopsided tower.
To the north of the cathedra in Amiens, beyond the Late Gothic church of St-Leu (timber roof structure with carved beams), is a district traversed by numerous canals, like a miniature local Venice. On the southern edge of this area is the city's river harbor, the Port d'Aval.
Festival des Cathédrales de Picardie is an annual three-week festival including seventeen concerts in the cathedrals across Picardie. The towns usually featured are Amiens, Beauvais, Noyon, Laon, Senlis and Soissons. The festival runs from mid to late September and often includes renowned performers and orchestras from around the world. The music varies, but sacred music is stressed at least to a certain degree.
Address: Festival des Cathédrales de Picardie, Bureau du Festival Conseil Regionale de Picardie 11 Mall Albert 1er, F-80000 Amiens, France
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Cathedral of Notre-Dame
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Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Amiens
Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Amiens
Amiens
