Amiens

The cathedral in Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in the north of France, 120 km north of Paris. It is the préfecture (capital city) of the Somme département. Population: 120,000.

History

The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens. Amiens was the central settlement of the Ambiani, one of the principal tribes of Gaul, who were issuing coinage, probably from Amiens, in the 1st century BCE. By tradition, it was at the gates of Amiens that Saint Martin of Tours, at the time still a Roman soldier, divided his cloak with a naked beggar.

Sights

Amiens cathedral (a World Heritage Site) is the tallest of the large 'classic' Gothic churches of the 13th century and is the largest in France of its kind. After a fire destroyed the former cathedral, the new nave was built 1220 - finished 1247. Amiens is notable for the coherence of its plan, the beauty of its three-tier interior elevation, the particularly fine display of sculptures on the principal facade and in the south transept, and the labyrinth and other inlays of its floor.

Miscellaneous

Amiens is also known for the hortillons, gardens in the marshland along the Somme River.

Jules Verne was member of the city council of Amiens from 1888 to his death in 1905. He is buried in the Madeleine Cemetery.

Amiens was the birthplace of Odette Sansom (1912-1995), a heroic member of the French Resistance.

See also

• Treaty of Amiens
• Battle of Amiens

External links

• Hortillons: http://perso.club-internet.fr/claudine.bienaime/parcsjardins.htm#parchortillons
• Images and details of Amiens cathedral
• Columbia University Media Center for Art History - Amiens Cathedral Website