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Nord

Nord
Image:Nord.png
Coat of Arms of Nord
Information
Number 59
Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Prefecture Lille
Subprefectures Avesnes-sur-Helpe
Cambrai
Douai
Dunkerque
Valenciennes
Population


 - Total (1999)
 - Density

Ranked 1st


2,555,020


445 /km²
Area 5,743 km²
Censored pages Censored page
Cantons 79
Communes 652
President of the
general council
Bernard Derosier
Location
Location of du Nord in France

Nord (French, the north) is a département in the north of France.

Contents

History

Nord comprises the French part of former Flanders, excluding the western part separated in 1237 as the county of Artois (now a part of the neighbouring Pas-de-Calais).

This territory had been ruled by Spain since 1556, but was ceded to France in successive treaties (1659, 1668, and 1678).

It was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790.

Geography

Nord is part of the current region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and is surrounded by the French departments of Pas-de-Calais and Aisne, as well as by Belgium and the North Sea.

Situated in the north-east of the country along the western half of the Belgian frontier, the department is unusually long and narrow. Its principal city is Lille, which with nearby Roubaix and Tourcoing constitutes the center of a cluster of industrial and mining towns totalling slightly over a million inhabitants. Other important cities are Valenciennes, Douai, and Dunkirk.

The principal rivers are the following:

  • Yser
  • Lys
  • Escaut
  • Scarpe
  • Sambre

Economy

At the forefront of France's 19th century industrialisation, the area suffered severely during World War I and now faces the economic, social and environmental problems associated with the decline of coal mining with its neighbours following the earlier decline of the Lille-Roubaix textile industry.

Until recently, the department was dominated economically by coal mining, which extends through the heart of the department from neighbouring Artois into central Belgium.

Demographics

Nord is the most heavily populated department, with a population of 2.55 million and an area of 5,740 km².

Culture

West Flemish is spoken by around 20,000 people in the northern part of the department.

External links

  • Prefecture website http://www.nord.pref.gouv.fr/ (in French)
  • Conseil Général website http://www.cg59.fr/ (in French)


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Last updated: 02-05-2005 21:57:22
Last updated: 02-20-2005 07:04:51