Brick at the heart of traditional architecture
From the south to the north of the region, stone gives way to brick. In former Picardy (Compiégnois and Soissonnais) and Avesnois, villages are still built entirely in stone. The ravages of war have nevertheless given way to brick reconstructions, with massive trusses decorated with friezes and pilasters. Villages are lined with houses, often punctuated with weathervanes in a variety of designs, around the churches. In Saint-Quentin, 80% of the town was destroyed during the First World War. Rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s, it boasts no fewer than 3,000 Art Deco facades!
Along the coastline, the seaside resorts of the Pas-de-Calais are a motley crew, from Art Nouveau and English Belle Époque to modern buildings, sometimes without transition. Higher still, the hills of the Boulonnais region are home to imposing farmhouses, manor-like mansions and whitewashed farmhouses.
Flandre maritime and its rain-laden westerly winds have imposed a single-storey architecture, with low, elongated houses with whitewashed walls brightened by brightly colored doors and shutters. Heading downhill along the Belgian border, we plunge into the Lille conurbation, with its tall factory chimneys still bearing witness to its industrial past. The Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing urban area is large and now extends as far as Tournai and Courtrai on the other side of the border to form the Eurometropole. Courées, small pedestrian walkways running perpendicular to the street and serving a line of houses, are typical of this working-class housing of the 1930s.
Further south, you'll find the famous "corons", working-class mining housing The mining industry has left its mark on our landscape (slag heaps, old pits, etc.) as well as on some of our homes. Strings of little houses dot the slag heaps, street after street, all identical (to the rhythm of a door, a window, a door, a window...) and yet all different (their inhabitants vying with each other to decorate theirs). Finally, as you arrive in the Avesnois region, you'll find characterful little villages built of fagne, a beautiful blue stone, alternating with brick and slate roofs.
Towns and villages with character
After this overview of the architectural heritage of the region, some places can be more particularly pointed out. From the tumult of the confrontations remain many testimonies engraved in the landscape, the most remarkable being the fortifications of Vauban, very well preserved in the cities like Maubeuge, Lille and especially Bergues or Le Quesnoy.
To admire the belfries, you can go to Arras, Béthune, Calais, Bailleul, Amiens or Compiègne (which has a more gothic and elegant style). These emblematic towers are often found in the middle of market places where popular gatherings are still held today. The belfries are one of the great pride of the region, 23 of them are classified by Unesco since 2005. Built between the 11th and 17th centuries, they were mostly erected thanks to the economic boom and the birth of commercial towns administered by merchants. These merchants, who became burghers, claimed autonomy from their suzerain.
It is also important to note the importance of town halls in the heritage of the region, an importance that has equaled that of religious buildings over the long centuries of struggle for the autonomy of cities. We can mention those of Lille, Dunkerque, Calais or Armentières.
Numerous castles in the former Picardy
Castles are particularly numerous in the three departments of the former Picardy region. You will find there a very nice panel representing the medieval architectural differences. The first function of the castles and feudal buildings was defensive: the strategic position of the Aisne obliged the fortification of important cities, such as Château-Thierry, while fortresses and other military strongholds stood alongside the important castles of the east.
The Somme also has a good number of these buildings in Saint-Valery, Rue, Péronne..., which were gradually replaced by residential castles when the political situation became more serene. The most beautiful example of Renaissance style construction is the Chantilly castle, built in the 16th century, which was the residence of the Princes of Condé. Further east in the Oise region, in Compiègne, the Palace as it exists today was designed in the 18th century in a classical style by Jacques Ange Gabriel. It has welcomed kings and emperors and still has some very beautiful rooms and a very pleasant park in connection with the forest.
More original in its sometimes controversial conception, the castle of Pierrefonds is the work of Viollet-le-Duc, who was inspired by the old castles to rebuild it. In the Aisne, the fortifications surround the castles like the one of the dukes of Guise, of which only a few vestiges remain. In the same vein, the castle of Coucy dates from the 13th century and was one of the most famous fortresses in France before its partial destruction. On the other hand, the castle of Condé-en-Brie, from the 16th century, is perfectly preserved. In the Somme, there are the fortified castles of Rambures and Péronne.
In the Pas-de-Calais, there are two beautiful and very different examples: the castle of Boulogne-sur-Mer, a fortress that has become a museum in the old town, and, in a very different style, the very elegant castle of Hardelot, which is now home to a Franco-English cultural center dedicated to the Entente Cordiale.
A religious architecture well present
The region has some of the finest religious architecture in France. The jewel of all jewels, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Amiens dates from the early 13th century. A true Gothic masterpiece, it was created by Robert de Luzarches who combined the excessiveness of the exterior ornaments with the stained glass windows, towers and sculptures in one great ensemble classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Saint-Pierre de Beauvais cathedral is also distinguished by its Gothic choir (the highest in the world at 47 meters). Dating from the 13th century, it was never really finished, as the nave is still missing.
Another jewel, the elegant cathedral of Laon dominates the upper town and can be seen from several kilometers around. Senlis also has a renowned cathedral, which fits perfectly into the old stones of the landscape. In Noyon, a large church hosted the coronation of Charlemagne. It is the oldest Gothic cathedral in the region. Some cathedrals in the North are also worth a visit, such as Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Cambrai, the Basilique du Saint-Cordon in Valenciennes or the sublime abbey tower in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux.
The sacred heritage does not stop with these buildings, since we must add the collegiate churches, including the one in Abbeville, which was unfinished from the beginning of its construction in the 15th century, but which offers a fine example of the flamboyant Gothic style. Long before that, the basilica of Liesse was built in the 12th century. The abbeys and priories are strongly present in the region, as in Saint-Riquier or in Valloires whose famous flowered gardens are worth a visit. Let's not forget the abbey of Vaucelles, classified as a historical monument, located in the valley of the Haut-Escaut in the commune of Les Rues-des-Vignes, 10 km from Cambrai and 24 km from Saint-Quentin.
A military architecture inherited from former conflicts
Ancient bastions can still be found in the area, remains of fortifications encouraged by the strategic location of the area. These first buildings were constructed in the 15th century, after the introduction of heavy weapons. However, it was not until the arrival of Vauban (1633-1707) and his military genius that the defense lines became truly effective.
Each of its fortifications takes the form of a star with multiple branches, the bastions being arranged in such a way as to offer the best possible angle of vision to the defenders. Some of them have been preserved in their original state, but others have suffered from the confrontations of the 19th and especially the 20th century.
The most beautiful examples still visible are in Bergues, Lille, Le Quesnoy, Maubeuge or Arras. The route of the fortified cities suggests to the lovers of fortifications the cities to visit in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and in Picardy. It will allow you to meet these testimonies of the past, more or less well preserved and maintained.
Windmills no longer very numerous
While the water mills continue to turn with the current, the windmills, which nevertheless populated the whole region, are no longer very numerous. Their construction dates back to the Middle Ages, often to the 11th century. Quickly, the techniques were refined to give what some call the "giants of the North" and the builders knew how to adapt each mill to its environment. The mills were mainly located in three departments: the Pas-de-Calais, the Somme and the Nord, which had the largest number of mills in its well exposed Flanders.
During the 1914-1918 war, all the mills located on the line of fire were razed. Today, if they have lost their economic role, the mills have become points of tourist attraction and centers of animations and festivities. Some of them have been renovated or even rebuilt to perpetuate the tradition of artisanal pressing of cereals and oilseeds. Some millers are still active and produce mainly flour, in small quantities.
