Saint-Omer
For the town in Calvados, see Saint Omer, Calvados.
Saint-Omer, a town and
commune of
Artois in northern
France,
sous-préfecture of the
Pas-de-Calais département, 68 km westnorthwest of
Lille on the railway to
Calais.
At Saint-Omer begins the
canalised portion of the
river Aa, which reaches the
English Channel at
Gravelines, and under its walls it connects with the
Neuffossé canal, which ends at the
Lys.
The
fortifications (which had been improved by
Vauban in the 17th century) were demolished during the last decade of the
19th century and boulevards and new thoroughfares made in their place. However, a section of the ramparts remain intact on the western side of the town, converted into a park known as the 'jardin public'. There are two
harbours outside and one within the city. Saint-Omer has wide streets and spacious squares, but little animation.
The old
cathedral belongs almost entirely to the
13th,
14th and
centuries. A heavy square tower finished in
1499 surmounts the west portal. The church contains interesting paintings, a colossal statue of
Christ seated between the
Virgin and St John (13th century, originally belonging to the cathedral of
Thérouanne and presented by the emperor
Charles V), the
cenotaph of Saint-Omer (13th century) and numerous ex-votos. The richly decorated chapel in the
transept contains a wooden figure of the Virgin (12th century), the object of
pilgrimages. Of St Bertin, the church of the abbey (built between
1326 and
1520 on the site of previous churches) where
Childeric III retired to end his days, there remain some arches and a lofty tower, which serve to adorn a public garden. Several other churches or convent chapels are of interest, among them St Sepulchre (14th century), which has a beautiful stone spire and
stained-glass windows.
 |
The main square and Hôtel de Ville in St Omer. |
A fine collection of records, a picture-gallery, and a
theatre are all accommodated in the
town hall, built of the materials of the abbey of St Bertin. There are several houses of the
16th and
17th centuries; of the latter the finest is the Hôtel
Colbert, once the royal lodging, and now occupied by an
archaeological museum. Among the
hospitals the military hospital is of note as occupying the well-known college opened by the
English Jesuits in
1592. The old episcopal palace adjoining the cathedral is used as a court-house. The chief statue in the town is that of
Jacqueline Robin.
The industries include the manufacture of
linen goods,
sugar,
soap, tobacco pipes, and
mustard, the distilling of oil and liqueurs, dyeing, salt-refining, malting and
brewing.
The suburb of Haut Pont to the north of Saint-Omer is inhabited by a special stock, which has remained faithful to the
Flemish language, its original costume and its peculiar customs, and is distinguished by honesty and industry. The ground which these people cultivate has been reclaimed from the marsh, and the
lègres (square blocks of land) communicate with each other only by boats floated on the ditches and canals that divide them.
At the end of the marsh, on the borders of the forest of Clairmarais, are the ruins of the abbey founded in
1140 by
Thierry of Alsace, to which
Thomas Becket betook himself in
1165. To the south of Saint-Omer, on a hill commanding the Aa, lies the camp of Helfaut, often called the camp of Saint-Omer.
On the Canal de Neufossé, near the town, is the
Ascenseur des Fontinettes, a hydraulic lift enabling canal boats to surmount a difference of level of over 12 m.
During the
Second World War the area was chosen as a launch site for the
V-2 rocket. The nearby
blockhouse at
Éperlecques and underground complex of
La Coupole were built for this purpose and are open to the public.
Omer, bishop of Thérouanne, in the
7th century established the
monastery of St
Bertin, from which that of Notre-Dame was an offshoot. Rivalry and dissension, which lasted till the
French Revolution, soon sprang up between the two monasteries, becoming especially virulent when in
1559 St Omer became a
bishopric and Notre-Dame was raised to the rank of cathedral.
In the
9th century the village which grew up round the monasteries took the name of St Omer. The
Normans laid the place waste about
860 and
880, but ten years later found town and monastery surrounded by walls and safe from their attack.
Situated on the borders of territories frequently disputed by French,
Flemish, English and
Spaniards, St Omer long continued subject to
siege and military disaster. In
1071 Philip I and Count
Arnulf III of Flanders were defeated at St Omer by
Robert the Frisian. In
1127 the town received a communal charter from
William Clito, count of Flanders.
In
1493 it came to the
Low Countries as part of the Spanish dominion. The French made futile attempts against it between
1551 and
1596, and again in
1638 (under
Cardinal Richelieu) and
1647. But in
1677, after seventeen days' siege,
Louis XIV forced the town to capitulate; and the
peace of Nijmegen permanently confirmed the conquest. In
1711 St Omer, on the verge of surrendering to
Prince Eugene of Savoy and
Marlborough owing to
famine, was saved by the daring of Jacqueline Robin, who risked her life in bringing provisions into the place. St Omer ceased to be a bishopric in
1801.
Saint-Omer is the seat of a court of assizes, of tribunals of first instance and of commerce, of a chamber of commerce, and of a board of trade arbitration. Besides the
lycée, there are schools of music and of art.
Births
Saint-Omer was the birthplace of:
*
Hippolyte Carnot (1801-1888), statesman
*
Alexandre Ribot (1842-1923), statesman, four times
Prime Minister.
*
College of St. Omer*
English translation of the text of the 1127 charter*
Webpage on the fortifications
