Lumbres

Lumbres
Aa river, its banks shored up with heavy rubble
Lumbres
Location within Hauts-de-France region  Lumbres
Coordinates: 50°42′21″N 2°07′18″E / 50.7058°N 2.1217°ECoordinates: 50°42′21″N 2°07′18″E / 50.7058°N 2.1217°E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Saint-Omer
Canton	Lumbres
Intercommunality	Pays de Lumbres
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Jean-Pierre Decobert
Area^1	9.9 km^2 (3.8 sq mi)
Population (2006)^2	3,892
• Density	390/km^2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	62534 / 62380
Elevation	35–133 m (115–436 ft) (avg. 47 m or 154 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Lumbres is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Geography

Lumbres is an industrial town built on former marshes at the crossroads of the valleys of the rivers Aa and Bléquin, some 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Saint-Omer, at the junction of the D342 and D225 road. The commune is now by-passed by the N42. The landscape is marred by the vast quarries and the huge chimney of the cement works.

Population

Population history

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
3207	3599	3803	4107	3944	3873	3892
Census count starting from 1962: Population without duplicates

History

Evidence of prehistoric occupation, at the place known as the Montagne de Lumbres has been discovered by.^[1] Dr. Pontier and Canon Collet, of the abbey of Wisques, who were the first to study the prehistory of the area, including Arques, Elnes and Wavrans.
Because of its industrial importance, and proximity to fortified V2 sites, the commune suffered heavily from Allied bombing during World War II.

Places of interest

• The church of St.Sulpice, dating from the seventeenth century.
• The fourteenth century Château d'Acquembronne.
• Old watermills.

Notable people

• Doctor Georges Pontier, naturalist, local prehistoric specialist and paleontologist.

Dr. Georges Pontier

Pontier's Mammoth reconstruction, once at Lumbres, now at the Natural history museum in Boulogne-sur-Mer

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

1. Ref CNRS/Inist

External links

• Lumbres Tourist Office (French)
• Local history website (French)
• Lumbres on the Quid website (French)