History of Amiens

The Saint-Acheul axehead (Félix Régnault collection

The discovery of important prehistoric sites in Amiens contributed to the birth and growth of prehistory, a young science which established itself in the second half of the 19th century. The region of Amiens has enormous potential for Quaternary geology and, more generally, for knowledge of the history of the first settlements in Europe.

The wealth and importance of the deposits in the suburbs of Saint-Acheul and Montieres, as well as the quality of the work of Victor Commont and Jacques Boucher de Perthes, considered the founder of prehistory, brought an international scientific reputation to the territory. As the Vézère Valley and the Dordogne, the Somme Valley made reference to prehistory and to the study of the Paleolithic.

It was at Amiens that, for the first time, was defined one of the most ancient civilisations of humanity: The Acheulean. In 1853, haches taillées [carved axes], according to the term of the time, were collected in the old alluvium of the Somme at the level of the suburb of Saint-Acheul, east of the city. This discovery fascinated the greatest international experts of the time, Joseph Prestwich, Hugh Falconer, Charles Lyell and John Evans, who flocked to the site. In August 1859, Albert Gaudry discovered nine "carved axes" attesting, according to him, of the great antiquity of mankind. These discoveries marked the beginning of the great period of Saint-Acheul which lasted more than three-quarters of a century.

Between 1860 and 1880, 20,000 axeheads were thus collected. Saint-Acheul, whose fame became international, attracted many French and foreign specialists and collectors. This success gave rise to a lucrative trade of fake flints.

In 1872, Gabriel de Mortillet, who named the great periods of prehistory in France, decided to name the stone tools gathered in large numbers at Saint-Acheul as Acheulean. The Amiens site then became the reference for the main features of the lower Palaeolithic.

Today, the Saint-Acheul archaeological garden is open to the public[1] and presents a landscape of the former quarries which were classified as Historic Monuments in 1947.[2]

In 2007, archaeological excavations, at the Rue du Manège, uncovered the earliest traces of human occupation in Amiens, in an alluvial aquifer perched at 35 metres (115 ft) above the bottom of the current valley. The age of the remains collected during this intervention is dated to approximately 500,000 to 550,000 years ago.

In 2006, when housing was under construction, excavations revealed Mesolithic[note 1] sites on positions of ancient banks of the Somme and the Selle.[3]

The Neolithic period the territory of Amiens has not been the subject of intensive research as the Paleolithic. However, a large deposit in the Montieres-Etouvie sector has delivered an extensive Neolithic industry with yellow flint of excellent craftsmanship.

Renancourt brickworks also updated important remains attributable to the Neolithic or Chalcolithic, evidenced by the boat-shaped double axe exhibited at the Musée de Picardie.

Plaque of the Charter of Amiens at the entrance of the Noyon primary school, Rue Rigollot.

The tenth French town at the beginning of the 20th century, its population doubled between 1800 and 1900 from 41,000 to more than 90,000 inhabitants.[13] Given the need to accommodate the newcomers, the city transformed and enriched its heritage, especially valuing its centre, while retaining traces of its past with its plan leaving the imprint of the successive walls. The city extended first south and then north, especially in the Saint-Pierre quarter where many "Jacobins" houses were built.

The Nouvelles Galeries, which opened their doors in 1895 on the Rue des Trois-Cailloux, competed with small trade. In 1902, Henri Devred installed his first ready-to-wear store in this iconic shopping street.

Beginning in 1905, Victor Commont, called "the founding father of modern Prehistoric science,"[14] performed important archaeological work in the Picardy area.[9]

In 1906, the CGT held an historic congress which developed the Charter of Amiens, signed on 13 October 1906, a constitution of French syndicalism defining its independence from political parties.

The Picardy capital was a vibrant city, rich with sports and cultural activities. Evidenced by the international exhibition held in July and August 1906 in the Park of the Hotoie with its 1.3 million visitors[15] or the Grand Prix of France in 1913 and its 100,000 spectators.[16] The city had great intellectual activity with several influential scholarly societies, a varied press and a renowned theatre. The traditional, more aristocratic and popular festivals were many.

• 
  The Rue des Trois-Cailloux in 1907.
• 
  The Rue des Trois-Cailloux, some years later.
• 
  The Rue des Tanneurs.
• 
  The Rue Saint-Leu.
• 
  A concert at the Montplaisir bandstand in 1908.
• 
  Tram in front of the Corn Exchange, in the early years of the 20th century.

In 1913, the city had 38 clothing manufacturers. The Saint-Leu and Saint-Pierre quarters and the suburb of Hem dominated the textile industry, contrasting with the prosperity of the city centre and uptown by concentrating poverty and substandard housing.

With the declaration of war in the summer of 1914, Amiens, which geographical determinism placed to protect the capital, suffered the brunt of the horrors of war.

A general view of Amiens in May 1918, during Operation Michael.

At the start of the war, in August 1914, Amiens had been the Advance Base for the British Expeditionary Force. It was captured by the German Army on 31 August 1914, but recaptured by the French on 28 September. The proximity of Amiens to the Western Front and its importance as a rail hub, made it a vital British logistic centre, especially during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.[17] The city was to the immediate rear of the Allied front during most of the war. With 93,000 inhabitants at the start of the war, the population increased to 110,000 during the conflict because of the presence of Allied troops. The population and industries suffered heavy privations (gas, coal, bread, etc.), leading to several strikes, twenty-five alone in 1917. Facing regular bombings, the municipality implemented measures for the protection of historical monuments, such as the cathedral, as early as 1915.

Amiens was one of the key objectives of the German spring offensive which was launched on 27 March 1918 as Operation Michael. The German 2nd Army pushed back the British 5th Army, who fought a series of defensive actions. Eventually, on 4 April, the Germans succeeded in capturing Villers-Bretonneux which overlooked Amiens, only for it to be retaken by an Australian counterattack that night. This was also stopped by the Canadian Cavalry brigade (Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)) at Villers-Bretonneux and Moreuil. During the fighting, Amiens was bombarded by German artillery and aircraft; more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed.[18]

In August, the British Expeditionary Force of Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig led the offensive which would become the Battle of Amiens. The attack was intended to release a large part of the railway line between Paris and Amiens. On 8 August 1918, a successful Allied counter stroke, the battle took place and was the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive, which led directly to the Armistice with Germany which ended the war.[19]

At the end of the First World War, the civilian toll was 152 killed and 213 wounded, property damage included 731 buildings completely destroyed and nearly 3,000 damaged, in addition to looting.[20]

A reconstruction plan was arranged by Louis Duthoit, replaced in 1921. In 1924, the State rejected the request for war damages made by the municipality. A less ambitious reconstruction began in 1925, as evidenced by a few Art Deco façades.

• 
  Cathedral protected from shell damage. Archives municipales de Toulouse.
• 
  Rue François-Delavigne: Houses in ruins during the First World War.
• 
  Ruins of Deberny House (opposite the Palais de Justice).
• 
  Muslim section of the national cemetery of Saint-Acheul. In the foreground grave of a soldier from the 45th Regiment of Senegalese Tirailleurs who fell at the Battle of the Somme.

The rebuilding of downtown was not complete from already being heavily hit during the First World War, the city was again stricken by many bombings during the Second World War, in 1940, particularly during the Battle of Amiens in early June. During the Battle of France, Amiens was reached by the German Army's 1st Panzer Division on 20 May 1940, following two days of heavy air raids. The Germans gradually penetrated the city and two other armoured divisions supported the offensive. French and British units were installed in positions to the south of Amiens, and discharged field guns upon the city on 5 June. A last offensive of German armour in numeric superiority, committed from 6 to 8 June, overcame the Franco-British lock, the city definitely fell on 8 June and the Wehrmacht continued its breakthrough in the direction of its next target, Paris. However, the German losses were high: Nearly 200 tanks. Despite the later fighting, the cathedral and a few neighbourhoods were spared, including those Henriville and Saint-Leu. It had been defended by a battalion, the 7th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, a Territorial infantry battalion of the British Army.[21] Of 581 men with the battalion, 132 men are commemorated in CWGC burials, 165 are known to have become prisoners of war and many escaped back to Britain and formed 109th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery.[22]

In 1942, the first reconstruction plans were underway by German officials, and by Pierre Dufau.

On 4 January 1944, the Germans initiated an organised round-up, which resulted in the arrests of 21 Amiens Jews, joined by Jews from the Department. First held in Drancy internment camp, most were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau by Convoy no. 66. There was only a single Amiens survivor, from this convoy, at the end of the war: Renée Louria, who recounted her terrible fate in the Courrier Picard in May 1945.[23]

On 18 February 1944, British aircraft bombed the prison in Amiens as part of Operation Jericho. The raid was intended to aid the escape of members of the French Resistance and political prisoners being held there. In all, 258 prisoners escaped.[24]

Prior to the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, Allied aircraft concentrated on disabling communications in occupied France, and the railway junction at Longueau to the south east of Amiens was attacked by 200 bombers of the Royal Air Force on the night of the 12 and 13 June. There was much damage in the town itself.[25] Amiens was liberated on 31 August 1944 by the 11th Armoured Division, part of 30 Corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks.[26]

The city was rebuilt according to Pierre Dufau's plans, the reconstruction and development plan was adopted as early as July 1942. With a focus on widening the streets to ease traffic congestion. These newer structures were primarily built of brick, concrete and white stone with slate roofs. The Place Gambetta was furnished by the architect Alexandre Courtois, the architect Auguste Perret designed the Gare d'Amiens railway station, the Place de la Gare, and the nearby Tour Perret. Meanwhile, Dufau focussed on the market square and the cathedral square.[27]

On 2 June 1960, the new region of Picardy was formed from the departments of Aisne, Oise and Somme.[9]

A wind of protest which blew over France and the world at the end of the 1960s, also affected Amiens. First, a demonstration opposing the Vietnam War was organised on 21 October 1967. Then, while the House of Culture hosted the National Education Minister Alain Peyrefitte in mid-March 1968, at a symposium on education, Amiens students followed suit from the events in Paris by marching in protest on 6 and 7 May. Factory and the railway workers in the city joined them a few days later on 17 May. The next day, the Longueau railwaymen blocked points, Ferodo workers occupied their factory from 20 May for five weeks.

Although not experiencing clashes comparable to those in Paris, the city was quickly paralysed. The absence of household waste collection gave the streets a foul odour, and the department was short of petrol from 22 May. Against this movement of left, the extreme right was not absent: While militants had thrown an explosive device in protest at the Communist permanence of the city on 23 December 1967, members of Occident opposed students on 21 May, in front of the Picardy cinema. During the night of 27–28 May, students tried to take the House of Culture. In the aftermath of President Charles de Gaulle's radio address, his supporters in Amiens demonstrated in the streets on 31 May, while recovery was committed the following week. Faure law promulgated, the University of Amiens was created on 26 October,[28] founded on a campus in the southwestern suburbs of the city.

The city suffered the loss of many jobs as manufacturing plants in the region closed during the late 1970s and 1980s. Despite the hardships, the city made an effort to renovate the degraded area of St-Leu during this time.

The 1990s saw a great period of rebirth in the city. The St-Leu renovations were completed, the parc Saint-Pierre was redesigned and part the University of Picardy moved into new buildings in the city centre. The Vallée des Vignes commercial district was developed in the south of the city, and large parts of the city center were converted to pedestrian areas.

Since 2006, there has been a comprehensive programme for the restructuring of the station quarter, the Gare la Vallée project, is in progress.[29] Since June 2008, the vast architectural transformation of the station square facilitates access to the station for people with reduced mobility and pedestrian continuity between the city hall and the station. The Gare du Nord has been renovated with a controversial new glass roof. The Tour Perret was renovated as well and a new cinema complex was built, reorganising the area around the railway station.