Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Auchel

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Country
  
France

Department
  
Pas-de-Calais

Intercommunality
  
Artois

Area
  
6 km²

Local time
  
Wednesday 10:45 AM

Team
  
CS Pogoń Auchel

Region
  
Hauts-de-France

Canton
  
Auchel

Time zone
  
CET (UTC+1)

Population
  
11,392 (1999)

Arrondissement
  
Béthune

Auchel

Weather
  
8°C, Wind SW at 24 km/h, 79% Humidity

Auchel (Picard: Auchez) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France.

Contents

Map of 62260 Auchel, France

Geography

An ex-mining town, nowadays a light industrial & farming commune, situated 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of Béthune and 34 miles (54.7 km) southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D183 and the D183E roads.

History

Following the discovery of coal deposits in the area in 1851, the town grew as the demand for coal increased in France. This old mining town had close to 15,000 inhabitants in the 1950s.
The coal recession in the late 1960s lead to a constant decline in population, despite the efforts of the municipality to attract and keep people here during and after the recession.

Population

The inhabitants are called Auchellois.

Sights

  • The church of St. Martin, dating from the sixteenth century.
  • A museum about coal mining.

    • International relations

    Auchel is twinned with:

  • West Malling, in the county of Kent, England.
  • Iserlohn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

    • Personalities

    Auchel is the birthplace of:

  • Augustin Lesage, French spiritualist artist. Lesage is one of the most fascinating figures associated with Art Brut
  • Fred Personne, actor
  • Xavier Beauvois, actor, director and screenwriter.
  • Pierre Laigle, football player

    • References

    Auchel Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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