Albert () is a commune in the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

department in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ...

in northern France. It is located about halfway between

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and Bapaume.

History

Albert was founded as a Roman outpost, in about 54 BC. After being known by various forms of the name of the local river, the Ancre, it was renamed to Albert after it passed to Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes. It was a key location in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and World War I tourism is important for the town. LT 34 - La Grande Guerre 1914-1918 - ALBERT en ruines - La Gare - Vue de la Sucrerie - The Railway Station

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières Albert France

During World War I, the statue of Mary and the infant Jesus – designed by sculptor

Albert Roze Albert Auguste Roze (1861-1952) was a 19th century sculptor from Amiens, France. He was a prolific sculptor creating many notable works displayed in public spaces in France. Career One of his more important sculptures was entitled The Golden V ...

and dubbed the ''Golden Virgin'' – on top of the

Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières The Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières, is a Roman Catholic minor Basilica designed by Edmond Duthoit in 1897. The structure was completely destroyed during shelling in World War I and rebuilt by the original architect's son Louis Duthoit from ...

was hit by a shell on 15 January 1915 and slumped to a near-horizontal position, where however it remained until further shelling in 1918 destroyed the tower. In his letters home to his wife,

Rupert Edward Inglis Rupert Edward Inglis (17 May 1863 – 18 September 1916) was an England international rugby player who later became a Church of England rector. During the First World War, Inglis was a chaplain to the British Army and was killed during the Bat ...

, who was a former rugby international and now a Forces Chaplain, described passing through Albert: "We went through the place today (2 October 1915) where the Virgin Statue at the top of the Church was hit by a shell in January. The statue was knocked over, but has never fallen, I sent you a picture of it. It really is a wonderful sight. It is incomprehensible how it can have stayed there, but I think it is now lower than when the photograph was taken, and no doubt will come down with the next gale. The Church and village are wrecked, there's a huge hole made by a Jack Johnson just outside the west door of the Church." The German army recaptured the town in March 1918 during the Spring Offensive; the British, to prevent the Germans from using the church tower as a machine gun post, British troops bombarded and destroyed the basilica. The statue fell in April 1918 and was never recovered. Albert was completely reconstructed after the war, including widening and re-orienting the town's main streets. The Basilica, however, was faithfully rebuilt according to its original design by Eduoard Duthoit, the son of the architect who had overseen its construction in 1885–95. The present statue is an exact replica of Roze's original design, and a war memorial designed by Roze and featuring an image of the ''Leaning Virgin'' can be seen in the ''Abri'' (Shelter) Museum, which houses souvenirs of the war. The underground shelters in which the museum is located served as protective bunkers for Albert's residents during aerial bombardments in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The city appears in a short story, The Garden of Forking Paths, by the Argentine writer Jorge Luís Borges. In the story it is the location of a British artillery park that the Germans are about to bomb during World War I. The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is located only 9 kilometres from the village. It is a memorial site dedicated to

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

forces members who were killed during World War I. Officially opened by British Field Marshal Earl Haig in 1925, the memorial is one of only two

National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as bein ...

located outside of Canada.

Twin towns

Albert is twinned with the British town of

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a f ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

. The two towns regularly meet to play football at Easter with the Cyril Barker Shield being contested every year. Albert and Ulverston alternate the match's venue. Albert and the Cathedral (19867323106)

Albert is also twinned with the German towns of Aldenhoven and

Niesky Niesky ( Sorbian and pl, Niska, cz, Nízké) is a small town in Upper Lusatia in eastern Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 9,200 (2020) and is part of the district of Görlitz. Historically considered part of Upper Lusatia, it wa ...

. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Albert was "adopted" by the English city of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, whose citizens funded a new almshouse building, and the main street is named Rue de Birmingham.

Population

Notable residents

The French operatic bass

Xavier Depraz Xavier Depraz, ''né'' Xavier Marcel Delaruelle (22 April 1926 – 18 October 1994) was a French opera singer and actor. Life Born in Albert ( Somme), Depraz was a bass at the Paris Opéra until 1971. He took part in the premieres of operas by ...

was born in Albert on 22 April 1926.

References

External links