Beaurains () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Geography

A suburban town located 3 miles (5 km) south of Arras at the junction of the N17 with the D5 road.

History

The first church here was built in 674. In the 12th century, the parish council created an important

leprosarium A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Afr ...

that treated

Jean Bodel Jean Bodel (c. 1165 – c. 1210), was an Old French poet who wrote a number of ''chanson de geste, chansons de geste'' as well as many fabliaux. He lived in Arras. Writings Bodel wrote ("Song of the Saxons") about the war of King Charlemagne wi ...

, a French poet.
On 21 December 1922, a large

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...

was discovered dating from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

era. Known as the

Beaurains Treasure The Beaurains Treasure (or Arras Treasure) is the name of an important Roman hoard found in Beaurains, a suburb of the city of Arras, northern France in 1922. Soon after its discovery, much of the treasure was dispersed, to be sold on the antiqui ...

, much was squandered and the little that remains is now at Arras. However, a silver candelabra, gold coins and some jewellery from the treasure are also in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The commune was all but destroyed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Population

Sights

* The church of St. Martin, rebuilt after 1918, along with the rest of the village * Vestiges of an old castle * Two First World War cemeteries * The

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

Visitor Center (CWGC Experience) inaugurated in June 2019.

Notable people

* The 19th-century French playwright and librettist

Armand d'Artois Armand d'Artois (3 October 1788 – 28 March 1867) was a 19th-century French playwright and librettist, and also Achille d'Artois's brother. Biography Trained for the bar, he first worked as an attorney but the success of his play ''Les Fin ...

was born in the village on 3 October 1788.

References

External links

Official website of Beaurains

The CWGC cemetery at Beaurains

communal cemetery at Beaurains
Communes of Pas-de-Calais {{Arras-geo-stub