Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and

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 northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and prefecture of the

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

, 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 ...

, north of Paris. The

of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous city in the Oise department, and third most-populous in Picardy. Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, the metropolitan area of Beauvais has a population of 128,020. The region around Beauvais is called the Beauvaisis.

History

Beauvais was known to the

Romans 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 ...

by the Gallo-Roman name of ''Caesaromagus'' (''magos'' is

Common Celtic Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally c ...

for "field"). The post-Renaissance

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

rendering is ''Bellovacum'' from the Belgic tribe the

Bellovaci The Bellovaci (Gaulish: ''Bellouacoi'') were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the modern Picardy region, near the present-day city of Beauvais, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. After they were defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, they gave lukewarm s ...

, whose capital it was. In the ninth century it became a county (comté), which about 1013 passed to the bishops of Beauvais, who became peers of France from the twelfth century. This cites V. Lhuillier, ''Choses du vieux Beauvais et du Beauvaisis'' (1896). At the coronations of kings the

Bishop of Beauvais The Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis ( la, Dioecesis Bellovacensis, Noviomensis et Silvanectensis; french: Diocèse de Beauvais, Noyon et Senlis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The di ...

wore the royal mantle and went, with the

Bishop of Langres The Roman Catholic Diocese of Langres (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lingonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Langres'') is a Roman Catholic diocese comprising the ''département'' of Haute-Marne in France. The diocese is now a suffragan in ecclesiastical pr ...

, to raise the king from his throne to present him to the people. ''

De Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'' II 13 reports that as

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

was approaching a fortified town called Bratuspantium in the land of the

, its inhabitants surrendered to him when he was about 5

Roman mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

s away. Its name is

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

for "place where judgements are made", from *''bratu-spantion''. Some say that Bratuspantium is Beauvais. Others theorize that it is Vendeuil-Caply or

Bailleul sur Thérain Bailleul may refer to: France *Bailleul, Nord, in the Nord ''département'' * Bailleul, Orne, in the Orne ''département'' *Bailleul, Somme, in the Somme ''département'' * Bailleul-aux-Cornailles, in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' * Baill ...

. From 1004 to 1037, the Count of Beauvais was

Odo II, Count of Blois Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux (as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 a ...

. In a charter dated 1056/1060, Eudo of Brittany granted land "in pago Belvacensi" (Beauvais, Picardy) to the Abbey of

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

Saint-Aubin (see

Albinus of Angers Saint Albinus of Angers (french: Saint-Aubin) (c. 470 – March 1, 550), also known as Saint Albin () in English, was a French abbot and bishop. Born to a noble Gallo-Roman family at Vannes, Brittany, St. Albinus was a monk and from 504 C.E. A ...

). In 1346, the town had to defend itself against the English, who again besieged it in 1433. The

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

which it endured in 1472 at the hands of the

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

was rendered famous by the heroism of the town's women, under the leadership of

Jeanne Hachette Jeanne Laisné (born circa 1454 ?) was a French heroine known as Jeanne Fourquet and nicknamed Jeanne Hachette ('Joan the Hatchet'). She was the daughter of a peasant. She is currently known for an act of heroism on 27 June 1472, when she preven ...

, whose memory is still celebrated by a procession on 27 June (the feast of Sainte Angadrême), during which women take precedence over men. An interesting hoard of coins from the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

became known as the ''Beauvais Hoard'', because some of the English and European coins found with the lot were from the French abbey located in Beauvais. The hoard, which contained a variety of rare and extremely rare

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

pennies, English and foreign coins, was reputed to have been found in or near Paris. Beauvais was extensively damaged during World War I, and again in World War II during the German advance on Paris in June 1940. Much of the older part of the city was all but destroyed, and the cathedral badly damaged before being liberated by British forces on 30 August 1944.

Geography

Beauvais lies at the foot of wooded hills on the left bank of the Thérain at its confluence with the Avelon. Its ancient ramparts have been destroyed, and it is now surrounded by boulevards, outside of which run branches of the Thérain. In addition, there are spacious promenades in the north-east of the town.

Climate

Beauvais experiences an oceanic climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature is 9.9 °C (1961–1990), the sunlight annual average of 1669 hours (1991–2010). Hills Bray are provided to the precipitation of Beauvais. The precipitation is 669 mm on average per year (1981–2010), while it is 800 mm on average per year in Bray. However, the frequency of rainfall is high. The average number of days per year above the precipitation of a 1 mm is 116 days, or every third day. The fog is often present, it is estimated at about 55 days a year. The department is affected by 41 days of average wind year, usually it comes from the west to the south.

Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Beauvais proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Beauvais absorbed the former communes of Marissel, Saint-Just-des-Marais and Voisinlieu and part of Notre-Dame-du-Thil in 1943.

Sights

Cathedral

The city's cathedral, dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

(''Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais''), in some respects the most daring achievement of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

, consists only of a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

and quire with

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

and seven apse-chapels. The vaulting in the interior exceeds 46 m or 150 feet in height. The cathedral underwent a major repair and restoration process in 2008. The small Romanesque church of the 10th century known as the '' Basse Oeuvre'' occupies the site destined for the nave; much of its east end was demolished to make room for the new cathedral. Begun in 1247, under Bishop William of Grès (Guillaume de Grès, Guillaume de Grez), an extra were added to the height, to make it the tallest cathedral in Europe: the work was interrupted in 1284 by the collapse of the vaulting of the choir, a disaster that produced a temporary failure of nerve among the masons working in Gothic style. The transept was built from 1500 to 1548. In 1573 the fall of a too-ambitious central tower stopped work again, after which little addition was made. Its façades, especially that on the south, exhibit all the richness of the late Gothic style. The carved wooden doors of both the north and the south portals are masterpieces respectively of Gothic and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

workmanship. The church possesses an elaborate

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

(1866) and

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

of the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries; but its chief artistic treasures are stained glass windows of the thirteenth, fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, the most beautiful of them from the hand of the Renaissance artist, Engrand Le Prince, a native of Beauvais. To him also is due some of the stained glass in St. Etienne, the second church of the town, and an interesting example of the transition stage between the Romanesque and Gothic styles. During the Middle Ages, on 14 January, the Feast of Asses was celebrated in the Beauvais Cathedral, in commemoration of the Flight into Egypt.

Other notable sites

In the ''Place de l'Hôtel de Ville'' and in the old streets near the cathedral there are several houses dating from the 12th to the 16th centuries. The ''Hôtel de ville'', close to which stands the statue of

, was built in 1752. The episcopal palace, now housing the Musée départemental de l'Oise, was built in the 16th century, partly upon the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

fortifications. The church of ''Saint-Étienne'' is a Romanesque-Gothic building (early 12th-late 16th centuries), including, in one of its transept's portals, a sculpture of "Wheel of Life".

Transport

Rail transport

The railway station,

Gare de Beauvais Beauvais is a railway station located in Beauvais in the Oise department, France. TER Hauts-de-France trains connect the station to Le Tréport-Mers, Creil and Paris-Nord. The Neo-medieval station building was constructed by Compagnie du Nord i ...

, opened since 1857 is currently served by several

TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...

lines: * Beauvais – PersanBeaumont –

Paris Gare du Nord Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

* Beauvais –

Creil Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction. History Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging ...

* Beauvais – Abancourt –

Le Tréport Le Tréport () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in Normandy, France. Geography A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Dieppe at the junction of the D 940, the D 78 and t ...

Air transport

Beauvais–Tillé Airport Beauvais–Tillé Airport (; french: Aéroport de Beauvais-Tillé) , branded as Paris-Beauvais Airport, is an international airport near the city of Beauvais in the commune of Tillé in France. In 2016, it was the tenth busiest airport in Fra ...

, dating from the 1930s, lies in north of the city, in Tillé. It is used as a gateway to Paris by several low-cost carriers. Traffic growth is significant: in 1997, 200,000 passengers used it annually, but by 2006, it was more than 1.8 million. Airport usage increased by 40% a year on average between 2001 and 2005. The airport is mainly used for passenger traffic (only 2 to 3 flights involve

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

each month) and serves 48 destinations.

Public transport

Public transport in Beauvais is provided by (formerly ''The Urban Transport network of Beauvaisis'' french: Transports Urbains du Beauvaisis or ). The

transit bus Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

(commuter bus) network consists of 25 regular lines which serve Beauvais and its suburbs, including: * 12 day lines ** 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 13 14 * 3 Sunday lines ** 11A 11B 11C * 3 summer lines ** 10 (divided into 3 sub lines) * 7

Demand responsive transport Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

lines ** T1 T2 T3 T5 T6 T7 T8 * 3 shuttles ** ''Navette Aéroport'' (Airport Shuttle) ''Navette Parking'' (Parking Shuttle) ''Navette LaSalle'' (Polytechnic Institute of LaSalle Shuttle)

Environmentally friendly transportation

In an effort to promote cleaner urban transportation and protect the environment, the city began to develop a "Green Plan" (''Plan vert''). Ultimately, the goal is to have a network of bicycle paths.

Administration

The mayor of Beauvais is Franck Pia, elected in September 2022. He succeeded Caroline Cayeux, who stepped down to become a deputy minister in the

Borne government The Borne government is the forty-third government of the French Fifth Republic, formed on 16 May 2022 and headed by Élisabeth Borne as Prime Minister under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. Context Formation On 16 May 2022, Jean Castex ...

Notable people

Milo of Nanteuil Milo of Nanteuil (french: Milon or ) was a French cleric and crusader. He served as the provost of the cathedral of Reims from 1207 to 1217 and then as bishop Beauvais from 1218 until his death in September 1234. Milo was the fourth son of Gau ...

, bishop of Beauvais, builder of the Beauvais Cathedral *

Pierre Cauchon Pierre Cauchon (1371 – 18 December 1442) was Bishop of Beauvais from 1420 to 1432. He was a strong partisan of English interests in France during the latter years of the Hundred Years' War. He was the judge in the trial of Joan of Arc an ...

, bishop of Beauvais and judge of Joan of Arc *

Dominique Ansel Dominique Ansel (born 1978) is a French pastry chef and owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. He is best known for his invention of the Cronut, a croissant-donut hybrid that became a phenomenon. Early life Raised in a working-class ...

, pastry chef and creator of the

Cronut The Cronut is a pastry. It resembles a doughnut and is made from croissant-like dough filled with flavored cream and fried in grapeseed oil. The Cronut was created and trademarked in 2013 by the French pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Etymology Cro ...

* Guillaume Brenner, footballer *Fanny Dénoix (1798–1879), poet *

Hubert de Givenchy Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 21 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the ...

, fashion designer *

Henri Lebesgue Henri Léon Lebesgue (; June 28, 1875 – July 26, 1941) was a French mathematician known for his theory of integration, which was a generalization of the 17th-century concept of integration—summing the area between an axis and the curve of ...

, mathematician * Pierre Louvet (1617–1684), historian, archivist and historiographer *

Anthony Mfa Mezui Anthony Léandre Mfa Mezui (born 7 March 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Rodange 91. Born in France, he represents Gabon at international level. Career Born in Beauvais, Mfa Mezui has played club football for ...

, footballer * Mustapha Yatabare, footballer * Sambou Yatabare, footballer * Jérôme Lempereur, footballer (born 1973) * George Auriol, born Jean-Georges Huyot, graphic designer (26 April 1863) * Arnaud Démare, pro-cyclist *

Clément Lenglet Clément Nicolas Laurent Lenglet (born 17 June 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on loan from La Liga club Barcelona and the France national team. Lenglet began his car ...

, footballer

Economy

The industry of Beauvais comprises, besides the state manufacture of

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

, which dates from 1664, the manufacture of various kinds of cotton and woollen goods, brushes, toys, boots and shoes, and bricks and tiles. Market-gardening flourishes in the vicinity and an extensive trade is carried on in grain and wine. The town is the seat of a bishop, a prefect and a ''Court of Assizes''; it has ''Tribunals of First Instance'' and of commerce, together with a Chamber of Commerce, a branch of the Bank of France, a higher ecclesiastical seminary, a ''lycée'' and training colleges. Amongst the major companies operating in the town are Nestle and Agco (Massey Ferguson). Also present since 1986 is

RS Components RS Group plc (formerly Electrocomponents plc) is a distributor of industrial and electronics products based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was foun ...

, founded by Jerry Vaughan, and now operating from a purpose built distribution centre to the east of the town Beauvais also has a small airport, Beauvais Tillé, which is used by several low-cost carrier and charter airlines such as Ryanair as a terminal for nearby Paris, to which frequent shuttle buses run.

Education

Beauvais has the following schools: Public schools: *20 preschools: Four in Argentine, five in Centre-Ville, one in Marissel, one in Notre Dame du Thil, five in Saint-Jean, one in Saint Just des Marais, two in Saint Lucien, and one in Voisinlieu *24 public elementary schools: Five in Argentine, six in Centre-Ville, two in Marissel, two in Notre Dame du Thil, five in Saint-Jean, one in Saint Just des Marais, two in Saint-Lucien, and one in Voisinlieu *Five junior high schools: Collège Henri Baumont, Collège Charles Fauqueux, Collège Jules Michelet, Collège Jean Baptiste Pellerin, and Collège George Sand *Four general high schools: Lycée Félix Faure, Lycée Jeanne Hachette, Lycée Paul Langevin, and Lycée François TruffautLycées d'enseignement général
" Beauvais. 17 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 September 2016. *Four vocational high schools: Lycée Professionnel Paul Langevin, Lycée Professionnel Jean-Baptiste Corot, Lycée Professionnel Les Jacobins, and Lycée Agricole de l'Oise Private schools: *

Institution du Saint-Espirit Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

(elementary, junior high, high school, and technological high school) *Institution Notre-Dame (elementary and junior high school) *Elementary schools: École Saint-Paul and École Sainte-Bernadette * Lycée Saint-Vincent de Paul

Sport

Beauvais is home to

AS Beauvais Oise Association Sportive Beauvais Oise (; commonly referred to as AS Beauvais, ASBO, or simply Beauvais) is a French association football club based in Beauvais. The club was formed in 1945 as a result of a merger and currently play in the Championna ...

, a football club playing in the

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

(), which is supported by a fine percussion band.

International relations

Beauvais is twinned with: *

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

, United Kingdom, since 1961 *

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum * Dortmun ...

, Germany, since 1975 *

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

, Portugal, since 1982 * Dej, Romania, since 2003 *

Tczew Tczew (, csb, Dërszewò; formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). The city is known for its Old Town and the Vistula Bridge, or Bridge of Tczew, which pl ...

, Poland, since 2003