Condé-sur-l'Escaut (, literally ''Condé on the Escaut''; pcd, Condé-su-l'Escaut) is a commune of the

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

department 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 ...

. It lies on the border with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. The population as of 1999 was 10,527. Residents of the area are known as Condéens or Condéennes. The Mayor of Condé-sur-l'Escaut is Gregory Lelong (2015).

Geography

Condé-sur-l'Escaut is northeast of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, from

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

, and from

Brussels, Belgium Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. It is situated at the confluence of the

Haine The Haine (, ; ; ; pcd, Héne; wa, Hinne) is a river in southern Belgium ( Hainaut) and northern France ( Nord), right tributary of the river Scheldt. The Haine gave its name to the County of Hainaut, and the present province of Hainaut. It ...

and

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

rivers. The region is noted for its coal mines, resources which made it a strategic objective in both world wars.

History

The name comes from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence", referring to the two rivers. A Romanised form of the word, Condatum, was in use during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, and "Condé" was in use by the 14th century. The current name, Condé-sur-l'Escaut, dates from 1886. Being at the confluence of two rivers, the site has had military importance since before

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 lett ...

times. Originally occupied by

Nervians The Nervii were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards into French Hainault. ...

, it was the location of a Roman military camp, and later a settlement of

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...

. Saint Wasnulf preached at Condé, and died there around 650 AD. His remains were long held in a collegiate church there.

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

also were established there temporarily, in 855, holding the town until 889. The area was much disputed, and changed hands many times during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. It was captured by the Flemish forces of Jacques van Artevelde, by King

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

, by Les Gueux during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

, and by Turenne. In 1676

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

seized the town, and it became part of France in 1678 with the Treaty of Nimègue. While Vauban improved its fortifications, it was captured by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld after a 92-day siege in 1793. Forces of the

Seventh Coalition The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

captured it from

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

in 1815, only returning it to French control three years later. The town was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War, who used the population to run the adjacent coal mines. On 2 September 1944 the town was liberated by the U.S. 5th Armored Division. Coal mining became defunct in 1989; recently there has been a population decline, following a high (13,994) in 1975.

Music history

Condé-sur-l'Escaut is known in music history as the home, place of retirement, and burial place of Renaissance composer

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

. He was provost of the church of Notre-Dame, which had one of the most sumptuous musical establishments in Hainaut, exceeded only by the cathedral at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

, as well as

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

at Soignies. Josquin's house was on the market square; on his death he left an endowment for processions to stop at the statue of the Virgin Mary, attached to a wall of his house, and sing his six-voice ''Pater noster''. He was buried in the church, which was destroyed in 1793 along with his tombstone.Macey, Grove online

Population

Heraldry

Administration

Condé-sur-l'Escaut is the eastern member of the agglomerated

metropolitan area, which together administers 35 communes.

References

* Bruno Carpentier, ''Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Le Pagus Condatensis'', Editions Sopaic, Charleville-Mézières, 2004 (monographie historique de Condé-sur-l'Escaut). See als
online version
* Patrick Macey: "Josquin des Prez", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed April 9, 2007)
(subscription access)

External links

*
Official Website
*
Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Condesurlescaut Communes of Nord (French department)