Hulluch () 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 of

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 ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref>

Geography

An ex-

coalmining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

town, now a farming commune, situated some north of

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

, at the junction of the D947 and the D39 roads.

History

The chapter of Lens mentions ''Huluce'' in 1070 in a charter of Eustache de Boulogne. St Vaast called it ''Huluz'' in 1098, by 1136 it was written ''Hulut'' and ''Hullut'' 1180. in 1202 ''Huluch'' and ''Huluc''. In 1303, ''Hulus'' on a seal affixed to a document and finally ''Hulluch'' from 1388, (confirmed again in 1429 by archives of Artois. It is pronounced ''Ooloo'', as the final ''ch'' is not pronounced.
The town already existed in 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 ...

era. Some pottery from this period has been found while digging the basement of a house near the old Roman road.
Originally inhabited by the Morins, the enemy of

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, ...

, it was occupied by the

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, ...

well before the 10th century. The village was chosen as a Christian mission during the 4th and 5th centuries.
An early

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

built a simple castle with a

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

and outbuildings surrounded by fences and ditches. Around the year 1300, it is surrounded by stone walls, battlements, towers and a drawbridge. This

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle was burned, along with the village, by the Flemish in 1303, then bombarded by the Spanish. The succession of battles and invasions led to its demise, unable to withstand the tests of time andwars. Rebuilt as a chateau by Baron de Bertoult, during the reign of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, the chateau was richly decorated and surrounded by a beautiful park. Unfortunately, the chateau was blown up by the Germans at the outset of

World War I 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 ...

, but afterwards replaced by a residential district, called "Clos du Chateau" to perpetuate the memory of the chateau.
Hulluch was on a part of the

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais ...

coal seam Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

and

began here in 1902 and stopped in 1978. The

slag heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quan ...

s from mining are now used to produce building materials.
Aerial view Loos-Hulluch trench system July 1917

Hulluch has suffered two world wars and has few ancient monuments. One can find some old buildings representing the style of the region, with bricks and clay tiles and sloping roofs. There are some farms that escaped the destruction. Some

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s remain in peoples’ gardens, remnants of

. The German

gas attack at Hulluch The Gas Attacks at Hulluch were two German cloud gas attacks on British troops during World War I, from 27 to 29 April 1916, near the village of Hulluch, north of Loos in northern France. The gas attacks were part of an engagement between di ...

was among the most concentrated gas attacks of the war.

Population

Places of interest

* The church of St.Laurent, rebuilt, as was most of the village, after 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 ...

. * 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 ...

cemetery.

References

External links