The Thiérache (;

Picard Picard may refer to: Places * Picard, Quebec, Canada * Picard, California, United States * Picard (crater), a lunar impact crater in Mare Crisium People and fictional characters * Picard (name), a list of people and fictional characters with th ...

: ''Quiérache'') is a region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

united by similar geography and architecture, including the presence of hedgerows, grassland, hilly terrain, scattered settlements, and traditionally-built stone or brick houses with stone dividing walls and slate roofs. Located in the north-east of the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

department, it also spills over into parts of the Nord and

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

departments and the Walloon provinces of Hainaut and

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. Its overall location is the western foothills of the Ardennes massif. Historically, its capital was Guise, even though its largest settlement is now Fourmies. It is bisected by the route nationale 2 between Paris and Brussels, whilst another important local route is the route nationale 43 between

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), 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 Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

and Charleville-Mézières.

French sartorial heritage

The region was a pivotal centre of mulquinerie (linen weaving). {{DEFAULTSORT:Thierache Geography of Aisne Geography of Ardennes (department) Geography of Nord (French department) Geography of Hauts-de-France Geography of Hainaut (province) Geography of Namur (province) Regions of Wallonia Areas of Belgium Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France