Nord (French department)Nord (nɔʁ; officially département du Nord; départémint dech Nord; Noorderdepartement, Northern Department) is a département in Hauts-de-France region, France bordering Belgium. It was created from the western halves of the historical counties of Flanders and Hainaut, and the Bishopric of Cambrai. The modern coat of arms was inherited from the County of Flanders. Nord is the country's most populous département. It had a population of 2,608,346 in 2019.
ScheldtThe Scheldt (ʃɛlt,_skɛlt ; Escaut ɛsko; Schelde ˈsxɛldə) 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 Old English sceald ("shallow"), Modern English shoal, Low German schol, West Frisian skol, and obsolete Swedish skäll ("thin"). The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the Aisne department of northern France. It flows north through Cambrai and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium near Tournai.
LilleLille ('liːl , lil; Rijsel ˈrɛisəl; Lile; 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 Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille. The city of Lille proper had a population of 236,234 in 2020 within its small municipal territory of , but together with its French suburbs and exurbs the Lille metropolitan area (French part only), which extends over , had a population of 1,515,061 that same year (Jan.
ValenciennesValenciennes (ˌvælɒ̃ˈsjɛn, also UKˌvælənsiˈɛn, US-nz,_vəˌlɛnsiˈɛn(z), valɑ̃sjɛn; Valencijn; Valincyinnes or Valinciennes; Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt (Escaut) river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. The 1999 census recorded that the population of the commune of Valenciennes was 41,278, and that of the metropolitan area was 39,677.
Silva CarbonariaSilva Carbonaria, the "charcoal forest", was the dense old-growth forest of beech and oak that formed a natural boundary during the Late Iron Age through Roman times into the Early Middle Ages across what is now western Wallonia. The Silva Carbonaria was a vast forest that stretched from the rivers Zenne and the Dijle in the north to the Sambre in the south. Its northern outliers reached the then marshy site of modern Brussels.
Neoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styles of architecture in most of Europe for the previous two centuries, Renaissance architecture and Baroque architecture, already represented partial revivals of the Classical architecture of ancient Rome and ancient Greek architecture, but the Neoclassical movement aimed to strip away the excesses of Late Baroque and return to a purer and more authentic classical style, adapted to modern purposes.
Gallia BelgicaGallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany. In 50 BC, after the conquest by Julius Caesar during his Gallic Wars, it became one of the three parts of Gaul (Tres Galliae), the other two being Gallia Aquitania and Gallia Lugdunensis. An official Roman province was later created by emperor Augustus in 22 BC.
ArtoisArtois (ɑːrˈtwɑː , aʁtwɑ; Artesië; English adjective: Artesian) is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: Atrecht), Saint-Omer, Lens, and Béthune. It is the eponym for the term Artesian. Artois occupies the interior of the Pas-de-Calais département, the western part of which constitutes the former Boulonnais. Artois roughly corresponds to the arrondissements of Arras, Béthune, Saint Omer, and Lens, and the eastern part of the arrondissement of Montreuil.
