Audinghen

Audinghen (Dutch: Oudinghen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Audinghen
The town hall and school of Audinghen
Coat of arms
Location of Audinghen
Audinghen
Audinghen
Coordinates: 50°51′09″N 1°36′50″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentPas-de-Calais
ArrondissementBoulogne-sur-Mer
CantonDesvres
IntercommunalityCommunauté de communes de la Terre des Deux Caps
Government
  Mayor (2014-2020) Marc Sarpaux
Area
1
13.09 km2 (5.05 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
582
  Density44/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
62054 /62179
Elevation0–123 m (0–404 ft)
(avg. 68 m or 223 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

A farming commune, comprising several hamlets, some 14 miles (23 km) north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, at the junction of the D940 and the D191 roads. Cap Gris-Nez, the nearest part of France to the English coast, forms the western boundary of the commune.

History

The town was originally named Odingehem, 'home of Odin', by the Vikings who built a temple here dedicated to the Germanic god Odin. Audinghen has been rebuilt several times after being completely destroyed, including:

  • In 1643 or 1644, according to the interpretations, by a party of soldiers of the King of England, who burned the village population inside the church;
  • Three centuries later, in November 1943, by the British, who bombed and totally destroyed the village (then occupied by the German army) and a centre for Organisation Todt.[2]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1962409    
1968457+11.7%
1975461+0.9%
1982468+1.5%
1990503+7.5%
1999548+8.9%
2004554+1.1%
2009584+5.4%
2014575−1.5%
2015579+0.7%

Sights

  • The church of St. Pierre, dating from the twentieth century.
  • The ruins of the lighthouse at Cap Gris Nez.
  • World War II German defences, part of the Atlantic wall.
Part of the German defences, at the Todt Battery

Personalities

See also

References

  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Embry, Basil (1957). Mission Completed (1957 first ed.). Methuen. p. 255.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.