Commune of Douai
Location
Longitude	03°04'48" E
Latitude	50°22'17" N
Administration
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Nord (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Douai
Canton	Chief town of 8 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération du douaisis
Mayor	Jacques Vernier (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	16 m–38 m (avg. 24 m)
Land area¹	16.88 km²
Population² (1999)	42,796
- Density (1999)	2,538/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	59178/ 59500
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Bell tower of Douai, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 1871.

Douai (Dutch: Dowaai) is a town and commune in the north of France in the département of Nord, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Located on the river Scarpe some 25 miles (40 km) from Lille and 16 miles (25 km) from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfries. Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... This article is about the geographical term. ... This list of countries, arranged alphabetically, gives an overview of countries of the world. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Capital Lille Area 12,414 km² Regional President Daniel Percheron ( PS) (since 2001) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 4th) 4,026,000 3,996,588 324/km² (2004) Arrondissements 13 Cantons 156 Communes 1,546 Départements Nord Pas-de-Calais The administrative region of Nord-Pas-de... Departments (French: IPA: ) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... Extent of Flemish in the Arrondissement of Dunkirk, 1874 and 1972 Nord (French: North) is a département in the north of France. ... Subprefecture is an administrative level that is below prefecture or province. ... The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. ... Location of Douai. ... The cantons of France are administrative divisions subdividing arrondissements and départements. ... Map of the 36,568 communes of metropolitan France. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... INSEE is the French abbreviation for the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (French: Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques). ... Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... For other meanings, see Estuary (disambiguation) Rio de la Plata estuary An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. ... This page lists English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations, such as and . ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 490 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1576 × 1926 pixel, file size: 337 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 490 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1576 × 1926 pixel, file size: 337 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (portrait by Nadar) Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (July 26, 1796 – February 22, 1875) was a French landscape painter. ... The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... Extent of Flemish in the Arrondissement of Dunkirk, 1874 and 1972 Nord (French: North) is a département in the north of France. ... Subprefecture is an administrative level that is below prefecture or province. ... The Scarpe is a river in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. ... For other uses, see Lille (disambiguation). ... Arras (Dutch: ) is a town and commune in northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pas-de-Calais département. ... Belfry of Bruges A belfry is a building (also known as a bell tower) - or a part of a building - in which bells are hung. ...

The population of the metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine), including Lens, was 552,682 in 1999. In France an aire urbaine (literally: urban area) is roughly the equivalent of a US Metropolitan Statistical Area. ... Lens is commune in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département. ...

Sights

Construction started on Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 metre (262 foot) high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying German forces, who intended to melt them down for the metal. They were reinstalled after repairs in 1924, but 47 of them were replaced in 1954 to obtain a better sound. An additional larger bell in the summit, a La called "Joyeuse", dates from 1471 and weighs 5.5 tonnes. The chimes are rung by a mechanism every quarter hour, but are also played via a keyboard on Saturday mornings and at certain other times. Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ... September 8 - Battle of Kulikovo - Russian forces under Grand Prince Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow resist a large invasion by the Blue Horde, Lithuania and Ryazan, stopping their advance at Kulikovo. ... For the University of Regina student newspaper, see The Carillon. ... A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or P8) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency. ... July 18 - Battle of the Kondurcha River - Timur defeats Tokhtamysh in the Volga. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In music, solfege (or solmization) is a pedagogical technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfege syllable (or sol-fa syllable). The seven syllables normally used for this practice in the West are: Do, Re... This article is about the year 1471, not the BT caller ID service accessible by dialling 1-4-7-1. ... Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. ... The layout of a typical musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which cause the instrument to produce sounds. ...

The substantial Porte de Valenciennes town gate, a reminder of the town's past military importance, was built in 1453. One face is built in Gothic style, while the other is of Classical design. April 2 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Ä°stanbul). ...

Economy

The main industries in the town are in the chemical and metal engineering sectors. Renault has a huge vehicle assembly plant near the town, which has produced many well known Renault vehicles, such as the R14, R11, R19, and the Megane and Scenic of today. For the author, see Mary Renault. ... “Car” and “Cars” redirect here. ... Modern car assembly line. ... The Renault 14 was an automobile produced by Renault of France between 1976 and 1983. ... The Renault 9 and Renault 11 were compact automobiles produced by the French car manufacturer Renault between 1982 and 1988. ... Renault 19 Chamade The Renault 19 is a small family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1988 and 1999. ... The Renault Mégane is a compact automobile made by Renault. ... The Renault Mégane Scénic was the first European car of its kind: a five-seater based on the chassis of a compact hatchback (in this case the Mégane which had been launched a year earlier) but with a high roof to give it the appearance and practicality...

History

Its site probably corresponds to that of a 4th century Roman fortress known as Duacum. The town became a flourishing textile market centre during the Middle Ages under the Counts of Flanders. Historically, it was known as Douay (Doway in English). In 1384, it passed into the domains of the Counts of Burgundy and thence in 1477 into Habsburg possessions. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Year 1384 was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Events January 5 - Battle of Nancy - Charles the Bold of Burgundy is again defeated, and this time is killed. ...

In 1667, Douai was taken by the troops of Louis XIV of France, and by the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the town was ceded to France. During successive sieges from 1710 to 1712, Douai was almost completely destroyed. By 1713, the town was fully integrated into France. Apart from the ferment of the French Revolution, it was again caught up in hostilities in World War I, and in 1918, the town was partly burned, while World War II also brought considerable damage to Douai. The town is still a transportation and commercial center for the area, which is known for its coalfield. “Sun King” redirects here. ... There were two Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle. ...

A centre of Catholic studies

Under the Patronage of Phillip II, when Douai belonged to the Spanish Netherlands a University of Douai was founded, which recent studies are coming to view as an important institution of its time. Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II de Habsburgo; Portuguese: Filipe I) (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was the first official King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England (as husband of Mary I) from 1554 to 1558, Lord... This article or section should be merged with Seventeen Provinces The Spanish Netherlands was a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

It was prominent, from the 1560s until the French Revolution, as a centre for the education of English Catholics escaping the persecution in England, and connected with the University were not only the English College, Douai, founded by William Allen, but also the Irish and Scottish colleges and the Benedictine, Franciscan and Jesuit houses. In 1609 the English College published a translation of the Old Testament, which, together with the New Testament published at Rheims 27 years earlier, was the Bible used by Anglophone Roman Catholics almost exclusively for more than 300 years. The situation was somewhat reversed by Waldeck-Rousseau's Law of Associations (1901), which led to the Benedictine community's return to England in 1903, and the founding there of Douai Abbey. William Shakespeare is born. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... The Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain is organised separately in England and Wales and in Scotland. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary at Douai (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), a town now in Northern France. ... William Allen (1532 - October 16, 1594) was an English cardinal. ... For the college, see Benedictine College. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) is a city of north-eastern France, 98 miles east-northeast of Paris. ... The Douay-Rheims Bible, also known as the Rheims-Douai Bible or Douai Bible and abbreviated as D-R, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. ... Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (December 2, 1846 - August 20, 1904) was a French statesman. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Douai Abbey Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire. ...

For a time there was a Charterhouse in Douai. Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery founded in 1371 by Walter de Manny, in Smithfield in the City of London. ...

The English town of Bridgwater takes the second half of its name from the Norman prince Walter Douai. , Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial town in the county. ... For other uses, see Normandy (disambiguation). ...

Other colleges and universities

• DBS - Douai Business School, an international business college, established in 1991
• École des Mines de Douai
• Law University
• Nurse School

The acronym DBS may stand for the following, depending on context: Aston Martin DBS – an automobile model of the Aston Martin brand Aston Martin DBS V12 – an automobile model of the Aston Martin brand DBS Bank – the largest bank in South East Asia, based in Singapore Death by Stereo – an... The École des Mines de Douai is a French public engineering institute located in the city of Douai, close to Lille. ...

Births

Douai was the birthplace of:

• Giambologna, born as Jean Boulogne (1529-1608), sculptor
• Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), statesman
• Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786-1859), poet
• Henri-Edmond Cross (1856-1910), pointillist painter
• André Obey (1892-1975), playwright
• Jacky Henin (born 1960), politician and Member of the European Parliament

Portrait of Giovanni Bologna by Hendrick Goltzius Giambologna, born as Jean Boulogne, also known as Giovanni Da Bologna and Giovanni Bologna (1529 - 1608) was a sculptor who best known for his marble statuary and works in bronze. ... Events April 22 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297. ... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... “Sculptor” redirects here. ... Charles Alexandre de Calonne, portrait by Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... --69. ... Statesman is a respectful term used to refer to politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (June 20, 1786 - July 23, 1859) was a French poet. ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... Henri-Edmond Cross is a pointillist painter. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... André Obey (8 May 1892 at Douai, France - 11 April 1975 at Montsoreau, near the Loire River) was a prominent French playwright during the inter-war years, and into the 1950s. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Jacky Henin (born 12 November 1960 in Douai) is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the north-west of France. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ...

Twin towns

Douai is twinned with:

• Harrow, England, United Kingdom
• Recklinghausen, Germany
• Kenosha, United States
• Dédougou, Burkina Faso

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Harrow is the principal town in the London Borough of Harrow. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Recklinghausen is a city in the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Nickname: K-town Keno Kenowhere Location of Kenosha within Wisconsin Coordinates: Country United States State Wisconsin Counties Kenosha Settled 1836 Government  - Mayor John M. Antaramian Population  - City 96,845  - Density  3,795. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Burkina_Faso. ... Dédougou is a city located in western Burkina Faso. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Douai

• Douai official website (in French)