Everything about Douai totally explained
» This article is about the French commune. For the Bible translation, see Douay-Rheims Bible.
Douai (
Dutch: Dowaai) is a town and
commune in the north of
France in the
département of
Nord, of which it's 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.
The population of the metropolitan area (French:
aire urbaine), including
Lens, was 552,682 in 1999.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, the richest in northern France.
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.
It was prominent, from the
1560s until the
French Revolution, as a centre for the education of
English Catholics escaping the persecution in
England. 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.
The Benedictine
priory of
St Gregory the Great was founded by
Saint John Roberts at Douai in
1605, with a handful of exiled English Benedictines who had entered various monasteries in Spain, as the first house after the Reformation to begin conventual life. The community was established within the
English Benedictine Congregation and started a college for English Catholic boys who were unable to find a Catholic education at home, and pursued studies in the University of Douai. However, the community was expelled at the time of the
French Revolution in 1793 and, after some years of wandering, finally settled at
Downside Abbey, Somerset, in
1814. This is disputed and the monastic community of Douai in Woolhampton, Reading was established in 1903 and continued as a educational establishment for boys until the early 21st century.
Another English Benedictine community, the Priory of
St. Edmund, which had been formed in Paris in
1615 by Dom Gabriel Gifford, later Archbishop of
Rheims and primate of France, was expelled from Paris during the Revolution, and eventually took over the vacant buildings of the community of St Gregory's in 1818. Later, following
Waldeck-Rousseau's Law of Associations (
1901), this community also returned to England in 1903, where it was established at
Douai Abbey, near Reading.
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.
For a time there was a
Charterhouse in Douai.
The English town of
Bridgwater takes the second half of its name from the
Norman prince
Walter Douai.
Other colleges and universities
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
Twin towns
Douai is twinned with:
Harrow, England, United Kingdom
Recklinghausen, Germany
Kenosha, United States
Dédougou, Burkina Faso
Puławy, (Poland)Further Information
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