City of the Somme, not far from Pas-de-Calais, Doullens takes place about thirty kilometers from Amiens and Arras. It is not far from Beauval, Gézaincourt, and Neuvillette, about thirty kilometers from Albert.
Formerly known as Donincum, Dorlens, or Dollendum, the city of Doullens developed in the Middle Ages with the founding of a Benedictine priory dependent on the order of Cluny. Important stronghold, it joined the kingdom of France in the first half of the thirteenth century before being burned in the fifteenth century under the orders of Louis XI for being placed alongside Charles the Bold. The commune knows then periods agitated, in particular with the battle of Doullens in 1595 which sees the massacre of more than 4000 inhabitants.
Today very dynamic, the town benefits from the economic aura of its neighbors, but also from its exceptional architectural heritage.
Listed as a historic monument, the citadel still unveils today its star shape designed by Jean Errard Bar-le-Duc. An exceptional architectural ensemble, it was built in the first half of the 16th century and is one of the first in the country. Completed in the seventeenth century, it includes at this time two barracks, a powder magazine, a gun room, the governor's house, underground and housing for prisoners. It was then converted into a state prison until the eighteenth century, seeing prisoners as illustrious as Gaston d'Orleans, brother of Louis XIII, or the Duc de Maine, legitimate son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Prison of women from the mid-nineteenth century, the citadel turns into a hospital in the early twentieth century. It was transformed in 1943 into a center of German political internment. Gradually abandoned, it is deteriorating but is now the subject of many restoration projects.
Listed as UNESCO World Heritage and Historical Monuments, the current belfry dates from the early 17th century. Many times burned down, he had the visit of figures as illustrious as Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIV or Louis XIII. Restored partly in the second half of the nineteenth century, it stands almost thirty meters high and is entirely made of brick and stone. On four levels, it has a ground floor stone, with on the right the old prison which now houses the Tourist Office.
Built in the 13th century, the church of Saint-Pierre saw its choir and its bell tower completely rebuilt. Racked in the sixteenth century, it was decommissioned during the French Revolution serving as a shed or workshop. Mainly Gothic style, it remains today only the unclosed and unclosed nave that rises on three levels. In the 1950s, the Beaux-Arts carried out a renovation to highlight mated pillars, hook capitals, and soft bows. It is now the subject of a project to transform it into a cultural center.
Consecrated by Thomas Beckett in the twelfth century, Notre-Dame church was burned in the sixteenth century as his sister. Refuge for the population during the invasion of the Spaniards in 1595, she sees her choir completely rebuilt in the first half of the eighteenth century. An old wall is now the only remnant of the original building, a new facade was installed in the nineteenth century. Inside, very beautiful works can be admired as a Renaissance Tomb, a sculpted group of the nineteenth century representing the Assumption of the Virgin, or a Christ in varnished wood of the nineteenth century, all classified as Historical Monuments.
Located on the first floor of the Town Hall, the Unique Command Hall was the scene of the meeting between the French and British representatives and the chiefs of the armies who entrusted to General Foch the command of all the troops who were fighting against the Germans. One can admire in particular a stained glass window by Pierre and Gérard Ansart, two paintings by Lucien Jonas and the busts of Clémenceau and Lord Milner.
Erected at the top of a hill, the Calvary Foch was built in the early 1920s, at the place where fell the first shell intended for the station of Authieule. In particular, he reveals two very beautiful carved bas-reliefs.
Opened in the nineteenth century, the Lombart Museum is an opportunity to discover works by such famous artists as Corot, Poulbot, as well as pieces dedicated to archeology and Egyptian antiquity. The site also has a beautiful French garden.
While strolling in the old city, do not miss to admire the old houses of the eighteenth century with their atypical architecture.
