History & Civilisation
Arras was founded on the hill of Baudimont by the Celtic tribe of the Atrebates, who named it Nemetacum in reference to a nemeton, a sort of sacred grove that probably existed there. It was later renamed Atrebatum by the Romans, under whom it became an important garrison town.
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The townspeople were converted to Christianity in the late 4th century by Saint Diogenes, who was killed in 410 during a barbarian attack on the town. Around 130 years later, St. Vaast established an episcopal see in the town and a monastic community, which developed during the Carolingian period into the immensely wealthy Benedictine Abbey of St. Vaast.
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The modern town of Arras initially grew up around the abbey as a grain market. Both town and abbey suffered during the 9th century from the attacks of the Vikings, who later settled to the west in Normandy. The abbey revived its strength in the 11th century and played an important role in the development of medieval painting, successfully synthesizing the artistic styles of Carolingian, Ottonian and English art.
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The town was granted a commercial charter by the French crown in 1180 and became an internationally important location for banking and trade. By the 14th century it had gained renown and considerable wealth from the cloth and wool industry, and was particularly well known for its production of fine tapestries.
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The town was the site of the Congress of Arras in 1435, an unsuccessful attempt to end the Hundred Years War that resulted in the Burgundians breaking their alliance with the English. After the death of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, King Louis XI of France took control of Arras but the town’s inhabitants, still loyal to the Burgundians, expelled the French.
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During World War I, Arras was near the front and a long series of battles fought nearby are known as the Battle of Arras in which a series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, unknown to the Germans, became a decisive factor in the British forces holding the city.
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In World War II, during the invasion of France in March 1940, the town was the focus of a major British counter attack. The town was occupied by the Germans and 240 suspected French Resistance members were executed in the Arras citadel.