Varennes | |
|---|---|
 The church in Varennes | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Varennes | |
  Varennes  Varennes | |
| Coordinates:50°02′58″N2°32′05″E / 50.04944°N 2.53472°E /50.04944; 2.53472 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Somme |
| Arrondissement | Péronne |
| Canton | Albert |
| Intercommunality | Pays du Coquelicot |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Sylvie Brood[1] |
Area 1 | 7.24 km2 (2.80 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 221 |
| • Density | 30.5/km2 (79.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 80776 /80560 |
| Elevation | 83–156 m (272–512 ft) (avg. 147 m or 482 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Varennes (French pronunciation:[vaʁɛn]ⓘ; also:Varennes-en-Croix)[3] is acommune in theSommedepartment inHauts-de-France in northernFrance.[4]
Varennes is situated 15 miles (24 km) northeast ofAmiens, at the junction of the D47, D447 and D179, in the form of a cross.
The settlement of Franc-Mailly was located at the site of the present-day cemetery of Varennes, where theseigneurs made their home, with a farm and a mill.Wishing to promote the culture of their region, land was granted to the people to build homes, free from any kind of duties and taxes. Over time the village of Franc-Mailly became a popular haunt for criminals. According to tradition, in 1069 the four corners of the village of Franc-Mailly were burnt down on the orders of the Seigneur. The remaining core of the village, grouped around the manor house, became Varennes.[5]
Florent de Varennes, lord of Varennes, son-in-law ofJohn II, Count of Soissons, became thefirstAdmiral of France, heading the naval journey to North Africa, whereSaint Louis IX led theEighth Crusade. Like the King and PrinceJohn Tristan of France,Count of Valois, he died in front ofTunis in August 1270, due todysentery. His coat of arms "Gules a Cross Or" (Red with a gold cross) is still the coat of arms of the village.
In 1472,Charles the Bold invadedPicardy in retaliation againstLouis XI who had refused to ratify the treaty on October 3, 1471 in which Charles claimed possession ofAmiens,Saint-Quentin and the Vimeu. Many villages were burnt down, including that of Varennes, which was rebuilt with its streets in the shape of a cross".[6]
During theThirty Years War, Varennes suffered looting and destruction by Spanish troops, as testified by a verbatim record of 1636, in which it says that the village was burned down in September 1635.[7]
In order to protect themselves from armed troops, the inhabitants of Varennes dug a large tunnel. The underpass beneath the town square and the church is made up of a gallery 39m long with 29 rooms, all of which were fitted with wooden doors. Eight of the rooms had wells for fresh water.
In the most recent excavations in 1970, various inscriptions were noted on the walls: "1636 Adrien Lefebvre"; “1660 Guillomin Ringard”; “Antonin Goubet in the year 1677"; they also found a coin dated 1656.
Having served as an underground refuge for the population, the tunnels were probably used as a workplace in the winter. They were eventually closed because of the danger of collapse.[8]
In September 1870, during theFranco-Prussian War, Varennes was occupied by the Germans for three or four days, the village was subjected to theft, damage to housing and they had to feed the enemy troops and horses. The village was also forced to pay war reparations to the tune of 4122 Francs.
In 1916, the front line between the French and German forces was located about 7 kilometres (4 mi) from Varennes. Many underpasses were constructed and occupied in the surrounding villages, the tunnels of Varennes was occupied until Easter 1918 by British troops. In the tunnels, there’s an inscription “J. Connoly, Smith, Baker Sgt, 1918”.[8]
| "Gules a CrossOr", coat of arms of the village of Varennes was the one of Florent de Varennes, the firstAdmiral of France[9] |
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| Source: EHESS[10] and INSEE (1968-2017)[11] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
