Arras

Arras ( ARR-əs; French: [aʁɑs] ; Picard: Aros; historical Dutch: Atrecht [ˈaːtrɛxt] ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a Baroque town square, Arras is in northern France at the confluence of the rivers Scarpe and Crinchon. The Arras plain is on a large chalk plateau bordered on the north by the Marqueffles fault, on the southwest by the Artois and Ternois hills, and on the south by the slopes of Beaufort-Blavincourt. On the east it is connected to the Scarpe valley. Saint Vedast (or St. Vaast) was the first Catholic bishop in the year 499 and tried to eliminate paganism among the Franks. By 843, Arras was seat of the County of Artois which became part of the Royal domain in 1191. The first mention of the name Arras appeared in the 12th century. Some hypothesize it is a contraction of Atrebates, a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain that used to inhabit the area. The name Atrebates could have successively evolved to become Atrades, Atradis, Aras, and finally Arras. Others believe it comes from the Celtic word Ar, meaning 'running water', as the Scarpe river flows through Arras or simply the name of Abraham's wife Sarra spelled backwards. Arras is Pas-de-Calais' second most populous town after Calais. The town counted 42,621 residents in 2022, with the Arras metropolitan area having a population of 159,719. Arras is located 182 kilometres (113 miles) north of Paris and can be reached in 2 hours by car and in 50 minutes by TGV. It is the historic centre of the former Artois province. Its local speech is characterized as a patois. The city of Arras is...