Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the Scheldt river.

Government
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Nord
Canton	Valenciennes
Mayor (2020–2026)	Laurent Degallaix
Area¹	13.82 km² (5.34 sq mi)
Population (2017-01-01)	43,336
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Economy

Valenciennes is historically renowned for its lace. Until the 1970s, the main industries were steel and textiles. Since their decline, reconversion attempts focus mainly on automobile production. In 2001, Toyota built its Western European assembly line for the Toyota Yaris in Valenciennes.

In December 2003 Valenciennes was picked as the European Railway Agency headquarters. International conferences are held in Lille.

La Maison Espagnole, now home to the tourist information office

Education

Primary education

There are 17 nursery schools and 16 primary or elementary schools in the municipality. Most of these establishments are public, but there are still 4 kindergartens and 4 private primary or elementary schools.

Secondary education

There are 6 colleges in Valenciennes including 4 public ( Watteau college, Carpeaux college, Eisen college, Chasse Royale college) and 2 private ( Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle college, Sainte Marie college).

University

Created in 1968, the Polytechnic University of Hauts-de-France occupies three university campuses in Valenciennes (“Mont-Houy”, “Tertiales” and “Le Moulin”) and two branches ( Cambrai and Maubeuge ). It welcomes more than 10,000 students and prepares for more than 150 training courses with research laboratories, continuing education, international sections, secondary and tertiary sectors, human sciences, letters , sciences , languages and law , Sciences and Techniques of Physical Activities and Sports (STAPS) and an engineering school, theENSIAME .

Other schools

ESAD Valenciennes (Higher School of Art and Design).
ENTE (National School of Equipment Technicians).
Rubika.
IPHC (Polytechnic Institute of Hainaut Cambrésis).

The technopole

Located in the towns of Famars and Maing , the Transalley technology park specializes in the development of innovative and sustainable mobility. Based at the Mont Houy UPHF , this high-tech site will become a national, even global, flagship in the medium term.

Local Culture and Heritage

Festivities and cultural events

Festivals

Valenciennes hosts several festivals of various artistic genres. The one with the most impact being the 2 Cinema Festival , a film festival taking place during the month of March specializing in documentary and fiction works . It then breaks down into 2 competitions and rewards the best films in their category. In another art is created in 2007 on the occasion of the selection of Valenciennes as regional capital of culture, the music festival “Embar (o) cement immediate”. Taking place every year throughout the month of May, the festival celebrates baroque music with the organization of concerts and shows.

Traditional events

A major event in local commerce, the large clearance sale , renamed “Fête du Commerce” in 2017, which takes place during the first weekend of September, is an opportunity for downtown merchants to increase their visibility by setting up their stall in front of their store and for customers to do good business. Of antique and professional secondhand dealers also take possession of the Place d’Armes , there unpacking their antiques.

Places and monuments

The heart of Valenciennes was almost entirely destroyed by a gigantic fire during the Second World War and rebuilt during the years 1950-1960 in a style combining concrete, brick and stone. Many pre-war streets and houses still exist on the outskirts, around the churches of Notre-Dame, Saint-Géry and near the Place du Neufbourg.

The facade of the town hall dates from 1867 . Its allegorical statues are by Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire , to whom we also owe some of the works of the Gare du Nord, in Paris. At the top sits a faithful reconstruction, by the sculptor Albert-Marius Patrisse , of the famous pediment by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux , Valenciennes defending its ramparts.

The pediment of the town hall, Valenciennes.

The Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Cordon basilica is the site of an annual pilgrimage. The basilica has many works of art and stained glass windows by Paul Ducatez.

In the park which adjoins the Saint-Géry church, the Watteau square, there is a fountain with in its center a statue of Antoine Watteau (born in this city, rue de Paris extended), due to Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, also a native from the city.

Others:

The Spanish house.
The Jesuit library.
The Museum of Fine Arts.
The tower is built Dodenne fortification xiv ^th century (the bastion fortifications built by the Spaniards and modified by Vauban.
The house of the provost, built at the end of the xv ^th century .
The Saint-Roch cemetery.
The headframe of the well Dutemple.
The Mont de Piété.
The Hainaut hospital.
The work Valenciennes by Jean-Bernard Métais.

Cultural heritage

Le PhéniX , national stage .
The Municipal Library, housed in the buildings of the former College of the Jesuits ( xviii ^th century) historical monument, contains a rich collection of 2000 manuscripts, 134 incunabula and valuable printed works of the xvi ^th to the xx ^th century.
The university libraries of Valenciennes are located on the Mont Houy campus (sciences, techniques, sport, literature, languages and human sciences) and on the Tertiales campus (law, economics, management and the arts).
Auditorium Saint-Nicola.
The Museum of Fine Arts.
Conservatory with departmental influence of music and dramatic arts.
The ESAD School of Art and Design , former School of Fine Arts.
Château Desandrouin.
Art Zoyd – Production and musical creation studio.

Gastronomy

The Lucullus language. Preparation laminated consisting of slices Valenciennes language , spread with a foie gras-based preparation and mounted in a mold in the shape of half moon.
The Carpeaux: cake made with butter cream and candied chestnuts between two oval macaroons. It was named in tribute to the painter and sculptor from Valencia, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux .
Le Germinal: chicory and bitter chocolate cake, which make it a fondant dessert based on light mousse.
The goyère , made with white cheese and maroilles , it differs from the traditional flamiche by his fluffy soufflé.
The foolishness of Valenciennes .

Parks and natural spaces

The Parc de la Rhônelle is the largest of the city’s parks. It is a so-called ” English-style ” garden taking its name from the Rhonelle river which crosses it. A true open-air museum, the park exhibits many works by local artists.

Other communal gardens are:

the citadel park, allowing visitors to see the rare vestiges of the old Vauban fortifications surrounding the city.
Jacques Chirac garden – Parc des Prix de Rome)
Jehan Froissart park or Ordron square.

A wilder area than the aforementioned parks, the Vignoble pond, with an area of 54 hectares, allows the practice of water activities such as canoeing, paddle boarding, sailing or rowing. Fishing is authorized there on presentation of the appropriate license.

Sports

Sports infrastructures

The practice of diverse and varied sports is easy in Valenciennes in view of the multitude of sports infrastructures present on its territory. The city has, among others, many football fields, gymnasiums and sports complexes which allow the practice of sports such as handball , climbing , table tennis , futsal , handibasket and volleyball to name a few. ‘them, but also a baseball field , an aquatic center with an Olympic pool , a rugby field , a tennis courtclub, an ice rink. For jogging or running , two athletics tracks are open to everyone during the day.

The Hainaut stadium is only intended for professional use for football or rugby.

Sporting events

Since the beginning of the 80s, the streets of the city have seen numerous runners and walkers parade on the occasion of the Foulées Valenciennoises which take place between the end of March and the beginning of April.

Still in the fields of running and walking , the Urban Trail de Valenciennes is a popular 10 km race without classification which has been organized every year in October since 2017, by the Hauts-de -France.And in the same spirit as the Urban Trail, the Vélotour de Valenciennes is a 25 km cycling route (15 km without the optional loops) which has the same objectives as the Urban Trail, except that here the route must be completed by bike.

Each year in March or April, the Valenciennes tennis club (TSBV complex) hosts the Valenciennes International Tennis Open, which sees unclassified players compete against some invited players .