St-Quentin

Town on the River Somme in the département of Aisne in Picardy, northern France, 33 km/20 mi south of Cambrai; population (1990) 62,100. In 1871 it was the site of a Prussian defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian War, and spent four years under German occupation in World War I, being completely obliterated in the process. It is linked by canal to the industrial centres of Belgium and Germany. Its traditional textile production has been replaced by chemicals and metal works.

Features The town has an enormous and beautiful 12th-century Gothic church with a 35 m/115 ft belfry. The 13th-century hôtel de ville has an 18th-century bell tower with a 37-bell carillon. The painter Maurice Quentin de la Tour was born here in 1704 and died here. He left some of his work to the town. The Museum of Entomology has a notable collection of butterflies.

History Being in a direct line between the Belgian frontier and Paris, the town has been involved in many conflicts. It was the scene of a defeat of the French by Spain in 1557, and was overrun by the Germans in their initial advance into France in August 1914. It suffered further damage in World War II.