Thiérache

The Grande Thiérache is a creation of the XXe century, with primarily lucrative goal (to profit from the European subsidies, within the framework of the Euregio). With this intention, it gathers areas of France and Belgium, located at the north of the Département of Aisne and overflowing on the departments of the Northern and the the Ardennes. Historically, its capital is Guise. It corresponds overall to the Western buttresses of the Ardennais solid mass.

Large Thiérache is thus a burst area, distributed between 2 States, 3 areas French (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, the Champagne-Ardennes) and two Belgian provinces (Hainaut and Namur). These limits mark this space, centripetal deeply. Even the current limit between Aisne and the department of North, old border of France before the XVIIe century, remains an important fracture in social space, in spite of the striking resemblance of the landscapes. All the structures trying to join together these two entities failed.

The historical Thiérache is limited to the department of Aisne.

A tough legend contradicted by the archaeological discoveries, made of Thiérache medieval, a covered country of forests. Forest cover was more important than in the rich person close agricultural areas, in the south, the Laonnois and in the west the Vermandois, but the clearings of the Moyen-âge, certainly important, were exaggerated. Still some beautiful national forests remain: the Forest S of Anor, Fourmies, Hirson, Trélon, Nouvion-in-Thiérache and of Saint-Michel. Certain forms curious about forests are typical of Thiérache: they are the defensive “hedges”, like the Haie of Avesnes. It is about a circular forest surrounding a city, which would have had a defensive function with the Middle Ages. The hedge of Avesnes had a role at the time of the battle of Watignies, by separating the belligerents. In general, these hedges were cleared. However, the hedge of Avesnes remains in the form of an arc of circle visible including on charts with small scales.

Thiérache is a scrap-metal country, curiously inserted between the Openfield Champagne, Picardy and of the Cambrésis. This characteristic has two origins:

In the South of Thiérache, there existed at the 14th century a critical spirit and a strong tendency to agrarian individualism, which developed some cores of the woodlands, studied by J. Sivery.

At the 19th century, with the decompartmentalization of the area by the railroad, the Culture S with poor yield, like the Cereal S, were abandoned with the profit of the breeding. Thiérache, like the Country of Trough in Normandy, turned to the production of butter, product very developed on the Parisian market. Remaining milk was transformed into cheese. But here, instead of Camembert cheese, one produced the Maroilles cheese, with the strong odor but with the subtle and fine taste and the Boulette of Avesnes, derivative product of the first (cracks) whose consumption is to be held for the most solid stomachs. As in Normandy, the meadows were planted apple trees which produce a cider of quality (and the apple alcohol which goes well with).

The Bocage gradually extended from the South towards North. Cereal cultures in the extreme North of Avesnois, with the margins of the Hainaut. In all the cases, this scrap-metal does not present a slope, contrary to the Breton and Norman scrap-metals. Since the end of the XXe century, the crisis of the dairy breeding generated a retreat of the scrap-metal to the profile of the openfield.

Some flourishing local industries at last century are extinct (Textile) or became marginal (Fonderie S), work of the wicker, (Vannerie). (Boisellery) also its importance had, and there remain about it traces with Felleries, where one still turns the Bois, but for the tourists.

Another local speciality was the exploitation of the blue Calcaire S of the stage givétien, said " Marble s" blue, that the local houses still largely present.

See too

the whole of the strengthened churches of Thiérache.
the abbey of Saint-Michel and its large organ.

External bonds

Terascia the gate of Large Thiérache

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