|BEAUVAIS: (Oise department, Picardie région)|
49° 26' 05" N 02° 05' 18" E.
Population (1999): city: 57,355 (beauvaisiens); city and suburbs: 59,003; urban area: 100,733. Set at the foot of wooded hills on the left bank of the Thérain at its confluence with the Avelon, it lies about 90 km north of Paris. Beauvais lies at the foot of wooded hills on the left bank of the Thérain at its confluence with the Avelon. Its ancient ramparts have been destroyed, and it is now surrounded by boulevards, outside which run branches of the Thérain. In addition, there are spacious promenades in the north-east of the town. Beauvais was known to the Romans as Caesaromagnus (though the post-Renaissance Latin rendering is Bellovacum) and took its present name from the Belgic tribe, whose capital it was. In the ninth century it became a countship, which about 1013 passed to the bishops of Beauvais, who became peers of France from the twelfth century. At the coronations of kings the Bishop of Beauvais wore the royal mantle and went, with the Bishop of Langres, to raise the king from his throne to present him to the people. In 1346 the town had to defend itself against the English, who again besieged it in 1433. The siege in 1472 at the hands of the duke of Burgundy was rendered famous by the heroism of the women, under the leadership of Jeanne Hachette, whose memory is still celebrated by a procession on the 14th of October in which the women take precedence of the men. An interesting hoard of coins is known as the "Beauvais" hoard because some of the European coins found in the hoard are from the French abbey located in Beauvais. Besides the state manufacture of tapestry dating from 1664, industry of Beauvais includes the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods, brushes, toys, boots and shoes, and bricks and tiles. Jeanne Hachette, who earned her surname for the hatchet with which she helped to repel the Burgundians, is commemorated in a yearly celebration. [January 2008]
The Jewish Community formed in 1963. The Community Center also acts as the synagogue and was constructed in 1973. Services are celebrated according to Sephardic ritual. All occupations are represented among about fifty Jewish families that live in this city in the Paris région. Synagogue: Centre Communautaire, Rue Jules Isaac - 60000 BEAUVAIS, Tél 03-44-05-10-15 (Oise). [January 2008]