Le Parcq

French commune
name= Le Parcq
region=
departement=
arrondissement=
canton= Le Parcq
insee= 62647
cp=62770
maire=Louis Magère
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Communauté de communes de l'Hesdinois
longitude=2.10111111111
latitude=50.38
alt moy=115 m
alt mini=27 m
alt maxi=113 m
hectares=927
km²=9,27
sans=726
date-sans=2004
dens=75|

Le Parcq is a commune and the chief town of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais "département" in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A town some 18 miles(29km) southeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer, on the N39 road, in the valley of the Ternoise river. Since the 1st January 2007, the canton of Le Parcq has been part of the arrondissement of Montreuil-sur-Mer (Order of 18th October 2006 . Previously, Le Parcq was in the arrondissement of Arras.

Population

History

The establishment of Le Parcq dates from the founding of a castle (on the current site of Vieil-Hesdin) by Baldwin I of Constantinople or Baudouin IX, [Count of Flanders] ] around the year 1208. It was a wooden enclosure surrounded by walls within which wild animals were placed in large numbers.
In 1219, Louis VIII of France expanded the enclosure. Count Robert II of Artois expanding the park in 1293. In 1329, portcullis were installed at all the gates of the castle. Unfortunately, in 1335, Edward III destroyed the castle just before the start of the Hundred Years War. This destruction was continued in 1337 by Charles III of Navarre who brought down the walls. In 1395, Philip II of Burgundy restored the castle walls.
Several people were employed daily to feed the animals in the park which also had a vast falconry centre and two fishing lakes. The park totalled 940 hectares with a perimeter of approximately 8 miles (13km), opening onto the outside world by many gates.
After the destruction of Vieil-Hesdin in) 1553 by Charles V, the park was, at the initiative of Philippe V of France, made the parkland available to those displaced by the fall of the old town, who wished to build new homes on the parkland. To attract more people, tax benefits were given, on February 25th 1586 to all those moving into the area.
Thus, the park became a village, originally known as Parc-lès-Hesdin. The municipality was formally recognized in 1670 and on February 8th 1816, Le Parcq also became chef-lieu of the canton by royal decree.

Places of interest

* The Château d'Estruval
* The 16th century church of St.Nicholas.
* Notre Dame de Bon Secours chapel dating from 1871
* Notre Dame du Chêne chapel.
* Château of Vieil-Hesdin dating from the 11th century.

See also

Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

External links

* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=62647&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Le Parcq on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=27135&req=Le_Parcq Le Parcq on the Quid website] fr

Notes

*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on April 25th 2008."