Calonne-Ricouart

Calonne-Ricouart
Coat of arms
Calonne-Ricouart
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region Calonne-Ricouart
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Béthune
Canton	Divion
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de l'Artois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	André Delcourt
Area1	4.61 km2 (1.78 sq mi)
Population (1999)2	5,989
• Density	1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62194 / 62470
Elevation	41–114 m (135–374 ft) (avg. 65 m or 213 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Calonne-Ricouart is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

Calonne-Ricouart is an ex-coalmining town some 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Béthune and 33 miles (53.1 km) southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D70 and the D341 roads, by the banks of the Clarence River.

History

The village and the old castle were burned down in 1537 by the troops of Francis I.
The church of St. Pierre was rebuilt between the years 1763 to 1781.
In 1786, a new chateau was built at the present location of the cemetery. Around the same time, through the initiative of Bernard Calonne, the watermill was built on the north bank of the river Clarence. It was sold during the Revolution and ceased functioning as a working mill in 1945. Nowadays, only a small part of the original building still exists.

Features

The spoil heaps from the years of mining coal are now disappearing, as they contain material which can be used in road building. To the east of the town, were once the pit heads stood, is Park Calonnix, which covers 35 hectares of land including 15 hectares of forest and 5 hectares of ponds. Various sports and leisure activities are available (tennis, squash, horseriding, a climbing wall, pedal boats, freshwater and trout fishing, an inflatable playground and an animal park. Also located on the site, in the former coal mining explosives store, is a bat sanctuary.

Population

Historical population of Calonne-Ricouart

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
Population	9323	9954	8534	7545	6585	5989
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Places of interest

• The church of St. Pierre, dating from the eighteenth century.
• The modern church of St.Paul.
• An old farm and a watermill.

Notable people

• Maryan Wisnieski, French international football player.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official website of the commune (French)
• The leisure park (French)
• Calonne-Ricouart on the Quid website (French)