AMIENS, north France, capital of the department of Somme, on the left bank of the Somme, 81m. N. of Paris on the North ern railway to Calais. Pop. (1931) 83,377. Though involved in the World War and severely bombarded, the city retains its pre war aspect. The old town occupies the low-lying area between the arms of the rivers Somme and Avre. The site of the ancient ramparts is occupied by boulevards; and suburbs, themselves bounded by another line of boulevards, have arisen beyond these limits, while the city also extends to the right bank of the Somme. The busy quarter lies between the river and the railway. The older quarter is situated directly on the Somme ; its narrow and irregular streets intersected by the eleven arms of the river and skirted on the north by the canal derived therefrom.
Amiens occupies the site of the ancient Samarobriva capital of the Ambiani, from which it probably derives its name. At the beginning of the 4th century Christianity was preached there by St. Firmin, its first bishop. Its territory formed the mediaeval countship of Amienois, and early in the T 2th century the citizens profiting by rivalry of count and bishop gained a charter of enfranchisement. The fief became a dependency of the French crown in 1185. In 1435, by the treaty of Arras it fell to the dukes of Burgundy, until 1477. Surprised by the Spaniards in 1597, the city was recaptured from them after a long siege by Henry IV. Till 1790 it was the capital of the Government of Picardy (q.v.). The famous treaty between Great Britain, France, Spain and Holland which took its name from Amiens was signed here in March 1802. In the Franco-German War (q.v.) Amiens, after an important action, fell into the hands of the Prussians on Nov. 28, 187o. In the World War the city was taken by the Germans on Aug. 30, 1914; but after the battle of the Marne the front was established some 20m. eastwards, where it remained till 1918. Amiens then became the first concentration point for British troops disembarking at Boulogne in 1914, and the first air-craft park was established here. It remained of high import ance on the lines of communication and in March 1918 the Ger mans made a great effort to break through between the British and French armies at the Amiens salient. They advanced to with in eight miles of the town, which was evacuated by civilians and bombarded daily by heavy guns. The cathedral was struck nine times, and the roof pierced. Other buildings were damaged, and much havoc done in the Rue de Beauvais. Reconstruction, how ever, proceeded apace after the war. Amiens has the park or Promenade de la Hotoie to the west and several fine squares, notably the Place Longueville and the Place St. Denis with the statue of the famous i 7th century scholar Charles Ducange.
The cathedral of Notre Dame (see ARCHITECTURE : Roman esque and Gothic Architecture in France; and CATHEDRAL) is one of the finest Gothic churches in France. Erected on the plans of Robert de Luzarches, chiefly between 1220 and 1288, it con sists of a nave, nearly i 4of t. in height, with aisles and lateral chapels, a transept with aisles, and a choir (with deambulatory) ending in an apse surrounded by chapels. The total length is 469ft., the breadth 216f t. The façade, which is flanked by two square towers, has three decorated portals, the central portal having a remarkable statue of Christ of the 13th century; they are surmounted by two galleries, the upper one containing 22 statues of the kings of Judah in its arcades, and by a fine rose window. A slender spire rises above the crossing. The southern portal is remarkable for a figure of the Virgin and other statuary. The interior contains beautifully carved stalls and a flamboyant choir-screen, and is remarkable for the height of the nave and the boldness of the columns supporting the vaulting. Of the other churches of Amiens, St. Germain (i 5th century) has good stained glass. The hotel de ville, begun 155o, a belfry of the i 4th and i8th centuries and several old mansions are of interest. The learned associations of Amiens include the Societe des Antiquaires de Picardie, by whom the museum was built in 1854-64, and the early prehistoric collections illustrate the classic area of the Somme.
The city is the seat of a bishop, a prefect, a court of appeal and a court of assizes, and headquarters of the II. Army Corps. There are also tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators and a chamber of commerce. The textile industries, celebrated since the middle ages, include velvet, cotton, wool, silk, hemp and flax-spinning, hosiery and a variety of mixed fabrics. Though seriously affected by the World War the wool and textile industries have regained their pre-war con ditions. Manufactures of machinery and chemicals, and printing, dyeing, and iron-founding are also carried on. Market gardens, known as hortillonnages, intersected by small canals derived from the Somme and Avre, cover a considerable area north-east of Amiens; and the city trades in vegetables, grain, sugar, wool, oil-seeds and in the duck-pasties and macaroons for which it is renowned. A very important fair for all species of merchandise is held annually.