It is sometimes hard to imagine today as you motor through the sodden fields of northern France that this region was worth fighting over… repeatedly. What happened?
By the 13th century, thanks to its lucrative clothmaking industry Picardy and Flanders (now Belgium) “formed part of an extremely wealthy industrial and commercial region”, wrote the late Allan E. Knight, a mediaeval historian, in the Chaucer Review (1980). But this vast wealth began to fuel “mutual distrust” between regional power figures whose pursuit of self-governance led to competition and fragmentation.
“The 14th century […] saw the beginning of a long and steady decline in the economic prosperity of the region,” added Knight. For centuries, the province’s fortunes waxed and waned as mining delivered new-found wealth and industrial technologies unlocked fresh opportunities. But upheavals were never far away. Among them, the Napoleonic Wars took a significant toll on Picardy, culminating in the northeast campaigns of 1814.
Turmoil then returned to the Somme and neighbouring Fields of Flanders a century later, both regions now synonymous with the horrors of WWI trench warfare. Textile factories closed. Mines and industries closed or plundered for the German war effort. Populations fled or struggled under occupation. Working-age Frenchmen died in their millions. This pattern was repeated 20 years later as northern France yet again became a theatre for duelling powers during WWII. Perhaps it never fully recovered, made worse by later shifts away from heavy industry and underinvestment in new economy trends.
Once coveted and strategically vital to kings, dukes and bishops, Picardy (renamed Hauts-de-France*) is today the poorest and most polluted province in mainland France, according to SIGLES, which charts the links between socio-economics, health, and the environment.
1. An enigma flying under the radar
Despite all, the vestiges of mediaeval Picardy proudly defy the stereotypes of northern France. Leading that defiance is Laon whose walled upper town overlooks the plains of Champagne to the southeast and the Somme River basin to the northwest. It is an enigmatic place.
Religious scholars and historians know it very well. But your average city-tripper will struggle to place let alone pronounce it (the ‘a’ is basically silent). But appreciate it they should if only for the fact that so much of Europe’s origins story is packed into Laon and its surrounds.
“It’s true that our town attracts many lovers of its architectural and religious heritage, but that’s not all,” contends Loïc Pailler, Laon Tourism’s spokesperson. “We also attract a very large family clientele (French, as well as Belgian, Dutch, and British), particularly through the Center Parcs du Domaine de l’Ailette, located 15 km south of Laon.”
2. Barbarians to Burgundians … whatever
The walled city rising about 100m above Picardy’s otherwise flat plains was built on a sedimentary base of clay, sand- and limestone in the second part of the 12th century. These features have given Laon and its predecessors strategic importance for millennia.
Records show Gallic and Roman settlements in the area. In the times of Julius Caesar, according to Wiki, the Remis who occupied lands around present-day Reims fought northern tribes confederated by the Belgae for strategic control of this rare pocket of high ground.
The locals today (the Laonnois) don’t seem overly bothered whether Frankish Kings or Burgundian Dukes reigned or not in times past. They go about their business, run their shops, grab a beer (northern French prefer it to wine) after work without giving much thought to this cultural cache.
Arguably, that’s reflected in the state of some residential buildings begging for a lick of paint and some love. A quixotic mix of old-world grandeur and well-worn charm radiates from the Laon Cathedral of Notre-Dame, one of seven such feats of Gothic architecture in Picardy.
Next door, the Tourist Office is as low-key as the locals. Some books and brochures on tables and a few cabinets with local delicacies. But this sparing style just seems to fit Laon’s vibe. People are definitely friendlier than those you encounter in French cities where tourists overrun the place.
Even the police, when asked about parking downtown overnight, tell you not to worry if you have a blue disc in the car, parting with a “please enjoy your stay” and no hint of sarcasm whatsoever.
Bar staff ask where you come from when your French falters, lending a hand with their own attempts at English. It’s as though the inhabitants of Hauts-de-France didn’t get the memo that they’re supposed to be, well, haughty.
3. The age of cathedrals
“From the 12th century what became known as Gothic style spread from Picardy across the continent,” notes Arnaud Timbert, a professor at University of Picardy Jules-Verne in the booklet ‘The Seven Cathedrals of Picardy’. They are all clustered within a 60km radius of each other, dominating the skylines of Noyon, Senlis, Laon, Saint Quentin, Soissons, Amiens, and Beauvais.
These “priceless assets” served as a “model for western monumental architecture”, according to the booklet, melding the spiritual and artistic with innovative building methods. True statement pieces marking an era of growth, prosperity, and profound social change.
Technical advances were improving land and river navigation, opening up markets from Picardy to the Flemish ports, and from there to the Mediterranean. Ideas also flowed along these trade routes. Bernard de Chartres, a 12th century French philosopher, captured the spirit of artistic light (“Art Français”), power and presence symbolised by the cathedrals: “We are dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. We thus see more and further than they do, not because our sight is sharper or our height greater, but because they lift us up and raise us to their full gigantic height.”
Vaults grew higher with each new building project, and the flying buttresses and ribbed designs supporting them grew more sophisticated. Just as the title ‘World’s Tallest Building’ captivates us today, the cities of Picardy entered a religious-tax-fuelled battle for supremacy of the skies with Noyon Cathedral staking its territory in 1145 with a then impressive 22m vault. That was overtaken by Senlis Cathedral whose 24m vault and 78m spire were completed in 1151. A year later, Laon Cathedral went one further, literally, completing in 1152 its 25m vault with vibrant light-filled stained rose windows at each end.
A quarter of a century passed before the final stone on the next masterpiece in Soissons was laid, allowing time for engineering advances to push cathedral designs into unchartered territory (the vault tipped 31m). Saint Quentin then pushed further in 1195 with its 34m vault, Amiens’ cathedral leapt ahead in 1220 (42.5m), and Beauvais rounded out the ‘big seven’ with its towering 48m vaulted ceilings. These structures were built without modern (safe) scaffolding, cranes, and hydraulic equipment. Staggering achievements.
4. Reasons to remember
During the rise of the Franks and the Carolingian Era (Charlemagne and his descendants) Laon was one of two or three major cities in the kingdom, which Pailler believes led to the “rather hasty description” of it as the “former capital of France”. Laon today, he concedes, is a more modest town of around 25,000 people whose location remains a keystone of its existence, “ideally situated in a triangle between Paris, Lille and Reims”.
In 2023, 656,000 overnight stays were recorded by Laon’s various accommodation providers. According to Pailler, the main attractions are the cathedral, underground passages, ramparts, museums, and the Vauclair Forest and Abbey to the south, where “green tourism” is a major trend for people wanting to “relax in wide open spaces”.
Remembrance tourism is also clearly a major regional attraction, he adds, thanks to Laon’s proximity to all the sites along the Chemin des Dames, including the Caverne du Dragon, an underground museum dedicated to the lives of WWI soldiers.
Laon set up its own subterranean experience, called ‘Secrets Under the City’, which looks at the history of the underground passages and their role as a natural military fortress over the centuries. “It works very well,” he says, “many of our tourists – French among them – marvel at the fact that the town is home to so many monuments and has retained its mediaeval character, despite its proximity to the front line during the 1914-18 War.”
The spokesperson adds that visitors should mark their calendars for the reopening of the Templar Chapel (Chapelle des Templiers) in 2025, located in the courtyard of the Laon Museum of Art and Archaeology, which he explains has been closed for restoration.
5. Other treats, near and far
Ask the Tourist Office for a free map of “merveilles” in French and English. Up to 15 noteworthy sites are listed, with corresponding ‘monument’ plaques and multi-lingual explanations. These include old-town gates (Ardon and Soissons), three cloisters – Abbey of Saint Vincent, Abbey of Saint Martin, and dual-order Abbey of Saint Marie and Saint Jean – and many other historical and natural features.
Photographers can marvel at the visual and artistic displays on walls lining cobbled alleyways, and posted all over town. The small walking street, Rue Châtelaine, leading up to the Cathedral has a delightful shock of colour in the form of a parasol canopy, perhaps doubling as rain-proofing in the long wintry months.
For foodies, regional specialties include the pungent maroilles cheese and ficelle Picardy, a rolled and stuffed savoury crêpe with ham, shallots, cream, and grilled cheese.
The upper and lower town are connected by a winding road and a neat cable-car/funicular setup called the ‘Poma 2000’. On the doorsteps of the old city, passing through the Porte Chenizelles, is the Cuve Saint-Vincent – a veritable “forest in the midst of the city” according to the Tourist Office.
Outside the city, ramblers have options in the Saint-Gobain and Samoussy state forests, as well as the Voie Vertereserve weaving through pastures, wetlands, and woods. Other notable spots around Laon include the Basilique de Liesse and Églises Art Deco, and a little further north is the Museum of Barbarian Time.
Continuing north, you reach the town of Guise, another mediaeval jewel in northern France made famous by the eponymous noble family who played a role in the Reformation, Wars of Religion, and Scottish Reformation, wielding significant political influence across the continent and British Isles. Their power peaked in the 16th century with Mary of Guise as regent of Scotland on behalf of her underage daughter Mary Stuart. Meanwhile, her brothers François, Second Duke of Guise, and Charles, Cardinal de Lorraine, gained vast wealth and stature during the reign of Francis II.
“As well as the Familistère de Guise museum, why not combine it with the Château Fort de Guise, which recently opened access to its ‘hidden bastion’,” suggests Laon’s tourism office.
Amiens and Laon are perfect bases to explore the whole province, from the hinterlands to the North Sea coast.
* The former province of Picardy runs in an easterly direction from the North Sea, with Pas-de-Calais and Ile-de-France to its north and south respectively, and Normandy and Champagne-Ardenne on its western and eastern flanks, taking in several French departments, including Sommes, Senlis, Oise and Aisne. Meanwhile, Artois (Arras area) separates Picardy from present-day French Flanders. After a territorial reform a decade ago, the province was renamed Hauts-de-France.
