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Arrondissements of the Nord department facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

There are 6 arrondissements in the Nord department. The French departments, and in other countries, are divided into arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts (in some cases, as boroughs). The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture.

If the prefecture (capital) of the department is in an arrondissement, that prefecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a prefecture and as a subprefecture.

Arrondissements are further divided into communes.

The arrondissements of the Nord department are:

Arrondissements of the Nord department
INSEE
code
Arrondissement Capital Population
(2014)
Area
(km²)
Density
(Inh./km²)
Communes
591 Avesnes-sur-Helpe Avesnes-sur-Helpe 231,727 1,407.5 164.6 151
592 Cambrai Cambrai 163,065 901.6 180.9 116
593 Douai Douai 246,595 476.6 517.4 64
594 Dunkirk Dunkirk 378,499 1,442.7 262.4 111
595 Lille Lille 1,232,513 879.5 1,401.4 124
596 Valenciennes Valenciennes 351,073 634.8 553.0 82

History

Since its creation, the Nord department has had few changes:

  • 1790 : creation of the department with eight districts: Avesnes, Bergues, Cambrai, Douai, Hazebrouck, Lille, Le Quesnoy and Valenciennes; the capital was Douai.
  • 1800 : creation of six arrondissements: Avesnes, Bergues, Cambrai, Cassel, Douai and Lille.
  • 1803 : the capital of the department was moved from Douai to Lille and the subprefecture of Bergues was moved to Dunkirk.
  • 1824 : the arrondissement of Valenciennes was created.
  • 1857 : the subprefecture of Cassel was moved to Hazebrouck.
  • 1926 : the arrondissement of Hazebrouck was eliminated.
  • 1962 : the name of the commune Avesnes was changed to Avesnes-sur-Helpe.

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