Picardy is a rich agricultural area in northern France. The area stretches from the English Channel in the northwest to Belgium in the northeast. It covers roughly 7,530 square miles (19,500 square kilometers). Picardy—spelled Picardie in French—features such historic cities as Chantilly, Péronne, Saint-Quentin, and Amiens, Picardy’s capital. Some people in the region speak Picard, a northern French dialect (language variation).
Picardy was formerly one of the main administrative units, or regions, of metropolitan France. Metropolitan France includes mainland France and the island of Corsica. Picardy bordered the regions of Île-de-France in the south and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in the north. In 2016, Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais were joined to form the Hauts-de-France region. France’s regions are divided into smaller units called departments. Picardy includes the departments of Aisne, Oise, and Somme. The Aisne , Oise, and Somme are also the area’s major rivers.
Picardy is mostly flat farmland, with rising chalk plateaus and ridges in the east. Farms produce such crops as grains, potatoes, and sugar beets. Picard cuisine includes carbonnade (rich beef stew), caudière (seafood chowder), ficelle picarde (ham and mushroom crêpe), and salt marsh lamb. The area is also known for its beer, cider, and genièvre (local gin).
The Baie de Somme Nature Reserve is an important wetland habitat at the mouth of the Somme River. It includes the Parc du Marquenterre, one of Europe’s largest bird sanctuaries.
The Salian Franks, a Germanic people, settled in the Picardy area in the A.D. 400’s. France takes its name from the Frankish kingdom of Francia. The first major engagement of the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), the 1346 Battle of Crécy, took place in Picardy. During World War I (1914-1918), the Western Front—a battlefront that stretched across Belgium and northeastern France—cut through the region. Some of the most violent battles of the war, including the 1916 Battle of the Somme , were fought in Picardy. The region saw bitter fighting again during World War II (1939-1945).
Picardy has been home to a number of important individuals. John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon. The biologist and botanist Chevalier de Lamarck was born in Bazentin. The science-fiction author Jules Verne lived in Amiens, where he served as municipal councilor. World War II general Philippe Leclerc (also known as Jacques-Phillipe Leclerc) was born in the tiny Picardy village of Belloy-Saint-Léonard.
See also Amiens ; Calvin, John ; Franks ; Verne, Jules .
