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Laires

Coordinates: 50°32′28″N 2°15′23″E / 50.5411°N 2.2564°E / 50.5411; 2.2564
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Laires
Laren
The road into Laires
The road into Laires
Coat of arms of Laires
Location of Laires
Map
Laires is located in France
Laires
Laires
Laires is located in Hauts-de-France
Laires
Laires
Coordinates: 50°32′28″N 2°15′23″E / 50.5411°N 2.2564°E / 50.5411; 2.2564
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentPas-de-Calais
ArrondissementSaint-Omer
CantonFruges
IntercommunalityPays de Saint-Omer
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Eric Lagache[1]
Area
1
8.64 km2 (3.34 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
368
 • Density43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
62485 /62960
Elevation140–190 m (460–620 ft)
(avg. 182 m or 597 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Laires (French pronunciation: [lɛʁ]; West Flemish: Laren) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.[3]

Geography

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A village situated 24 km (15 mi) south of Saint-Omer, on the D95 road. It is surrounded by the communes Beaumetz-lès-Aire, Prédefin and Fléchin.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 347—    
1975 302−1.96%
1982 314+0.56%
1990 337+0.89%
1999 297−1.39%
2007 308+0.46%
2012 359+3.11%
2017 364+0.28%
2020 369+0.46%
Source: INSEE[4]

History

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In 734, Laires was called "Wilbert", after its owner. The spelling of the name has changed over the centuries from Larae, Laris, Lares, Laire and Lare, to become Laires by the eighteenth century. In 1115, Baldwin VII, Count of Flanders, made a gift of the village to the abbey of St Saviour at Ham. In January 1478, a band of soldiers from the Burgundian garrison at Renescure terrorized the area around Laires. Instead of helping people to fight the "French enemy" they looted the village. Against the Spanish, the commune suffered again. In 1537 the area was completely devastated. In 1542 and 1543, the village was looted several times and fourteen French houses were burned down.

Places of interest

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  • The church of St.Martin, dating from the fifteenth century.
  • The war memorial, from 1921.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ INSEE commune file
  4. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE