Montdidier is on the D935 road, some 30 km southeast of Amiens, in the region known as the 'Santerre'. Montdidier station has rail connections to Amiens and Compiègne.
The commune has existed since before Roman times, possibly corresponding to the site of Bratuspance.[5]
Under Charlemagne, a donjon was built in the north-west of the town, on a chalk promontory, (nowadays the site of the Prieuré). It was here, in 774, that Desiderius, king of the Lombards, was held prisoner by Charlemagne, giving the town its name (in French, Didier).
Around the year 948, the first church was built near the castle by Heldwide, the wife of Hilduin, first of the house of the Counts of Montdidier.[6]
Empty tomb of Raoul de Crépy
In 1184, King Philip II of France had the outlying buildings of the town burnt down,[7] during the war for the possession of the Amiénois and the Vermandois. In 1195, the town was granted its communal charter.
In 1472, Montdidier was set alight by the Burgundians. Charles the Bold is reported to have said "Such are the fruits of war".[8]
Under the Ancien Régime, Montdidier was in the province of the Santerre (one of eight provinces of Picardy) and the seat of a bailiwick (established in 1516)[9][10] By edict of 1575, Henry III of France created the élection of Montdidier, granting tax-raising powers to elected representatives.
The year 1590 saw the commune threatened and eventually invaded by the troops of Henry IV of France.
As with many towns of the region, Montdidier bore the brunt of the fighting of World War I. Many of the town's more ancient and valuable monuments were destroyed in that occasion.
Main sights
Church of Saint-Sépulcre in flamboyant gothic, with six 17th century Reydams tapestries on show in the nave
The town hall, in the Flemish style and decorated in Art Deco style
The priory (once known as the Salle du Roy). Rebuilt in 1930, after being damaged during World War I. It has functioned as the Palais de Justice and became the Centre des Impôts in 1965.[11]
The war memorial
Monument to the 212 French pilots who lost their lives in Picardy in May and June 1940
^Pages 68 et 118 : La Somme, éd. du Bastion, 160 p
^Histoire des Cathédrales, Abbayes, Châteaux-forts et Villes de la Picardie et de l'Artois, Paul Roger, éd. Duval et Herment, Amiens, 1842, p. 337, ISBN2-84265-206-1
^Victor de Beauvillé, Histoire de Montdidier, 1857.
^page 199 : P. Lami, Résumé de l'histoire de la Picardie.
^page 280 : P. Lami, Résumé de l'histoire de la Picardie
^pages 282-283 : P. Lami, Résumé de l'histoire de la Picardie
^Page 9 : « Terres de Parmentier » - Guide d'accueil et de tourisme, éd. "Office de Tourisme de Montdidier, ses environs" - 28 pages (diffusé gracieusement en janvier 2008)
Bibliography
(in French) Paul Roger, pages 259 à 266 in Tome II de « Histoire des Cathédrales, Abbayes, Châteaux-forts et Villes de la Picardie et de l'Artois », éd. Duval et Herment, Amiens, 1842 (Réimpression Editions La Découvrance, 2003), 352 p. - ISBN2-84265-206-1
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