Airaines
Commune
A rooftop view of Airaines, with the church of St-Denis
Coat of arms
Location of Airaines
Airaines Show map of France Airaines Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 49°57′57″N 1°56′39″E / 49.9658°N 1.9442°E / 49.9658; 1.9442
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Amiens
Canton	Ailly-sur-Somme
Intercommunality	Somme Sud-Ouest
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Albert Noblesse^[1]
Area ¹	24.88 km² (9.61 sq mi)
Population (2021)^[2]	2,279
• Density	92/km² (240/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	80013 /80270
Elevation	15–116 m (49–381 ft) (avg. 49 m or 161 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Airaines (French pronunciation: [ɛʁɛn]; Picard: Araine) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Geography

The commune is situated 30 km (19 mi) north west of Amiens, about 30 km (19 mi) south of Abbeville, at the junction of the D901 and D936 roads.

Hamlets and neighbourhoods

Dourier : Originally a hamlet to the northeast of the town, now a suburb.
Dreuil-Hamel : Stretching out to the west, sprinkled with orchards and meadows, this commune was once separate. By decree of 26 September 1972 it was joined with Airaines in a simple merger.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	2,239	—
1975	2,303	+0.40%
1982	2,385	+0.50%
1990	2,175	−1.15%
1999	2,099	−0.39%
2007	2,153	+0.32%
2012	2,363	+1.88%
2017	2,378	+0.13%
Source: INSEE^[3]

History

In earlier times, the town flourished, due mainly to the importance of the castle of the dukes of Luynes.
During World War II, the town was subject to much destruction in June 1940. The Market hall was destroyed.
The years 1985-2000 saw the closure of several important economical activities, resulting in high unemployment

The towers before 1914
Luynes towers in 2007
Notre-Dame church before 1914
Market hall before 1914

Places and monuments

Saint-Denis church
The Priory (Notre Dame church)
Dreuil-Hamel church, abandoned and in danger of collapsing
The towers of the dukes of Luynes
The memorial to Charles N'Tchoréré
A monument aux morts with sculptural work by Albert Dominique Roze

St-Denis church tower
Luynes towers
The Priory

People

Charles N'Tchoréré (15 November 1896 - 1940) was a Gabonese military commander who was shot by the Germans in World War II during the battle for France.