VALENCIENNES

town, Nord dpartement, Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, northern France, on the Escaut (Scheldt) River. The origin of the name is obscure. Some believe that it stems from one of the three Roman emperors called Valentinian. Others attribute it to a corruption of val des cygnes (valley of the swans), swans being featured on the civic coat of arms. The town flourished under the counts of Hainaut. In 1328 Philippa of Hainaut married Edward III of England there. In 1433 Valenciennes went to Philip the Good and then to Charles the Bold, dukes of Burgundy. Louis XI tried in vain to capture it; the Treaty of Nijmegen, 1678, saw it finally ceded to France. The Germans entered Valenciennes in the first month of World War I, and great destruction was caused by allied raids in the last week of the fighting. The damage was repeated between 1940 and 1944. After the war a new town centre was built. Valenciennes was once important for its fine lace; the industry had practically died out, but was renovated to some extent. Prosperity was brought to Valenciennes by the exploitation of the first French coalfield and the development of ironworking. But these traditional industries were endangered in the early 1980s by the general crisis of the industrial north. Conversion to a different industrial base may be facilitated by the high quality of existing transportation and service facilities. New industries actively being sought included petroleum refining and automobile construction. The Muse des Beaux-Arts displays works by such masters as Rubens and Van Dyck, as well as some by notable painters born in the vicinity, including Watteau, Pater, and Harpignies. Pop. (1982) 41,976.