Happy New Year

I wish to you an Happy New Year.
Clara

On a sign board 1 : Maubeuge all in the green.

I've taken this photo on the sign-board of the Parc Naturel de l'Avesnois, which we can see on each town or village of this parc. Maubeuge is not already in the park, but at its Northern Door, so that one can see it on these sign-boards. I did photograph this one in Le Quesnoy, in the West Avesnois.
Clara.

A little geography : the agglomeration of Maubeuge.

• Maubeuge lies at the river Sambre in France near the border of Belgium. It is southly of the department of North in the Region North-Pas-de-Calais. Along the Sambre came in the 19th century much industry, so that a serie of little villages and towns along the Sambre went bigger, just to form an agglomaration. We can say that the Val de Sambre (it is the petic name with which is named now the region, before it was the Bassin de la Sambre) has two poles, one in the North, it is MAubeuge, and one in the South, it is the ancient railway knote Aulnoye-Aymeries.
• In the South-West of the Val de Sambre, Aulnoye-Aymeries is surrounded by the villages and little towns Leval, Berlaimont, Bachant and Pont-sur-Sambre. It had some industry (metalurgic industry, electricity production, merchandise and passengers railway knot) and now it becomes a more countryside character and some towns of it are part of the Parc Naturel Régional of the Avesnois (a regional parc of nature protection), some other parts are in the Parc Naturel Régional de l'Avesnois, a Regional Parc of Nature Protection.
• In the North-East of the Val de Sambre is the town of Maubeuge which is with about 35 000 inhabitants a middle town for french measures. At the border with Belgium there where the Sambre is changing of country, is the middle town of Jeumont, and a little southly of Maubeuge, also along the Sambre there is Hautmont which is a middle town too.
• All around these three bigger towns are suburbs and some little towns and villages that make the whole to a chain of urban character along the Sambre.
• From the Belgium border to the town of St-Rémy-du-Nord, we find the towns of Jeumont, Marpent, Recquignies (not to confuse with Rocquignies near Fourmies) and Boussois, Assevent and Rousies. In the North of Maubeuge we find Marbaix, it is to the road to the belgish town Mons/Bergen which is northly from Maubeuge. In the South of Maubeuge you can find Ferrière-la-Grande, in the South-East along the Sambre you can find Louvroil, Neuf-Mesnil, Hautmont and St Rémy-du-Nord. In the west of Maubeuge, is the town of Feignies.
• A blog is made to be the reflection of our lives, so I make some photos were I have something to do, if I have something to do in Louvroil, for example go to the supermarket, I can make photos there, and I shall not say : To day I go to Jeumont extra to make photos.
• Clara.

A little history : Ste Aldegonde. The origine of the Name of Maubeuge.

Maubeuge was founded by Ste Aldegonde in the 7th century. It has a long history. Ste Aldegonde founded a monastery in a curve of the Sambre. The Sambre was at this time not the river which was made to a canal which we know now, but a wild river. There were many little lakes around the Sambre and a very bad climate. The earth was muddy. One say the name of Maubeuge comes from the latin language. One say this in cause of its proximity with the roman town Bagacum (now Bavay) which is 10km away and was occupied by the Romans since one century before Christus. But the romans were no more there since the 4th century. The princess Aldegonde was the daughter of a frankish king. So that we can think the word Maubeuge were not of Latin origin and were as commonly admitted Malbodium, which significate Bad Ground or Bad Earth. The latin word bodium and the german word Boden have the same origin. But because it is in a curve of the Sambre : Mau-Beuge, mau is a german dialect word for bad and Beuge is the german word for curve. So that Maubeuge were founded then by Ste Aldegonde in a bad curve of the Sambre. Ste Aldegonde didn't spoke latin, but a frankish dialect. My husband made at a time some translations from the german into french for a collegue who wrote a doctor thesis in middle age history about the saints of the North Country about 600/1000 after Christus. They decided then when my husband said the word mau is in his dialect (dialect of the Saar), mau, that the origin of the name of Maubeuge is more Mau-Beuge, the bad curve (of the river), than Malbodium (the bad ground) : The ground is muddy, but a very good ground for gras and agriculture.

Clara.