Audinghen

Audinghen Oudinghen
Commune
The town hall and school of Audinghen
Coat of arms
Location of Audinghen
Audinghen Show map of France Audinghen Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°51′09″N 1°36′50″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Boulogne-sur-Mer
Canton	Desvres
Intercommunality	CC Terre des Deux Caps
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Marc Sarpaux[1]
Area ^1	13.09 km^2 (5.05 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	622
• Density	48/km^2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62054 /62179
Elevation	0–123 m (0–404 ft) (avg. 68 m or 223 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Audinghen (French pronunciation: [odɛ̃ɡɑ̃]; Dutch: Oudinghen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.^[3]

Geography

A farming commune, comprising several hamlets, some 14 miles (23 km) north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, at the junction of the D940 and the D191 roads. Cap Gris-Nez, the nearest part of France to the English coast, forms the western boundary of the commune.

History

The town was originally named Odingehem, 'home of Odin', by the Vikings who built a temple here dedicated to the Germanic god Odin. Audinghen has been rebuilt several times after being completely destroyed, including:

• In 1643 or 1644, according to the interpretations, by a party of soldiers of the King of England, who burned the village population inside the church;
• Three centuries later, in November 1943, by the British, who bombed and totally destroyed the village (then occupied by the German army) and a centre for Organisation Todt.^[4]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	457	—
1975	461	+0.12%
1982	468	+0.22%
1990	503	+0.91%
1999	548	+0.96%
2009	584	+0.64%
2014	575	−0.31%
2020	594	+0.54%
Source: INSEE[5]

Sights

• The church of St. Pierre, dating from the twentieth century.
• The ruins of the lighthouse at Cap Gris Nez.
• World War II German defences, part of the Atlantic wall.

Part of the German defences, at the Todt Battery

Personalities

• Gabriel Auguste Ferdinand Ducuing, soldier who died here in 1940.
• Raoul de Godewaersvelde, composer, died here in 1977.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. INSEE commune file
4. Embry, Basil (1957). Mission Completed (1957 first ed.). Methuen. p. 255.
5. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

External links

• Website about Audinghen (in French)