Clairmarais

Clairmarais

Klaarmares
Clairmarais Klaarmares
Commune
	Romelaëre nature reserve
	Coat of arms
	show Location of Clairmarais
	Clairmarais Show map of FranceShow map of Hauts-de-FranceShow all
	Coordinates: 50°46′27″N 2°18′03″E / 50.7742°N 2.3008°ECoordinates: 50°46′27″N 2°18′03″E / 50.7742°N 2.3008°E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Saint-Omer
Canton	Saint-Omer
Intercommunality	Pays de Saint-Omer
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Damien Morel
Area 1	18.02 km2 (6.96 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)	615
• Density	34/km2 (88/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62225 /62500
Elevation	1–34 m (3.3–111.5 ft) ; (avg. 9 m or 30 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Clairmarais (West Flemish: Klaarmares) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Geography[]

A farming village situated in reclaimed marshland, 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Saint-Omer, on the D209 road. The Neufosse Canal, which connects the Aa and Lys Rivers, passes by the commune.

Population[]

Historical population of Clairmarais
Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
Population	397	410	480	598	687	689
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

History[]

A Clairmarais fisherman

It owes its origin to the famous Cistercian abbey founded by St. Bernard in 1140. He gave the village the name of Claromarisco (later to be Clarus Mariscus and then Clermarez) because of the huge marshes and many rivers in the vicinity. The Dutch Klaarmares and West Flemish Cleremeersch names reflect the nature of the terrain, too.
Clairmarais became a fully-fledged common in 1790 when the abbey was going to be destroyed and sold as a national asset during the French Revolution.

During World War I, the Royal Flying Corps, and later Royal Air Force, operated from Clairmarais aerodrome.^[3]

Places of interest[]

The church of St. Bernard, dating from the nineteenth century.
A windmill.
Vestiges of the 13th century abbey including the remains of the entrance to the abbey with gatehouse buildings, a chapel and dovecote.
The eighteenth century Cistercian farm of Cloquette.
The cave of Notre-Dame de Lourdes which is host to a pilgrimage on August 15. It is the largest in France, north of the Seine.
The National nature reserve of Romelaëre.^[4]

References[]

INSEE commune file

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2018". INSEE. 28 December 2020.
^ O'Connor, Mike. Airfields and Airmen: The Channel Coast. pp. 171–173. ISBN 9781844152582.
^ JO; Decree No. 2008-220 of 5 March 2008 covering creation of the national nature reserve "Romelaëre Lakes" Nord and Pas-de-Calais