Arras

Arras, the capital of the French department of Pas-de-Calais, on the navigable Scarpe, 120 miles N. of Paris. A fortress of the first rank, it consists of an old town on an eminence, and a new town in the plain. Among the principal edifices are the cathedral (1755-1833) and the beautiful Gothic hôtel-de-ville (1510), whose belfry, 246 feet high, was rebuilt in 1835. There are manufactures of lace, hosiery, beet-sugar, and agricultural implements, and a brisk trade in corn and oil. It was long so famous for its tapestry that in England the name arras was given to tapestry hangings. Arras was the capital of the Celtic Atrebates (whence the name), and subsequently of the province of Artois. As such it was long a part of Burgundy. It was ceded to France in 1482, but came to Austria in 1493; nor did it finally become French till 1640, when Louis XIII. took it after a long siege. Robespierre was a native. Pop. (1881) 27,041; (1891) 25,701.