Carvin

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Carvin

Location within Hauts-de-France region

Carvin

Coordinates: 50°29′38″N 2°57′32″E / 50.4939°N 2.9589°ECoordinates: 50°29′38″N 2°57′32″E / 50.4939°N 2.9589°E

Country

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

Philippe Kemel

Area¹

21.03 km² (8.12 sq mi)

Population (2010)²

17,152

• Density

820/km² (2,100/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

62215 / 62220

Elevation

17–42 m (56–138 ft)
(avg. 28 m or 92 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Carvin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

An ex-coalmining commune, now a light industrial and farming town, situated some 14 miles (22.5 km) northeast of Lens, completely encircled by the N17 and D919 ring road.

Major excavations have recently revealed occupation going back to Neolithic times. This settlement is linked to the existence of the vast wet depression around the now-disappeared castle of Epinoy. In the early 12th century, the hamlet of Épinoy, now the east part of the commune, was the home of the hermit Saint Druon of Sebourg.

The history of this market town, located on the road between Arras, Lille and Tournai, was then marked by coalmining, starting in the mid-nineteenth century and ending in 1975. One of the smaller mining companies had its headquarters in Carvin. At nationalization, the pits and mining facilities were consolidated within the Oignies group.

During World War I, from October 1914 to October 1918, Carvin was occupied by the Germans. Located at the rear of the front as a garrison town for both German military and civilians. The bodies of over 6,000 soldiers are laid to rest in one of the largest German cemeteries in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.

Carvin was awarded the Croix de Guerre on September 28, 1920.

In May 1940, during the German invasion of France, Carvin’s town centre was the scene of a major battle that allowed the bulk of British and French troops to get to Dunkirk and freedom. Once the allies had gone, the troops of the Wehrmacht delivered fierce reprisals on the population of the towns of mining pit 4: Carvin, Courrières and Oignies. Following the miners' strike in May and June 1941 which spread throughout the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, many miners (mostly communists) were arrested and executed at Arras.

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Wikipedia