Lestrem

Lestrem
Lestrem
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region Lestrem
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Béthune
Canton	Laventie
Intercommunality	Flandre Lys
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Jacques Hurlus
Area1	21.15 km2 (8.17 sq mi)
Population (2011)2	4,285
• Density	200/km2 (520/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62502 / 62136
Elevation	13–20 m (43–66 ft) (avg. 18 m or 59 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Lestrem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A small farming and light industrial town, situated some 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Béthune and 19 miles (30.6 km) west of Lille, on the D122, D178 and D975 roads, by the banks of the Lawe River.

History

The town was all but destroyed during the First World War.
In 1940, the small hamlet of Le Paradis, on the south side of the commune, was the scene of a massacre of British troops of the BEF, during the Battle of France. The town is twinned with swanland in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Population

Population history

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2011
2643	2662	2727	3044	2753	3789	4006	4286
Census count starting from 1962: Population without duplicates

Places of interest

• The church of St. Amé, dating from the sixteenth century.
• Two other churches at the hamlets of La Fosse and Le Paradis.
• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official website of the commune (French)
• The CWGC cemetery at Le Paradis
• Lestrem on the Quid website (French)