Saint-Josse

Saint-Josse
Saint-Josse
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region Saint-Josse
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Montreuil
Canton	Montreuil
Intercommunality	Mer et Terres d'Opale
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Juliette Flament
Area1	21.1 km2 (8.1 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	1,203
• Density	57/km2 (150/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62752 / 62170
Elevation	2–64 m (6.6–210.0 ft) (avg. 8 m or 26 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.

Saint-Josse, or Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

Saint-Josse is located 4 miles (6 km) west of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the D144 road. Before the 8th century, the sea came right up to the village, but it is nowadays 4 miles (6 km) to the west.

Population

Population history

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
622	559	575	671	914	1052	1203
Census count starting from 1962: Population without duplicates

History

In a place called Sidraga or Schaderias, Josse, a 7th-century Breton prince, the son of King Juthaêl, arrived in northern France and sought the protection of Haymon, Count of Ponthieu, to live as a hermit and renounce the crown of Brittany. A small monastery was built in the 8th century at the place where Josse died. In 903, some monks, fleeing the Norman invasion took refuge in England. On their return, the abbey became a centre of pilgrimage, especially popular with the Germans in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The abbey was closed in 1772, sold and then destroyed in 1789, leaving no traces of the monumental building.

In the village church is the shrine of Saint Josse, containing relics. In this shrine, opened in 1922, was a piece of 10th century Oriental fabric, which was sent to the Louvre museum, referenced under ‘the shroud of Saint Josse’.

Saint-Josse-on-Sea is still a famous place of pilgrimage. A procession takes place on the Tuesday following Whitsun. The reliquary containing the relics of the saint is carried to the calvary at the top of Bavémont hill at Airon-Saint-Vaast.

Places of interest

• The church of St. Peter, dating from the sixteenth century
• Two chateaux

See also

Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Saint-Josse on the Quid website (French)