The best walks and hikes around Haspres

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Many centuries ago, our ancestors discovered the possibility of harnessing the power of the elements - which on the one hand were helpful and useful, but on the other hand could also be a threat as untamed forces of nature - for different purposes and thus did without human or animal muscle power can. Such mills are a good example of the human engineering skills of earlier generations: the heavy millstones with which, for example, grain was ground into grain or oil was pressed, could be powered with the help of the wind or - as here - water.

The church in Verchain-Maugré was dedicated to the two Saints Peter and Paul (SAINTS PIERRE et PAUL), also known as the “Prince of the Apostles”. Their common feast day in the saints' calendar is June 29th. * Simon, nicknamed Peter (Rock), was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he - together with his brother Andrew - was called by Jesus Christ to be "fishers of men". According to Catholic understanding, he is the supreme apostle, and the two millennia-long line of popes - currently Francis - are his successors. On statues and paintings, Peter is almost always depicted with two keys in his hand; this attribute refers to the biblical saying in Matthew: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Chapter 16, verse 19). * Paul was initially an opponent of the Christian movement and was not called to the apostleship by Jesus Christ during his lifetime like the other apostles, but was only converted later with the famous "Damascus experience". His attribute is the sword with which he was executed. According to Roman law at the time, such a sentence was a “privilege” (quick death and not associated with a long, painful agony like other types of execution) that the citizens of Rome were entitled to.

This memorial commemorates the residents of Haspres who were killed or missing in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the First and Second World Wars and the war in Algeria (1954-1962). A separate memorial commemorates the French soldiers (AFN, Afrique Française du Nord) who died in the war in Algeria and the battles in Morocco and Tunisia, from 1952 to 1962.

Small spring along the road

Haspres is a municipality and has 2,650 inhabitants. The place is part of the Valenciennes district. On the territory of the municipality are the British military cemeteries Haspres Coppice Cemetery and York Cemetery (Haspres), both with fallen soldiers from the First World War.

The village of Haspres was taken after severe fighting, with the help of tanks, on 20 October 1918. York Cemetery was made at the end of October 1918 by the 1st/5th York and Lancaster Regiment and other units of the 49th (West Riding) Division. The cemetery contains 137 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and ten German graves

The castle was built in the 17th century and was completed in the 19th century. Originally owned by the Abbaye Saint-Aubert de Cambrai, the castle was built on land owned by the abbey. The plans are said to have belonged to Ange-Jacques Gabriel or Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart. The castle was sold as national property during the Revolution. With the help of a stooge, Count François Marie Joseph de Frahan became the owner. It was sold by his descendants to Pierre Joseph Danjou in 1853 and then to Nicolas Meriaux in 1884. In 1887, Marie-Adélaide Verkinder, wife of deputy Ernest Déjardin, acquired the château. It passed to her daughter and son-in-law, Ambassador Pierre Lefèvre-Pontalis. During the First World War, the castle became the headquarters of Jagdgeschwader and Baron Manfred von Richthofen lived there. The castle, its moats and bridges have been classified as a historical monument since September 21, 1983, while the outbuildings, the old building on the edge of road number 4, the facades and roofs of the pigeon tower and the pavilion in the park and the perimeter wall with its gates since the same date have been registered as a historical monument.