Occupied by Franks during the 5th century, Picardy was divided in the middle of six feudal counts. This region became a French province during the late 1400s and was the target of many invasions from the Netherlands. During the 1st World War, this land was the sight of extended trench warfare.

The name “Picardie” first appeared during the 12th century. The origin of this name would appear to be of interest. The people within this region are called “Picards” and they are famous for being extremely aggressive.

Picardy France is a historical province that is located at the northern portion of France. The largest city and historical capital of Picardy is Amiens.

Throughout the middle ages, Picardy France is referred to as the “North of Paris and Dutch”. This mane is applied to a region of Picardy. These regions correspond to all the countries from Paris up to the Netherlands.

Picardy refers to the region covered by the military government of Picardy that was created in the 16th century.  This region is the Somme Department which is the northern half of the Aisne Department as well as a small fringe at the north of the Oise Department. This is what most people consider as the Picardy it is today. On the other hand, the Picard Language is the older definition about Picardy that is applied not merely to the dialect of Picardy Proper but also to the Romance Language. This language is spoken at the Nord-Pas de Calais area of the North Picardy proper.

The Picardy proper now lies within the Picardie region, making up half of this region. Before the French Revolution, the costal region of Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer were considered a part of Picardy that is now part of the Nord-Pas de Calais region. Anciently, these areas belonged into the province of Artois that had been separated from Artois during the 15th century.

Almost all the area of this region is a huge plain with open fields. This region is famed for the gruesome “Battle of the Somme”. The main economies of Picardy are sugar beets, fodder and wheat. Sugar beet was brought in by Napoleon I throughout the Napoleonic War so as to counter the United Kingdom that had seized the sugar islands when they were obsessed by France in the Caribbean.  The sugar manufacturing was a chance that this French territory can not miss. So, in the 19th century, Picardy contributed into the ruin of the sugar economy in the Caribbean.

The Picardy villages prefer a different character with their houses made of dark red bricks in contrast with their neighboring provinces. 

Majority of people in this French region still speak the Picard Language. The Picard Language is also one of France’s languages that are spoken in the Artois region. The song “P’tit quinquin” in the Picard dialect is a sign of their native culture.

Among the twenty six regions of France is Picardie and it is located at the Northern area of France. There are many tourist attractions in this area and some of which are the large heritage place with numerous abbeys, monuments, castles and churches.

The current region of Picardie is bigger than the historical province of Picardy. The south of the Aisne department as well as most of the Oise Department is the historically part of the province of Ile-de-France.

The historical Picardy was considered too small to become a region. The French government decided to unite it with the North of Ile-de-France. The name of the historical province of Picardy was given in this new region.

The Picardie region is an artificial region with the south of the Oise department lying within the metropolitan area of Paris. People in the south of Oise travel to Ile-de France for work and hardly feel or notice Picardy. The manufacturing area of saint-Quentin in the north of this region had had hard strike of economic crisis.

Between the year of 1990 and 1999 the population of Oise increased 0.61percent every year. The Aisne Department lost population and the Somme barely grew a population of 0.16 percent for every year. The population of Picardie lives within the Oise Department, which is not part of Picardy.

Although the entireties of Picardy proper are huge flat plain open fields, the south portion of this land is a very beautiful hilly area with big forest.
France has made great efforts to support both outward and inward development and investment of its food industry.  The Picardie region has the advantage of high-quality communication by suing rail or road for the transport of food. Its wealthy agricultural land has encouraged the development of agriculture and associated food industries.

The capital of Picardy- Amiens

The antique cathedral city of Amiens is the capital of the Picardy region and the Somme Department. It is located at the Somme River, down a long route used for trade as well as by invading armies. It is around 75 miles north of Paris, 68 miles northwest of Reims, 71 miles southwest of Lille and 28 miles southeast of Abbeville. It is also the principal city of the Somme River Valley.

Amiens is a part of the medieval count ship of Amienois, wherein there is a counting friction between the bishop and count. This area was given charter as “commune” in early 1100s.
In pre-Roman times, the town was known as Samarobriva and was the capital of the Ambiani Gauls. The name Amiens was derived from Ambiani. Amiens became a roman colony in 54BC during the Gallic War. For the following four and one-half centuries, the city was a stronghold of the Roman Empire.

Major Communities in Picardy France

• Amiens
• Abbeville
• Beauvais
• Creil
• Compiegne
• Laon
• Soissons
• Saint-Quentin
• Saint Riquier
• Chateau Thierry
• Peronne
• Soissons

The Department of Picardy France

• Aisne
• This department was ignored by Brits that are heading south. St. Quentin has an impressive gothic basilica within this land.
• Thierache has fortified churches and off-the-beaten track champagne.
• Oise 
• No members of the royal family visit the place and forest at Compiegne.
• Royal stables as well as horseracing flourish in Chantilly in this land
• Somme
• There is a gothic splendor and a market garden located at Amiens.
• A neat row of colorless crosses are in this department
• The huge sand dunes for kite flying, golfing and sand yachting. 

Statistics of Picardy France

Land area – 19,399 sq. kilometers

Population – Ranked as the 12th in the year 2006 with a population of an estimated 1.8 million.