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Douai

File:La_Fontaine_de_la_Place_d'Armes_de_Douai.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Douay

Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfries.

OverviewAI-generated

Douai is a commune in France, situated within the Hauts-de-France region and the Nord department. It serves as the capital of the arrondissement of Douai, the canton of Douai-Nord, and the canton of Douai-Nord-Est. The town is located in the County of Flanders and shares borders with Roost-Warendin, Sin-le-Noble, Waziers, and Anhiers. Its postal code is 59500, and it operates in the Europe/Paris timezone.

The area of Douai is 16.88 square kilometers, with an elevation above sea level recorded at 38 meters. Population figures vary by source, with one listing 41,189 residents and another citing 46,531. Jacques Vernier is the head of government. The town has twinned administrative relationships with the London Borough of Harrow, Recklinghausen, Kenosha, and Dédougou.

Synthesized by Vinony from 52 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

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Place details

Locality
Douai
Region
Hauts-de-France
Country
France
Population
46,531
Timezone
Europe/Paris

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

41US AQIGood
PM2.5
5.7 µg/m³
PM10
12.1 µg/m³
As of 2026-08-11 02:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

French commune.name
Douai
French commune.commune status
Subprefecture and commune
French commune.image coat of arms
Blason Vide 3D.svg
French commune.image
Douai - Vue à partir du Beffroi (04).JPG
French commune.caption
View of the city with St. Pierre church in the background
French commune.arrondissement
Douai
French commune.canton
Douai
French commune.INSEE
59178
French commune.postal code
59500
French commune.mayor
Frédéric Chéreau
French commune.term
2020–2026
French commune.intercommunality
Douaisis Agglo
French commune.elevation m
24
French commune.elevation min m
16
French commune.elevation max m
38
French commune.area km2
16.88

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official name
Douai
Country
France
Located in
Nord
Population
40250
Area
16.88
Elevation
23
Time zone
UTC+02:00
Capital of
canton of Douai
Shares border with
Anhiers
Official website
www.douai.fr
Image
La Fontaine de la Place d'Armes de Douai.jpg
Show 17 more facts
postal code
59500
category for people born here
Category:Births in Douai
Commons category
Douai
topic's main category
Category:Douai
twinned administrative body
Seraing
category for people who died here
Category:Deaths in Douai
Commons gallery
Douai
category of associated people
Category:People from Douai
native label
Douai
associated electoral district
canton of Douai
male population
19453
female population
20247
email address
mailto:[email protected]
phone number
+33-3-27-93-58-00
fax number
+33-3-27-97-72-61
P12749
238 BC
Sources (9)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Understand

thumb|View from the Belfrey; the Collegiale St. Pierre is the large church in the background Douai has been an important city in the region since the Middle Ages, and had previously been capital of the region. Historically, Douai has been a Dutch-speaking city during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century the city eventually became French territory. Interestingly enough, one of its claims to fame is its connection with the Douai Bible, an early translation of the Bible into English.

Get in

thumb|View on the Scarpe River

See

thumb|Porte de Valenciennes thumb|Musée de la Chartreuse thumb|Former courthouse

Go next

Lens — nearby city known for the Louvre-Lens (branch of the Louvre located in Lens) and for its famous football club, RC Lens, who play in the Stade Félix Bollaert.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~8 min read

Encyclopedic overview

11 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Geography
  • Climate
  • Main sites
  • Economy
  • Population
  • University
  • Notable people
  • Twin towns
  • References
  • External links

Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfries.

==History== Its site probably corresponds to that of a 4th-century Roman fortress known as Duacum. From the 10th century, the town was a romance fiefdom of the counts of Flanders. The town became a flourishing textile market centre during the Middle Ages, historically known as Douay or Doway in English. In 1384, the county of Flanders passed into the domains of the Dukes of Burgundy and thence in 1477 into Habsburg possessions.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Douai” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (14)

On the map

3 mapped locations