Arras is a city of northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pas-de-Calais département. In 1999 its population was 43 567.
Originally settled by the Celts it later became a Roman garisson town known in Latin as Atrebatum.
It was located in the former province of Artois. For many centuries Arras was on the border between France and the Netherlands and frequently exchanged hands before firmly becoming French. With the fortifications upgraded by Vauban helping keep it in French hands. The town was closely linked to the trade of Flanders and later became an important centre for sugar beet farming and processing and became a prosperous market centre.
It the First World War Arras was near the front a long series of battles nearby are known as the Battle of Arras in which a series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, unknown to the Germans, became a decicive factor in the French holding the city. The city, however, was heaviliy damaged and had to be rebuilt after the war. In the Second World War the town was occupied by the Nazi's and 240 suspected French Resistance members were executed in the Arras citadel.
The centre of the town is marked by two large squares. The Grande Place and the Place des Heroes. These are surrounded by buildings restored to the pre-war conditions. Most notable are the gothic town hall and the cathedral.
Arras was the birthplace of Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), French revolutionary leader.
The Arras were also a tribe which migrated from France to England and practiced ceremonial burial rites (500-400 B.C.) where the chariot was interred with the chieftain.