- Ham, Somme
French commune| name= Ham
x = 145
y = 44
region=Picardie
departement=Somme
arrondissement= Péronne
canton=Ham (chef-lieu )
insee=80410
cp=80400
maire=Marc Bonef
mandat=2001 -2008
intercomm=Communauté de communes du Pays Hamois
alt moy=65 m
alt mini=57 m
alt maxi=84 m
hectares=950
km²=9,5
sans=5398
date-sans=1999
dens=568|Ham is a commune in the
Somme "département" in thePicardie region ofFrance .Geography
Situated on the D930 and D937 crossroads, some 13 miles southwest of
Saint-Quentin , in the far southeast of the department, near the border with the department of theAisne .The nearby villages of Estouilly and Saint-Sulpice joined the commune of Ham in 1965 and 1966 respectively.Population
History
Mentioned for the first time in 932 as a possession of the
seigneur Erard, junior member of the Counts of Ponthieu. The town was later conquered by the Counts of Vermandois in the 12th century. In the 14th century it was owned by a family from Ham itself.The Castle of Ham
The first stone ramparts were put up in the 13th century by the local nobleman, Odon IV.
In the 15th century, the château was transformed into a formidable fortress byJohn II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny
In1465 , John's nephew, Louis of Luxembourg, built a hugedonjon , 33m high, 33m in diameter with walls 11m thick ["Ham, its castle and its prisoners", Charles Gomart, 1864, réédition "La Vague Verte" en 2000.]
In 1917, the Germans blew up much of the château. All that remains are the entrance tower and vestiges of thedonjon andramparts .People linked with the commune
* , Duke of Estouteville was born at Ham in
1491
* GeneralMaximilien Sebastien Foy was born at Ham in1775 .
* , intrepid sailor, was imprisoned at the château of Ham from1726 to1740 .
* Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, accused of plotting against the state, was imprisoned at the château of Ham from1840 to1846 ,
when he escaped, disguised as a worker, carrying a plank on his shouder.
* , French député.
*Jean-Charles Peltier , physicist and meteorologist.
* (1643 -1730 ), biographer ofLouis XIV .Twinned with
flagicon|Germany
Eisfeld ,Germany ee also
Communes of the Somme department External links
* [http://www.ville-ham.fr/ Ham, Official municipal website]
* [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/chateau-de-ham/ Château of Ham]
* [http://www.richesheures.net/epoque-6-15/chateau/80ham-general.htm Article and photos about the château of Ham]
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=80410&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Ham on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=31764&req=80400&style=fiche Ham on the Quid website] frNotes
*"This article is based on the original and the equivalent article from the
French Wikipedia , consulted on February 20th 2008."
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