Amiens

a mi-an, an ancient French city on the Somme, seventy-one miles north of Paris. The river here divides into eleven canals, gaining for the city the name of Little Venice. The old walls, save the citadel, have been leveled to form wide boulevards. A museum, a library of note, a fine city hall, and numerous learned societies give Amiens an atmosphere of culture; but its pride is the Cathedral of Notre Dame, sometimes called the "Parthenon of Gothic Architecture." It was built 1220-1288, and is considered one of the finest cathedrals in Europe. The vaulted ceiling of the nave is 141 feet above the pavement of the floor. Many a siege was withstood by the old city, and many a battle was fought under its walls. The famous treaty of Amiens was concluded here in 1802, between Great Britain, France, Spain, and Holland. Peter the Hermit, who lived in the eleventh century, was a native of Amiens. The Prussians occupied the city in 1870. The modern city has a population of 92,000. It is an important manufacturing and distributing center. Cotton, velvets, woolen and linen cloth, flax, beetroot sugar, leather, paper, and soap are among the local products. See France; Cathedral