Arras (/ˈærəs/ ARR-əs, French: [aʁɑs] ⓘ; Picard: Aros; historical Dutch: Atrecht [ˈaːtrɛxt] ⓘ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France;[3] before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

The historic centre of the Artois region, with a Baroque town square, Arras is in northern France at the confluence of the rivers Scarpe and Crinchon.

[4] The Arras plain is on a large chalk plateau bordered on the north by the Marqueffles fault, on the southwest by the Artois and Ternois hills, and on the south by the slopes of Beaufort-Blavincourt.

Others believe it comes from the Celtic word Ar, meaning 'running water', as the Scarpe river flows through Arras or simply the name of Abraham's wife Sarra spelled backwards.

Some attractions include the Town Hall and its Belfry (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 15 July 2005), the "Boves" (a maze 10 metres (33 feet) beneath the city), the Squares (La Place des Héros and La Grand'Place), the Art District (the Theatre of Arras and the Hôtel de Guînes), the Abbey District (The Saint-Vaast Abbey and the Cathedral of Arras), the Vauban Citadel, and the Nemetacum site (the ancient town founded by the Romans 2000 years ago).

These tools show signs of the Levallois technique, a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping, developed by forerunners to modern humans during the Paleolithic period 170,000 years ago.

[citation needed] In the Scarpe valley, archaeologists' excavations and data recovery revealed Late Iron Age settlements.

Roman General Aetius then chose to negotiate for peace and concluded a treaty (fœdus) with Clodion that gave the Franks the status of «foederati» fighting for Rome.

The abbey revived its strength in the 11th century and played an important role in the development of medieval painting, successfully synthesizing the artistic styles of Carolingian, Ottonian and English art.

[16] The patronage of wealthy cloth merchants ensured that the town became an important cultural centre, with major figures such as the poet Jean Bodel and the trouvère Adam de la Halle making their homes in Arras.

During the Middle Ages, possession of Arras passed to a variety of feudal rulers and fiefs, including the County of Flanders, the Duchy of Burgundy, the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg and the French crown.

The town was the site of the Congress of Arras in 1435, an unsuccessful attempt to end the Hundred Years' War that resulted in the Burgundians breaking their alliance with the English.

After the death of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, King Louis XI of France took control of Arras but the town's inhabitants, still loyal to the Burgundians, expelled the French.

This prompted Louis XI to besiege Arras in person and, after taking it by assault, he had the town's walls razed and its inhabitants expelled, to be replaced by more loyal subjects from other parts of France.

From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Reign of Terror, the city was under the supervision of Joseph Lebon who implemented food restrictions, ordered 400 executions and destroyed several religious monuments including the Arras Cathedral and the Abbey of St. Vaast.

In 1898, under the influence of Mayor Émile Legrelle, some of Arras' ramparts were demolished to build vast boulevards, establish a new sewage system and replace the old railway station from 1846.

Shortly after, Louis Ernest de Maud'huy's soldiers partly repelled the German army troops, and trenches were dug in the Faubourgs d'Arras.

The soil of Arras is primarily composed of chalk, a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock that formed what is called the European stratigraphic unit.

[34] The Hôtel de Ville in Arras and its belfry were constructed in the early 16th century and had to be rebuilt in a slightly less grandiose style after World War I.

The Boves, a well-preserved underground network of tunnels, 10 metres (33 feet) beneath the city, was built in the 10th century and can now be visited by tourists.

The Art District is renowned for its Italian-style theatre hall built in 1785 and the Hôtel de Guînes, a private 18th-century townhouse that attracts artists, designers and producers of intimist shows.

Many of Arras's most remarkable structures, including the Musée des beaux-arts d'Arras and several government buildings, occupy the site of the old Abbey of St. Vaast.

The design was chosen by the one-time Abbot of St Vaast, the Cardinal de Rohan, and is stark in its simplicity, employing a vast number of perpendicular angles.

Built by Vauban between 1667 and 1672, the Citadel has been nicknamed La belle inutile (the beautiful useless one) by residents as it has never been directly involved in heavy fighting and didn't prevent the Germans from occupying the city in either World War.

Outside, Le Mur des Fusillés (the wall of the people executed by a firing squad) pays tribute to the 218 members of the French Resistance shot in the citadel's ditch during World War II.

Around 80 exhibitors offer a wide selection of arts and crafts, as well as local delicacies like chocolate rats, Atrébate beer and Cœurs d'Arras – heart-shaped biscuits which come in two flavours, ginger, and cheese.

Entertainment includes cooking lessons with chefs, craft demonstrations, a merry-go-round, a ferris wheel, an ice-skating rink, and heated shelters.

[39] The Main Square Festival is held for several days in early July within the Vauban Citadel, attracting tens of thousands of attendees and playing host to major acts such as The Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, and The Black Eyed Peas.

The Basilica of Notre Dame de Lorette cemetery, overlooking the nearby village of Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, likewise stands before one of France's largest World War I necropolises.

Part of an extensive network of tunnels dug in World War I by British Empire soldiers can be visited at the Carrière Wellington museum in the suburbs.