Lillers

Lillers
Commune
The town hall of Lillers
Coat of arms
Location of Lillers
Lillers Show map of France Lillers Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°33′52″N 2°28′59″E / 50.5644°N 2.4831°E / 50.5644; 2.4831
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Béthune
Canton	Lillers
Intercommunality	CA Béthune-Bruay, Artois-Lys Romane
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Pascal Barois
Area 1	26.9 km2 (10.4 sq mi)
Population  (2010)	10,050
• Density	370/km2 (970/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62516 /62190
Elevation	18–88 m (59–289 ft) (avg. 29 m or 95 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Lillers is a commune. It is found in the region Nord-Pas-de-Calais in the Pas-de-Calais department in the north of France.

In the year 700 AD, two Irish princes, Lugli and Luglien, were on a pilgrimage to Rome. On the road between Boulogne and Thérouanne, near Ferfay, they were attacked and killed by robbers. Their servants buried the bodies, but they were moved by a storm to the castle of the Bishop of Thérouanne. This was seen to be a miracle. When the Normans invaded, the bodies, now holy relics, were moved to a safer place on an island with a marsh all around it. Years later, the sister of the princes, Lilia, came to pray at the chapel built to hold the relics. The town was named Lillers, after her.^[1]

In World War I, Lillers was the site of a big British military hospital. Nearly 900 soldiers are buried in the cemetery.^[2] They include two winners of the Victoria Cross, Corporal William Richard Cotter and Major David Nelson.^[3]

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lillers.

• Official commune website Archived 2003-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Lillers on the Quid website (in French)

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