page_title: Cambrai
section_title: Environmental heritage
hierarchical_section_title: Cambrai / Local culture and heritage / Environmental heritage
caption_attribution_description: English: the "grotto" from the early 19th C which has given its name to this part of the public park in Cambrai ("jardin des grottes"). Now (2010) awaiting rehabilitation Français&#160;: Les «grottes» du jardin public, datant du début du XIXe siècle, en attente de restauration en 2010
context_page_description: Cambrai, formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a commune in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river.
  A sub-prefecture of the department, Cambrai is a town which had 32,518 inhabitants in the Census of 2009. It is in the heart of the urban unit of Cambrai which, with 47,138 inhabitants, ranks as 7th largest of the department. Its urban area, a more extensive range, included 65,986 inhabitants in 2009. With Lille and the towns of the former Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin, it is also part of the Metropolitan area of Lille which has more than 3.8 million inhabitants.
  Towards the end of the Roman Empire, Cambrai replaced Bavay as the "capital" of the land of the Nervii. At the beginning of the Merovingian era, Cambrai became the seat of an immense archdiocese covering all the right bank of the Scheldt and the centre of a small ecclesiastical principality, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, including the central part of the Low Countries. The bishopric had some limited secular power and depended on the Holy Roman Empire until annexation to France in 1678.
context_section_description: Cambrai has the label "Floral City" with three flowers awarded by the National Council of Floral Cities and Villages of France in the Foral Competition of Cities and Villages.
  The current public garden dates from the 19th century, which saw the creation of green spaces in the middle to encourage hygienics and which were liberated in addition to the areas occupied by the fortifications. This garden, divided into three distinct but contiguous parts, is located on the site of the old fortifications that surrounded the citadel built under Charles V:
  The "flower garden", designed by the landscape architect Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, was established between 1852 and 1865 on 6 hectares (15 acres). This garden was originally the only one planned but, at the insistence of the prefect of the time, it was increased to 9 hectares (22 acres) in 1864.
  The "Monstrelet Garden" designed "in English", was soon added to the previous. It is so called because it houses a statue of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, chronicler of the Middle Ages who was the Provost of Cambrai. In 1876, the bandstand was erected, built on the plans of André de Baralle.
  The "garden of caves", built in the early 19th century, carries a total area of more than 15 hectares (37 acres). The "caves", decorated with a waterfall, were the main attraction and gave their name to this part of the garden. They were completed in 1906 and in 2010 are awaiting rehabilitation.
  These gardens, and in particular their statues, were damaged by the two world wars. In 1972, a modern hall, named as the Palais des Grottes [Mansion of Caves] and hosting exhibitions, trade fairs and concerts, was built in the middle of the garden of the same name.
  A few other squares or gardens complement the green spaces of Cambrai: Fenelon Square, established in 1861 to the designs of Barillet-Deschamps on the site of the ancient metropolis and decorated in 1864 with a water fountain, that of the Place Marcelin Berthelot, which dates from 1911. This is at the foot of the walls of the Château de Selles, dating from the same year. The one of the Arquets tower dates from 1954. The avenues and boulevards planted with trees and flowers to complete make Cambrai a "green" city.
caption: The "caves" of the public garden
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