In Armentières and more generally in the North of France, we have a textile tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. Armentières has gained the name "city of linen" because it used to be the city that produced the majority of linen in France. At the time of Louis XIV, linen was cultivated along the river Lys and woven in farms. Later on, a lot of factories were created. Linen from Armentières was exported all over the world, as far as South America !

An interview with English subtitles about the history of textile in our city :

Some photos of tools used in the weaving of textile (they were used by the grandfather of one student of our class, who worked in textile all his life):