Bricks Hôtel Du Dauphin Douai Douaisis Northern France (c)douaisis TourismeBricks Hôtel Du Dauphin Douai Douaisis Northern France (c)douaisis Tourisme
©Bricks Hôtel Du Dauphin Douai Douaisis Northern France (c)douaisis Tourisme
Distinctive brick décor
  1. Home page
  2. Douai, a short break in France
  3. Stroll around Douai
  4. The building material of Douai

The building material of Douai

The humble brick is the building material of choice in the North of France. It is typical of the region and comes in several colours, sometimes brown, sometimes ochre, and even bright red in some of the narrow streets of Douai.

Often decorative and they must be seen!

brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLangletbrick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
©brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLangletbrick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
©brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet

    Often decorative and they must be seen!

    Since 1929, bricks have been manufactured at the internationally renowned Lamour brickworks in Waziers. Manufactured in a traditional way from clay and water, with the raw clay extracted in Roucourt, a few kilometres from Waziers. The bricks are shaped in a 50-metre-long coal-fired Hoffmann kiln with a double gallery. This kiln, which is still in daily use, produces around five million bricks a year. Admire the chimney of this brickworks, built… in bricks of course!

    brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLangletbrick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
    ©brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
    brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLangletbrick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
    ©brick-works Lamour Raches Industry Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
      alley middle Age Douai Douaisis Northern France (c) ADLalley middle Age Douai Douaisis Northern France (c) ADL
      ©alley middle Age Douai Douaisis Northern France (c) ADL

        Bricks all over Douai

        Bricks are indeed present everywhere here: in Vieux-Douai, on the facades of houses, along the Scarpe river, but also on larger buildings: the Notre-Dame des Mineurs church, built for the miners who came to work in France between the two world wars, the Hôtel d’Aoust, the administrative Court of Appeal. The sublime Lycée Jean-Baptiste Corot and the Collegiate Church of Saint-Pierre have salmon-red bricks. Their bricks have this appearance because they have been whitewashed to protect them from the weat

        canal - boats - barges - river - hiking - Scarpe -Douai - Northern France (c)ADLangletcanal - boats - barges - river - hiking - Scarpe -Douai - Northern France (c)ADLanglet
        ©canal - boats - barges - river - hiking - Scarpe -Douai - Northern France (c)ADLanglet
        Notre Dame Des Mineurs Church Waziers Douaisis Northern FranceNotre Dame Des Mineurs Church Waziers Douaisis Northern France
        ©Notre Dame Des Mineurs Church Waziers Douaisis Northern France
        Hotel d'Aoust Administrative Court Douai Douaisis Northern FranceHotel d'Aoust Administrative Court Douai Douaisis Northern France
        ©Hotel d'Aoust Administrative Court Douai Douaisis Northern France
        High school Corot Bricks Douai Douaisis Northern France (c) Douaisis TourismeHigh school Corot Bricks Douai Douaisis Northern France (c) Douaisis Tourisme
        ©High school Corot Bricks Douai Douaisis Northern France (c) Douaisis Tourisme
        District of the Foundry - Bricks - Douai Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLangletDistrict of the Foundry - Bricks - Douai Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet
        ©District of the Foundry - Bricks - Douai Douaisis Northern France (c)ADLanglet

          Most beautiful brick building in Douai

          Homme de fer - Bricks - Art déco - Douai - Douaisis - Northern France (c)ADLangletHomme de fer - Bricks - Art déco - Douai - Douaisis - Northern France (c)ADLanglet
          ©Homme de fer - Bricks - Art déco - Douai - Douaisis - Northern France (c)ADLanglet
          Immeuble Raverdy Place Carnot Art Déco Bricks Douai Douaisis Northern France(c)Lucie RompteauImmeuble Raverdy Place Carnot Art Déco Bricks Douai Douaisis Northern France(c)Lucie Rompteau
          ©Immeuble Raverdy Place Carnot Art Déco Bricks Douai Douaisis Northern France(c)Lucie Rompteau
          Bricks - Art déco - Douai - Douaisis - Northern France (c)ADLangletBricks - Art déco - Douai - Douaisis - Northern France (c)ADLanglet
          ©Bricks - Art déco - Douai - Douaisis - Northern France (c)ADLanglet
          Waziers city Hall - Art déco - Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c) AdlangletWaziers city Hall - Art déco - Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c) Adlanglet
          ©Waziers city Hall - Art déco - Bricks Douaisis Northern France (c) Adlanglet
          Church Courchelettes Art Déco Douaisis Northern France (c)douaisis TourismeChurch Courchelettes Art Déco Douaisis Northern France (c)douaisis Tourisme
          ©Church Courchelettes Art Déco Douaisis Northern France (c)douaisis Tourisme
          mining town-Clochette-douai-douaisis-northernfrance-(c)-ADLangletmining town-Clochette-douai-douaisis-northernfrance-(c)-ADLanglet
          ©mining town-Clochette-douai-douaisis-northernfrance-(c)-ADLanglet

            Some architects had fun with these bricks during the Art Deco movement, forming geometric patterns on the façades! Go and see the emblematic shop ‘A l’homme de fer’, rue de Bellain in Douai or the Raverdy building on Place Carnot.

            We have selected our favourite ‘brick’ monuments to see:

            Collégiale Saint-Pierre
            Lycée Jean-Baptiste Corot
            Ruelles du Vieux-Douai
            Eglise Notre-Dame des Mineurs
            Maisons du quartier de la Clochette
            Maison des associations à Douai
            Salles d’Anchin
            Hôtel de la Tramerie
            Eglise Sainte Jeanne d’Arc Courchelettes
            Fonderie à canons

            Lycée Corot
            Lycée Corot
            In 1608, English Benedictine Catholic monks, driven out of England following the Reformation, settled in Douai on the site of the present-day Lycée Corot. Active in the...
            Collégiale Saint-Pierre
            Collégiale Saint-Pierre
            There was a church on this site before the 10th century. It was established as a collegiate church and given a chapter of canons in 1012 by the Count of Flanders. The old bell...
            Fonderie à canons
            Fonderie à canons
            In 1669, Louis XIV established a cannon foundry in Douai on the site of the old motte, the seat of the count’s authority since the 10th century. Two famous Zurich-based...
            Church Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc
            Church Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc
            A chapel from 1803, dedicated to Saint Sarre and dependent on the neighboring parish of Lambres until 1901, was demolished in 1919. The current building succeeded it; it is...
            Eglise Notre-Dame des Mineurs
            Eglise Notre-Dame des Mineurs
            In the first half of the 20th century, the Church of Our Lady of the Miners was the central element around which all the life of a miner was organised: the mining towns, the...
            Hôtel de la Tramerie
            Hôtel de la Tramerie
            As is recorded on its façade, this former brewery was built in 1649. Less than half a century after its construction, the brewery was converted into a mansion. And has had many...
            Salles d'Anchin
            Salles d'Anchin
            As the ideas of the Reformation gained traction, the Jesuits were called upon as the most suitable to lead the Counter-Reformation movement. It was therefore decided to create...
            Plan

            Your stay

            Venez nous rencontrer !

            à 30 minutes de Lille

            à 1h10 de Paris


            Comment venir ?