Last modified: 2026-01-31 by olivier touzeau
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![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-62-ax.gif)
Flag of Auxi-le-Château - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 16 December 2025
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Auxi-le-Château (2,549 inhabitants, 2,708 ha) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department.
Paleolithic flint tools and Neolithic polished stones attest to ancient settlement, and the toponym of the Authie River (from the Celtic word *alt*, meaning height) recalls the presence of Celts during the Bronze Age. During the Gallo-Roman period, Auxi was known as Alciacum, or the estate of Alcius, and the surrounding plateaus featured "villae," large agricultural estates.
The Merovingians occupied the region, and from the 7th century onward, Ponthieu and the Authie Valley were evangelized. In 1178, Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders, had the castle built. In 1197, Hugues, lord and baron of Auxi-le-Château, is mentioned, along with his wife and children, in a charter of the Cercamps Abbey. He is the founder of the prominent Auxy family, found in the entourage of the kings of France and the dukes of Burgundy, as well as a branch established in the province of Hainaut in the service of the kings of the Netherlands. In 1213, the Maladrerie (leper hospital) was founded. In 1244, the Authie River (a natural border since time immemorial) became a state border, dividing Auxi into two parts: Auxi-Artois and Auxi-Picardie. The fiefdom of Lannoy appeared in 1275. The Hundred Years' War began in 1337 and brought two disasters: Crécy in 1346 and Agincourt in 1415. Several members of the Auxy family perished at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Auxi was the scene of the struggle between Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and King Louis XI of France, who ordered the castle dismantled.
In 1493, the Germans of Emperor Maximilian pillaged the town and burned the church, whose reconstruction was ordered by Marshal of France, Philippe de Crèvecoeur d'Esquerdes. In 1507, the customs specific to Auxi were codified. In 1532, a beautiful and large bridge was built over the Authie River. In 1568, Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Lord of Auxi and supporter of Dutch independence, was beheaded in Brussels (a hero immortalized by Beethoven and Goethe). Around 1580, the Bailiwick (our current Town Hall) was built. Between 1605 and 1611, the Duke of Cröy commissioned gouache paintings depicting the town and church of Auxi. In 1627, the Bridgettine Convent was founded. In 1659, by the Treaty of the Pyrenees, Auxi was annexed to the
Kingdom of France.
In August 1793, the Convention decreed the unification of the two parts of Auxi, changing the name from Auxi-le-Château to Auxi-la-Réunion.
In the 19th century, Auxi developed with some twenty small businesses, a post office, a hospice, schools, and a college. The Town Hall was rebuilt between 1860 and 1862 in the Neo-Gothic style. In 1879, the Lille-Le Tréport railway line passed through Auxi, which experienced a period of prosperity thanks to its shoe factories.
Between May 1940 and September 1944, Auxi endured a period of bombing under German occupation.
Olivier Touzeau, 16 December 2025
The arms are blazoned: Chequy Or and Gules.
The municipality has adopted the coat of arms of the illustrious and
ancient house of Auxy.
The current flag is white with logo: photo (2021), photo (2014).
Olivier Touzeau, 16 December 2025
Former flag of Auxi-le-Château
![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-62-ax1.gif)
Former flag of Auxi-le-Château - Image by Jaume Ollé, January 2000
A former bicolore flag, R/Y with the full coat of arms in the middle
was reported by Jaume Olle in Flag Report #20, and by Pascal Vagnat (website).
The very same design could be seen in 2013 on the stickers affixed to
municipal furniture: photo
Olivier Touzeau, 16 December 2025