Helfaut


Helfaut is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France 4 miles south of Saint-Omer, on a geological formation called the "plateau d'Helfaut", which separates the Aa valley to the north from the Lys valley, to the south.
The commune is home to rare and protected species in a heathland landscape, which is unusual for northern France and led to the creation of a nature reserve.

Population

The inhabitants are called Helfalois.

History

In World War II the village was the site of La coupole, an underground bunker housing a huge concrete dome, built by the Nazis between 1943 and 1944 to serve as a launching base for V2 rockets, which never entered service because of bombing raids by the Allies. It has been transformed into a museum.