Gravelines (/ɡrævˈliːn/, grav-LEEN; French pronunciation:[gʁavlin]; Dutch: Grevelingen) is a commune in the Norddepartment in Northern France.[3] It lies at the mouth of the river Aa15 miles (24km) southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As it was on the western borders of Spanish territory in Flanders it became heavily fortified, some of which remains.
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1km2 (0.386sqmi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Close
There is a market in the town square (Place Charles Valentin) on Fridays. The "Arsenal" approached from the town square is home to an extensive and carefully displayed art collection. There are modern bronze statues in the grounds. The town is also home to French basketball club BCM Gravelines.
In the early 12th century, Saint-Omer was an important port in western Flanders. Silting gradually cut it off from the North Sea, resulting in the construction of a canal to the new coast at what is now Gravelines. The name is derived from the DutchGravenenga, meaning Count's Canal. The new town became heavily fortified as it guarded the western borders of Spanish territory in Flanders.
Gravelines was taken by Henry le Despenser's English forces during the Norwich Crusade of 1383 and was that year destroyed on his orders as the English retreated towards Calais.[5]
The town was captured and recaptured several times by the French and Spanish between 1639 and 1658. It was finally annexed to France in the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659.
Only in the 19th century did the population become entirely French-speaking.
On 24 May 1940, during the Fall of France, German field marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, commanding Army Group A, ordered his armoured divisions to close up the "Canal Line" of Lens-Gravelines, and halt there.
Population
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
The charter between Dartford and Gravelines was signed in Gravelines on 22 September 1991 by The Mayor, Councillor Tony Gillham, on behalf of Dartford Borough Council and Councillor A. May on behalf of the Dartford and District Twinning Association together with The Mayor of Gravelines, Monsieur A. Denvers and Monsieur C. Marquis, Chairman of their Jumelage (which is Gravelines' equivalent to Dartford's Twinning Association).[citation needed]
"Belfries of Belgium and France". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Gravelines, and is written by contributors.
Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.