Gravelines Grevelingen | |
|---|---|
 Place Charles Valentin | |
_ornext.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Gravelines  | |
  Gravelines  Gravelines | |
| Coordinates:50°59′09″N2°07′42″E / 50.9858°N 2.1283°E /50.9858; 2.1283 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Nord |
| Arrondissement | Dunkerque |
| Canton | Grande-Synthe |
| Intercommunality | CU Dunkerque |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Bertrand Ringot[1] |
Area 1 | 22.66 km2 (8.75 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 11,451 |
| • Density | 510/km2 (1,300/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Gravelinois |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 59273 /59820 |
| Elevation | 0–25 m (0–82 ft) (avg. 3 m or 9.8 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Gravelines (/ɡrævˈliːn/grav-LEEN,French:[ɡʁavlin];Dutch:Grevelingen[ˈɣreːvəlɪŋə(n)]) is acommune in theNorddepartment in NorthernFrance.[3] It lies at the mouth of the riverAa 15 miles (24 km) southwest ofDunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connectSaint-Omer with the sea. As it was on the western borders ofSpanish territory in Flanders it became heavily fortified, some of which remains.
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 clubBCM Gravelines.
The Gravelines Belfry is one of 56belfries of Belgium and France that is inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage List in recognition of its architecture and importance in the history of municipal power in the region.[4]
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In the early 12th century,Saint-Omer was an important port in westernFlanders. Silting gradually cut it off from theNorth Sea, resulting in the construction of a canal to the new coast at what is now Gravelines. The name is derived from theDutchGravenenga, meaning Count's Canal. The new town became heavily fortified as it guarded the western borders ofSpanish territory in Flanders.
Gravelines was taken byHenry le Despenser's English forces during theNorwich Crusade of 1383 and was that year destroyed on his orders as the English retreated towards Calais.[5]
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There was a famous meeting at Gravelines in 1520, between theHoly Roman EmperorCharles V andHenry VIII of England. There weretwo battles fought nearby:the first was a land battle in 1558 resulting in a victory by Spanish forces ofLamoral, Count of Egmont over theFrench under MarshalPaul des Thermes, whilethe second was a naval attack usingfire ships in 1588 launched by England'sRoyal Navy underLord Howard against theSpanish Armada atanchor. Gravelines was also the setting forSir Philip Sidney's failure to deliver the town from Spanish occupation in July 1586, which is described in the anonymousA Discourse of the enterprise of Gravelines.
The town was captured and recaptured several times by the French and Spanish between 1639 and 1658. It was finally annexed to France in theTreaty of the Pyrenees of 1659.
Only in the 19th century did the population become entirely French-speaking.
On 24 May 1940, during theFall of France, German field marshalGerd von Rundstedt, commandingArmy Group A, ordered his armoured divisions to close up the "Canal Line" ofLens-Gravelines, and halt there.
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org. |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 8,167 | — |
| 1975 | 9,039 | +1.46% |
| 1982 | 11,576 | +3.60% |
| 1990 | 12,336 | +0.80% |
| 1999 | 12,430 | +0.08% |
| 2007 | 11,705 | −0.75% |
| 2012 | 11,573 | −0.23% |
| 2017 | 11,166 | −0.71% |
| Source: INSEE[6] | ||
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]
Today, the small town is famous for itsnuclear energy plant. It also hosts twoOVHdata centers, GRA-1 and GRA-2.[7][8][9]
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