Wervicq-Sud | |
|---|---|
 The church in Wervicq-Sud | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Wervicq-Sud  | |
  Wervicq-Sud  Wervicq-Sud | |
| Coordinates:50°46′23″N3°02′55″E / 50.7731°N 3.0486°E /50.7731; 3.0486 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Nord |
| Arrondissement | Lille |
| Canton | Lambersart |
| Intercommunality | Métropole Européenne de Lille |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | David Heiremans[1] |
Area 1 | 5.09 km2 (1.97 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 5,446 |
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 59656 /59117 |
| Elevation | 12–58 m (39–190 ft) (avg. 15 m or 49 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Wervicq-Sud (French pronunciation:[wɛʁviksyd];Dutch:Zuid-Wervik) is acommune in theNorddepartment of northernFrance,[3] near the border with Belgium. Wervicq-Sud is one of the oldest villages still existent, dating back to Roman times.
The town is separated from its Belgian Flemish sister town ofWervik by the riverLys.
Located 15 km north ofLille and 20 km south ofYpres.
The name appears in the formViroviacum in theAntonine Itinerary and thePeutinger map of settlements in the 3rd century. It was here that the Roman road fromTournai toCassel crossed theLys (a tributary of theScheldt). It had a fortified post, of which traces are still visible. It was mentioned bySanderus in his "Flandria illustrata" in the sixteenth century.
For centuries, Werviq-Sud and Wervik were one unified settlement and belonged to theCounty of Flanders, an autonomous but tributary principality to French kings. In 1527 by theTreaty of Madrid it passed under the suzerainty of the Spanish empire. The town was during the sixteenth century the main centre oftobacco production in Europe. It remained dependent onSpain untilLouis XIV's conquest in 1667. Subsequently the town passed on to Austrian Empire then back to French.
It wasn't until 1713 that Werviq-Sud was finally separated from Wervik when theTreaty of Utrecht led to the river Lys becoming a border splitting the French and Austrian territories in this area. The town's left bank become a part of the Nord department under the name Wervicq-Sud in 1790.
There was a small uprising here after the 1830Belgian Revolution. Locals, together with those in nearbyBousbecque and a small number fromComines, demanded reunification with their Belgian counterparts on the other side of the Lys. This ended after an intervention of theGendarmes.
DuringWorld War I the town was occupied by the Germans. InWorld War II it was integrated into theMilitary Administration in Belgium and Northern France and reunited with its Belgian counterpartWervik.
| The arms of Wervicq-Sud areblazoned : Or, a bend between 6 cinqfoils in orle gules. |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 3,114 | — |
| 1975 | 3,991 | +3.61% |
| 1982 | 4,163 | +0.60% |
| 1990 | 4,328 | +0.49% |
| 1999 | 4,288 | −0.10% |
| 2007 | 4,698 | +1.15% |
| 2012 | 5,005 | +1.27% |
| 2017 | 5,413 | +1.58% |
| Source: INSEE[4] | ||
Numerousassociations located on a local way. Its main activity varies predominantly on textiles.
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| National | |
