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Gravelines

Gravelines
Grevelingen
Place Charles Valentin
Place Charles Valentin
Coat of arms of Gravelines
Coat of arms
Gravelines is located in France
Gravelines
Gravelines
Coordinates: 50°59′09″N 2°07′42″E / 50.9858°N 2.1283°E / 50.9858; 2.1283Coordinates: 50°59′09″N 2°07′42″E / 50.9858°N 2.1283°E / 50.9858; 2.1283
Country France
Region Hauts-de-France
Department Nord
Arrondissement Dunkirk
Canton Gravelines
Intercommunality Dunkerque grand littoral
Government
 • Mayor Bertrand Ringot
Area1 22.66 km2 (8.75 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 11,828
 • Density 520/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
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.

2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Gravelines (Dutch: Grevelingen) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa 15 miles (24 km) 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 still 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 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 Dutch Gravenenga, 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.

There was a famous meeting at Gravelines in 1520, between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. There were fought nearby: the first was a land battle in 1558 resulting in a victory by Spanish forces of Lamoral, Count of Egmont over the French under Marshal Paul des Thermes, while the second was a naval attack using fire ships in 1588 launched by England's Royal Navy under Lord Howard against the Spanish Armada at anchor. Gravelines was also the setting for Sir Philip Sidney's failure to deliver the town from Spanish occupation in July 1586, which is described in the anonymous A Discourse of the enterprise of Gravelines.


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